New weathering technique


UP2CSX

Fleeing from Al
Hey, guys I tried something new to weather this NP box car. Dang, should have taken a "before" picture but it was a standard boxcard red NP 50 footer. What do you think, thumbs up or thumbs down? The whole process took about five minutes so I'd like to get opinions if it looks "good enough". :)

NPBoxCar.jpg
 
Jim, I give it a thumbs up. I'd call it lightly weathered, maybe hasn't been in service very long? I'd like to do the same thing with a few cars for the contrast. Please don't keep us in suspense, too long. DJ
 
OK, here's the deal. Josh and Nephthyr, the lettering does look pink but not as pink as the picture. DJ, you called it right, I was trying for a look of a car in service for a few years but not a rust bucket. The key tool is...highlighters!. :) That's right, go to the local dollar store an pick up an eight pack of highlighters in different colors. Find the one that's closest to the overall color of the car and cover the car with that first. In this case, it was light red, which gives that pink cast to the lettering. The idea is to fade the whole car first. Then use a combination of browns, yellows, and oranges to streak the car. The yellow makes almost a perfect dusty haze on darker cars. Experiment with a few light strokes first since the colors are almost invisible until you apply more. It's kind of like coloring so just stay inside the lines. :D Obviously, this technique will work better on some color cars than others but it's a fast, cheap way to tone down a new car. I didn't even use dullcote since the underliners dry dull. If they had a white underliner, it would be perfect for fading white lettering. Give it a shot and see if it works for you.
 



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