Rio Grande…seen better days


AirbrushNo5

Well-Known Member
Last year I was trying out different stuff with varying degrees of success

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I think 1st was a hairspray coat…
dilute white Tamiya fade coat…
chipped off logo…
water to remove hairspray…
sealed with Krylon or Rustoleum clear flat
Maybe more hairspray along bottom and some Tamiya Browns sprayed over....not sure
W+N oils with Turpenoid (Blue) as the thinning agent..
Tamiya Grime mix sprayed on trucks/wheels/edges…
Sealed again…
 
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Ok, it's step number three I'm wondering about then. Why chip off the logo when you obviously put it back again later? Or was it just covered, but then uncovered again later?

I obviously don't understand clearly what you mean when you say "chipped off logo." Can you elaborate it up a bit more, to help my clearly addled brain?

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That aside, and only if you are a very devoted Grande fan to boot, would you realize one major detail is wrong about that car*...a true nit...

[*hardly an error to be laid at your door, as I'm sure you are simply focused on weathering a model you have in hand. You didn't design it]

...but that car was built and delivered in 1967, and the federal ban on equipping new box cars with roofwalks went into effect in 1966. Trivia really, except for those focused on modeling a specific year or era, regardless of the railroad, in which case it would apply there too.

As it happens, one of my D&RGW reference books actually has a photo of that specific car, #65244. I can post it if you like, so you can see how you did. Let me know. I'll try to remember to check back in again a time or two to see.

[Spoiler alert: "Yuh done good," as with all the others I've seen so far. Your methods work very well, and you've got them down pat]

One other general note, and FYI/FWIW: The "flying Rio Grande logo" came into vogue right about that same time, so this car has to be one of the earliest to wear it. I THINK there was a something of an inconsistent introduction to it, as some of the new SD45's were delivered later on, but with the older logo. Thus your followup D&RGW car, the 60' high-cube boxcar, would also be one of the earliest to sport it too.

In any case, I offer my applause once again.
 
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Thanks…
Re chipped off logo…on one side…I worked on one side at a time

I faded the car…chipped off the logo with a sharpened chopstick revealing the darker paint where the logo was..
Sort of ghost lettering…

On the other side, my chipping attempts failed because some sealer overspray from the 1st side sealed it hard
 
I am always amazed by the info here and sure post the pic….✅

Mind you I make no claim, representation, portrayal, rendition, characterization, pretense to any reality in what I do..
That would involve too much work…and I make too many mistakes as it is…😵‍💫

eg. the Rio Grande 60’ Hi Cube I posted in “Speed Weathering” ….after I finished both cars, I noted the colour I was using was for the sill dirt was a custom Tamiya mix I made for the rails rather than the Tamiya grime mix I had been using on other cars…the rail mix is very dark

live and learn…it helps not to take breaks from doing this stuff…I forget little things, airbrush stop starts, paint application…the list goes on
 
Doh! Now I get it. Two different sides, and, yes, I've seen that on any number of freight cars over the years.

I'll scan that pic in later today, and one of your sixty footer as well. I might even throw up a couple or three more in a separate post, as I've wondered (since I first saw your cars) just how YOU might handle a certain rust situation.

Nothing needs adjusting where the trucks and wheels are concerned, IMO. I would be hard pressed to say "this is right" or "that is wrong" where freight equipment is concerned--one photo can differ so much from the next I really don't think it can be pinned down in any real way.

The D&RGW's "go to" ballast--at least in Colorado--was a dark grey, almost black slag. It was sourced from Malta, near Leadville, and perhaps from Pueblo too, where Colorado Fuel and Iron is located. Thus the track and ballast look quite dark, almost as though you took a wood-burning iron to the scenery. I would hazard a guess, then, that the underframes/trucks/wheels would tend strongly toward the dark side for that reason alone.

D&RGW motive power, on the other hand, shows the opposite: Though the black locomotive "superstructures" are mostly different shades of grey after six months, the undertray is decidedly lighter--sanded rails do that, and the Rio Grande needed a lot of sand.

As with SP/Cotton Belt, things are generally grimy too, and it happens pretty quickly unless the equipment is washed. Moffat Tunnel (Rio Grande), and the Donner pass snowsheds (SP/Cotton Belt, where trains can linger a long time in the level-fall sheds, like the one at Norden) make things dirtier quicker than with many other roads--UP comes to mind, where everything always seems cleaner.

The grime was generally removed on passenger equipment (spray washed in Grand Junction twice a week or more I think), but I don't think other motive power went anywhere near the wash track. Kinda like the way some kids can be so adverse to taking a bath. :D

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As far as taking breaks: Mario Andretti was interviewed on one occasion about what it takes to be a consistently fast race driver. "Practice...a lot. And if you plan to do this for a living, take very short vacations." :D

[Paraphrasing mine]
 
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Yes for sure, the more you work on stuff, the level of errors and inconsistencies where you are saying “why did I do that” or “that was a dunce move” drop…

i have a chunk of dark grey/brown slag on my deck..
 
Ok, let's try attaching the .jpeg

[I claim fair use]

I only have this single photo of the one side, so your guess is as good as mine about the other.

I will also post a photo of the 60' high-cube in your "Speed Weathering" thread, as it pertains to that car.
 

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Followup: I said I wanted to pick your brain a bit about weathering some other cars that have been ravaged by time, but it's probably off topic enough to warrant a new thread. If I start one, I imagine you'll find it, but I'll try to come back here and post a link--there is going to be some crossover between this thread and one of those other cars.

Thanks for the chat. I've enjoyed the back-and-forth. :D
 
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