My nemesis


RCH

Been Nothin' Since Frisco
My nemesis is weathering anything light, but especially white boxcars. I have had this boxcar for a million years and I've been avoiding finishing the weathering because it seems like you only get one shot and I never wanted to ruin it. Well, I finally started thinking, "it's a five dollar boxcar" so no worries anymore. Besides, it's not even the right type of car for the paint scheme it's wearing, so I got started on it last week in earnest.

I used prototype photos on Joe Shaw's site, RailARC and Fallen Flags to sort of piece together bits of rust here and there to make two nasty, rusty composite sides. But, before I did any rust work, I used my drafting eraser to remove the logo and "ROUTE ROCK" lettering. I washed light gray and dry brushed white oils to give the car a dingy look. I repainted the lettering using any of various shades of gray and black artists oils with my tiniest brush. I did the same with the logo, making attempts to duplicate the fading that reveals the spray patterns made by the original RI painter.

Once I liked the logos and lettering, I got out the ugly brush, an old chisel brush I've had for 10 years that I love to abuse. I stippled on a mix of 8 parts yellow, 2 parts red and one part burnt umber. This photo shows the car at this point:

original.gif


Next, I got a smaller brush and mixed up the burnt umber 1:1 with the light orange I had just used and started doing the darkening. The next step was to use straight burnt umber to paint in the actual gouges and the dark spots on the door.

So, here's where it stands after tonight, with one side halfway there and the other side nearly complete. This is the other side of the model:

original.gif


I still have the roof, ends, underside and the other side to finish. But, I was pretty surprised to get to this point in an hour and a half (starting from the completed lettering and logos, done last week and left to dry). I figure another few hours and it will be ready.

It's by no means perfect, and certainly not near the level of Mellow Mike's ROCK car, but it's a good learning experience. I'm just happy I'm getting a little better at painting rusty gouges!
 
Hey Ryan, that looks great. You weathering guys always amaze me, and you're one of the best. :) How much time ya got in it?
 
I suppose I have about 5 minutes in sanding off the logo and lettering, half an hour in applying the wash and drybrushed white, and then I let it dry for about two years. Oils are slow to dry, but not that slow. I just got a little gun shy about going any farther.

So, fast forward to a week ago and I put about 3 hours into painting the lettering and logo back on. I had to use such a tiny brush to do it and I mixed the paint as I went, so it took a long time. Those little brushes just don't load much paint. The original blue hexagon was very dark, almost violet, and not all of it came off (right around the rib), so even though I tried to mix to match the photos, it still came out a little too dark.

And last night I put an hour and a half into it, so that brings the total to 5 hours 5 minutes with about 2 hours left to go, not including drying time.

Thanks for the nod, Grande Man!
 
Looking GREAT, where & what oils did you use? Would they work on a darker color to say faid it?

I want to try that rust solution stuff I found online but i can;t seem to find it again.
 
Any craft store such as Michaels or Hobby Lobby should carry artists oils. I use Windsor & Newton brand oils.

I use them on every color model, and since I have a pretty strong interest in Norfolk & Western, Southern and NS, that means weathering a lot of black locomotives. If you'd like to fade a car, the best results can be had if you do the fading prior to applying the decals. Of course, you can simply drybrush a mixture of the base color and white or gray over factory painted models to fade them. In that case, you might want to keep a Q-tip handy to wipe the colors away from the lettering should you get too much on.

If you cannot find the rust solution, make your own. Simply grind up some steel wool, soak in a baby food jar full of water and let it rust away. Strain the rusty water through pantyhose and you've got rust solution. Alternately, you can put little scraps of metal on the model's surface and mist with water for a week or so.

The roofs of the front three cars here were rusted using bits of steel, then embellished with oils:

large.gif
 
Sounds good, we should put a manual togeather with different rusting and weathering solutions. I've heard white chalk, washes of white paint, for faiding... Chalks, oils, 'real rust'.
 
Update:

Here's the other side:

large.gif



And the first pass at the roof:

large.gif



Next up, ends and roof...
 
RCH said:
My nemesis is weathering anything light, but especially white boxcars. I have had this boxcar for a million years and I've been avoiding finishing the weathering because it seems like you only get one shot and I never wanted to ruin it. Well, I finally started thinking, "it's a five dollar boxcar" so no worries anymore. Besides, it's not even the right type of car for the paint scheme it's wearing, so I got started on it last week in earnest.

I used prototype photos on Joe Shaw's site, RailARC and Fallen Flags to sort of piece together bits of rust here and there to make two nasty, rusty composite sides. But, before I did any rust work, I used my drafting eraser to remove the logo and "ROUTE ROCK" lettering. I washed light gray and dry brushed white oils to give the car a dingy look. I repainted the lettering using any of various shades of gray and black artists oils with my tiniest brush. I did the same with the logo, making attempts to duplicate the fading that reveals the spray patterns made by the original RI painter.

Once I liked the logos and lettering, I got out the ugly brush, an old chisel brush I've had for 10 years that I love to abuse. I stippled on a mix of 8 parts yellow, 2 parts red and one part burnt umber. This photo shows the car at this point:

original.gif


Next, I got a smaller brush and mixed up the burnt umber 1:1 with the light orange I had just used and started doing the darkening. The next step was to use straight burnt umber to paint in the actual gouges and the dark spots on the door.

So, here's where it stands after tonight, with one side halfway there and the other side nearly complete. This is the other side of the model:

original.gif


I still have the roof, ends, underside and the other side to finish. But, I was pretty surprised to get to this point in an hour and a half (starting from the completed lettering and logos, done last week and left to dry). I figure another few hours and it will be ready.

It's by no means perfect, and certainly not near the level of Mellow Mike's ROCK car, but it's a good learning experience. I'm just happy I'm getting a little better at painting rusty gouges!

I don't know why you would be hesitant, this is absolutely gorgeous! I've seen a million prototype cars like this.
Jarrell
 
RCH, I would say that you are getting a lot more than a "little" better. It looks very real and with a little scenery could pass as a prototype on a siding. Your way passed me. Good work!
 
jacon12 said:
I don't know why you would be hesitant, this is absolutely gorgeous! I've seen a million prototype cars like this.
Jarrell

I appreciate that, Jarrell. I see cars like this all the time myself. We get some real junkers around here and the ex-Rock cars are some of the most abused looking. Next time I do one of these, I'll have to use the right model for the prototype. I bought this car years ago and only recently discovered that the white ROUTE ROCK boxcars were the flat roof version. I used this car to test the quick and dirty version of my four layer rust painting technique. I don't get to buy much stuff to work on, so I'm always hesitant to ruin anything, but this old thing? I need to learn to relax!

RexHea said:
RCH, I would say that you are getting a lot more than a "little" better. It looks very real and with a little scenery could pass as a prototype on a siding. Your way passed me. Good work!

Thanks for the comments, RexHea. I wish I still had my diorama (destroyed in a move - my avatar photo is the only evidence it existed) to shoot the photos on. It's probably time to get the materials together and build another one. Once I do that, it will be time to read Bob Boudreau's photo tutorial. So much to learn in this hobby, so little time.
 
Brilliant Ryan! I only hope the white ROCK PS I'm working on will come out as good as that!

Are those oil paints sealed with Dullcote or what?
 
Thanks. Not sealed yet, I need to get some more flat finish. I finished the roof last weekend and it finally dried fully Monday. It's a little ugly since the linseed oil gave it a bit of sheen, so I won't shoot any photos until I get it toned down. Ordinarily, they dry pretty flat, but I guess I thinned some batches too much. Oh well, live and learn...
 
Ryan

I have a few of those cars in N scale. You have now inspired another rust bucket endevor. Where did you get the proto shot for the white rock? Care to share any?
 
David,

I just browse a few websites for proto pictures, or I take my girls with me to the local diamond for an hour or two and snap my own. Here is where I start:

http://www.railarc.com/
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/
http://www.krunk.org/joeshaw/pics/

I knew the Rock boxcar was owned by CNW, so I started there. The first view in the auction came from a photo on Fallen Flags, the other view came from RailARC. These were photos I found since I already had this boxcar, but the majority of my models are built to my own photos.
 
Thanks Ryan

I need to find them white ones, you did a great job on them. I am also going to try your steel wool idea.
 
WOW!!!!

Nicely done, Excellent! Beautifull:eek: :eek:
 
Last edited by a moderator:



Back
Top