Light Weathering with a new air brush

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GN.2-6-8-0

GN.2-6-8-0

Member
Just finished weathering my BLI Santa Fe 3800 class 2-10-2 and am really pleased with the results seeing as i used what i concidered a cheapy air brush.

Bought one of the talon double action air brush knock off's at Harbor Freight awhile back and am amazed at how nice it works,great price $17.99 and fantastic control , smooth paint and air flow rivals my $100+ Passche air brush I plan on getting another one in case they stop carrying them for what ever reason..:D
Here are before and after pictures,use Polly scale grimy black with a light coat of dirt to highlight the running gear.


ATSF3877.png


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Much nicer then the out of the box look!!! What airbrush and what did you use to weather it? I got a new Paasche Talon that I want to start using.

im an idiot, didn't even read the post just went straight to pics. lol
 
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Please excuse me if this is a dumb question but did you mask the number and road name decals before applying the grimy black or did you put on new ones afterwards?
 
Not a dumb question but I'll guess (which is the way I do it) is that the Grimy black is a very light coating that does not obscure the numbers but just tones them down.

This is one advantage of an airbrush, one can spray a coat of paint so light it is hard to notice.

The engine looks good.
 
Thanks guys. I 've been trying for that kind of weathered effect with brush without much success. I can see that if i'm going to do a decent job of painting and weathering I just have to get an airbrush too.
 
As one who has already MADE 96% of the mistakes you can painting steam...

Your firebox dust isn't the same on both sides! Easier to ADD than to remove. Big pain to load up the brush for one blast or so...

I paint the engines as it moves down a 8' length of track mounted on a 2x4. I use a cheap door mirror sideways on the back of the work table. It's important to have your locos' moving to get the side rods and drivers correctly dusted.

Make sure you've read your engines characteristics if you can(Historical Soc?) for extra greasy, leaky sooty, limestone deposits, rust etc. Even the correct shades of traction sand for the local is important, like which coal did they use etc.

An example, as I model the N&W. I have one of their Water Buffalo 4-8-2's, which had several design 'issues' . It's 3rd driver had an enormous counterweight and it also connected to the main side rod. This caused lots of heat on the bearings and the grease just overheated and oozed right out, so the bearings cooked. It took Dupont 3 years to develop a good high pressure grease. In the mean time driver 3 is always splattered with grease and its all over the trailer truck and driver 4 and the side rods.


I also have a Bachmann J that was only slightly weathered, because N&W did steam clean them at every turn, whereas freight locos didn't get that extra attention.

The N&W 2-8-8-2's had their bushings in the side rods replaced about every 2 months so you would see those areas to be shiny clean but the rest of the side rods were still dust and soot covered.

Southerns passenger engines were most always super clean, and shiny, but their freight was sooty and greasy.
 
wow that is sweeeet i need to pick up an air brush to weather my AA fleet , its part of my 12 step program :)
 


Y3a
Now would you explain why the dirt/mud/crud splatter on a locomotive should neccesrally have to be exactly the same on both sides :confused:
 
The dust weathering I was commenting on WOULD BE the same on both sides of your steam engine unless the sanders were clogged. The sand/dust accumulates over time to build up the heavy dust look on the engine. It would not be as different, side to side, as the model is painted.

I've been chasing steam locos for decades and I photograph their details, weathering and such from all sides. I've NEVER seen more dust on one side than another. Grease, limestone deposits, and soot accumulation won't always be the same on both sides.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iScOZrQ5yU
 
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Maybe the crew started cleaning one side, then got distracted. :D If it doesn't bug you, leave it be, looks good overall.
 
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