Weathering Rolling Stock, a Continous thread

[TLOC]

I went and looked at some of these AK Interactive products.

What all are you using of theirs?

This is why I love to follow along so closely with this thread, I would have no clue most of these products even exist!

Mike as you know since you’ve been following along I primarily use Tamiya Arcylics for my base coats and fades. Weathering is done mostly with the Vallejo series of Arcylics paints, Air, Panzer Aces and Model Color.

But I do have and use or used others. Mission Models, Badger, Scalecoat2 come to my immediate thoughts. Abteilung502 oils I use quite often but only for my personal fleet and structures

As for AK Interactive, for Christmas 2022 I asked for one of their 3 bottle kits they sell and the wonderful son is my gifter on weathering supplies, purchased it

They are enamels and are used with oderless Mineral Spirits. They are ok and I use them occasionally. They have seen action in 2024 mainly on 2 bay hoppers and the upcoming 3 bay hoppers that the 2bay client has now moved to. I will definitively note the AK use when I start the 3 bay hoppers most likely the end of April

I use lots of pigments and Pan Pastels. I love the PP and have used the various Abteilung 502’s pigments but shown is my last bottle. I occasionally use the AIM light charcoal powder I purchased to try and I do like it. Before Covid I was going to buy the AIM full line of weathering powders but a former work client just after I found out he also owned AIM and before I could buy sold it to Monroe. That was years ago and while I know they are a great product, I don’t need them as I truly like the PP

For Xmas 2023 I asked for the Ammo by MIG line of paints to try. I am still experimenting on my own stuff. This was a set at the now closed ModelTrainStuff and the son got it for 60% off from the retail price. So far that’s the only reason to have purchased it. They seem to me to be copies of the AK Interactive products

Finally I use weathering Pencils from AK Interactive, Prismacolor colored pencils and lots of different brands of marker pens for graffiti and tags

Basically none of the products I use would I consider to be bad nor are any truly exceptional. The Craftsman paint markers available at Michaels do come close though in the bad category! Some product lines are definitely more expensive than others. Overall though I don’t recommend any one brand over any other.

If I was to offer weathering advice to a new modeler starting out, I would say start with Pan Pastels or the Monroe (fka as AIM) weathering powders. I can pretty much do with the Pan Pastels what I can do with any of the paints. My main issue with PP is when I clear coat them they can dissolve

I know give TomO a simple question and he can answer with way more then u need

 

[TLOC]

Wheelsets and truck frames

I showed the truck frames on 3/4/2024 after the initial rust color was applied. Last night I applied Vallejo Air # 71.029 Dark Earth by dabbing an almost dry brush to the truck frames. I might have 4 drops of paint on the pallet that I barely dipped the brush into to

I like them

For the wheel faces I used the same paint Dark Earth and dabbed it onto the wheel face and let them dry overnight.
Another coat is needed ( which is unusual) BUT I will NOT do the backside of the wheel. I generally like to cover the axle and the back of wheel. This client uses resistors for train and car detection so those parts are left unfinished to allow him to do whatever he does to attach the resistors

 

[TLOC]

Showed these spine cars last Monday and I wasn’t thrilled.

Instead of stripping them and starting over I played with them early this morning

Sometimes I get stubborn and instead of cutting my loses by starting over, I try to fix things

I’m not sure if I can fix this but I am continuing. The oil type spill is supposed to be hydraulic fluid from the trailers these units carry.

These 3 have been in the dehydrator sine 10:30 or 3 hours, I will look at them in another hour. I’m hoping when I spray the underframe and sides with some dirt/light grime I can blend a bit of that spray into the top area here. If not or if I continue to dislike these, the 99% Isopropyl Alcohol is ready for use

 

[TLOC]

Not part of the batch of 80 reefers I have been working on. 2 units have been done just waiting for a final clear coat.
(I as out) The client asked if I had any extras after he approved the 2. Why, yes I do, image that!!!

Anyway, he does not want any graffiti but does want a few small tags and a fairly clean unit

This is a non sound unit and rolls ok. I added a #209 Kadee gray fiber washer at .010 in thickness

to bring the now Kadee #148 couplers

in line with the Kadee coupler gauge.

I added Kadee’s greas-em to the trucks where the axle joins the truck frame and a smidge to the rotating roller bearings. I rarely use greas-em or grafite!

I then took a dremel tool with a very used wire brush attached and for 1 minute (timed) applied it to the wheel thread to spin the wheels (Breakin). The car now rolls much better.

Next up is a light weathering with just a hint of roadbed kick up along the bottom sill of the car.

 

[TLOC]

This 1st photo is typical of the refrigeration end panel of the reefers on the last reefers of the day. My wife rejected these!

The next couple photos are hopefully more acceptable, even though the household critic says they need more work!

I have 18 more to adjust and add just a touch of exhaust on the front edge of the roof


any thoughts

 

[CambriaArea51]

All I can say for the ends is the fuel tanks are dirty but the refrigeration units stay pretty clean if you look at pics of them. The tanks and walkway stick out farther so they get the bulk of the kickup spray. Sorry the wife is right in this case.

 

[TLOC]

All I can say for the ends is the fuel tanks are dirty but the refrigeration units stay pretty clean if you look at pics of them. The tanks and walkway stick out farther so they get the bulk of the kickup spray. Sorry the wife is right in this case.

Yeah I know. She generally is right and is the best thing to ever happen to me except for our kids.

While she doesn‘t look at 100% of my work she does pop down and looks. This time I asked her as they felt off to me but couldn’t figure out what. The clients never saw these, thankfully.

I took most of the spray off to match similarly to the reefer on the right side of the picture 793311. The unitssi shipped out were that clean or cleaner.

Thanks for the comment

 

[TLOC]

Getting away from clean up projects and reefer cars, let me introduce my intermodal stack trains.

16 well cars and 3 spine cars appeared this morning on my doorstep. I figured I’ve done so many for 2 clients who don’t like pictures that I will show this being processed. These 16 + 3 are for me and will be done in between the next batch of reefer cars

The 1st thing for me after unboxing is inspection. The cars are all nicely detailed and none of the details seem flimsy. Better yet, none were broken! The issue to me about well cars is how light they are. I did not weight them but the Walthers Mainline cars feel twice as heavy as the next car, the Kato well cars. The Atlas cars to me are the lightest and feel as light as the Evemodel ones did. I will put all these cars on the scale tomorrow.

The Kato car set is fine

The Atlas car set will not snap together and has no instructions. I texted a client who has tons of the Atlas cars for help! The pin does not seat into the receptor and I know it should.

Th Walthers cars sets snap together nicely but in 1 set 2 cars are not level (bowed) and will not join together. This picture just shows 1 of the 2 cars. The car on the left is about .25 of a inch above the receptor pin on the right

Even with the lightness of the Atlas well cars, the warped or bowed Walthers cars and the annoying Atlas cars not being able to join together I like all these well cars. All those issues are fixable…

The 3 Athearn spine cars have good weight, track well but the top of the car where the wheel of the trailers sit were loose, so Tamiya thin glue to the rescue.

There is a 5 car set of spine cars from Bowser due Monday and another 2 Kato sets coming Tuesday

 

[TLOC]

How about a start to one of my own reefers? I am waiting for some Kato well car sets to come Monday. I would prefer to batch and clear coat all the intermodal cars together. Plus I am taking a break from working on the 2 bowed Walthers cars. So, it’s reefer time!

This is a non sound car and when testing out of the box this one rolled decently. The truck frames will get the MicroMark tuner adjustment then cleaned and weathered.

BNSF 793273 has been inspected and cleaned but not clear coated or faded. There will be no fade on this car, one of the prototype pictures being shown is from 2017

and then after a re-paint being shown again in 2021

The reason for no fade is that this car will have custom painted graffiti (it’s for me) and I find providing I wash the car the first graffiti painting just flows better without a fade, YMMV!

I apply graffiti then weathering. The tags go on after the weathering!

In the pictures I have just hi-lited some spots on the car with a brush dabbing some Vallejo Air burnt umber # 71.040. More for a shadow effect then showing any rust.

Next up will be one custom piece that actually might be one from the 2021 photo, those 2 don’t look too tough. This car is mine and therefore fits into no time line. It maybe worked on Monday or some time over the next couple weeks

 

[CambriaArea51]

I am waiting for some Kato well car sets to come Monday.

Where did you find them.

 

[TLOC]

Where did you find them.

eBay, last 3 sets were $90.. 96 and $105. Made offers and guys said yes. They have been going from $125 to $170 on EBay the last month or so. All 3 sets purchased since last Sunday. There are quite a few there this afternoon but prices I thought were unreasonable and I only noticed 1 make an offer

 

[TLOC]

Interesting how lost I feel without my spray booth and airbrush. But as we all know an air brush is a nice tool but it’s not 100% needed to weather.

I am a huge believer in washes and this 3 car set of Spine cars is a good example. Yes, this car was first sprayed with a Matt clear coat after it was washed and then let to dry. But beyond that it’s many applications of hand applied washes created from Vallejo Model Air colors and AK Interactive Grimy Engine

I have found lots of side view shots of Spine cars but not one of the deck. So this is my imagineered view of what they might look like.

The jury is out on this one until Terry gets home. I’m kind of torn

What I wanted was the frame to be dirty but not covered so much that the lettering cannot be read. At spots it may not be but overall I think you can read the lettering. The trucks are right to me and I did have the springs hi-lifted with a shade of rust. But none of the pictures I found showed rusted springs, dirty yes. Rust, nope!

 

[TLOC]

Found some shots from above but via Google Earth. I will re-do the decks tomorrow

 

[TLOC]

6 more well cars.

The blue Pacer cars were faded with just a normal fade mix of 20% Tamiya xf2 white and 80% Isopropyl Alcohol the 91% concentration. These were hit 3 times to where it feels and looks right. I did take some iron oxide pigment and apply it to the metal lattice flooring but took no pictures of it!

On top of the pacer well cars is a 3 set of Atlas well cars. If you are interested in a weathered set of Atlas well cars let me know. While both the Kato Pacer and Atlas yellow well cars are a work in process I like the weathering on the atlas cars. The Atlas cars are very light but look good and per reviews are accurate to the car Atlas modeled from.

I am gone on Wednesday and may yet venture to the bench tonight to play with these 2 sets of well cars and the 3 car spine car set.

When I return Thursday afternoon I will have another 9 Kato well cars as I purchased the last 3 sets my pusher had! Yes, I have seemed to have settled on Kato well cars!

 

[TLOC]

Containers! Yep, they will now be posted in this thread. This is fill in work and these were sprayed with a clear flat coat from Mission Models last week.

This morning I took a wash of Vallejo colors mixing up some white, tan and dirt to create a dusty grime. I applied a few SPOT coverages and I will take a cloth soaked with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol and gentely dab the color off. It’s an experiment based on a technique some of the weathering gurus of a weathering group I belong to tried on white cars. While they are doing it on the pure white ScaleTrain reefers, I’m not that bold. I’m starting with containers

I will get back to these either early Saturday or Monday!

 

[CPR Zee]

Wow, this stuff looks great, nice job on the reefers and spine cars guys. I'm a big fan of the washes also, it's nice to just relax and brush the wash around untill you find the desired look. I tend to use the airbrushes for locomotive weathering, to give that softer weathered look for road spray and diesel smoke on the upper locomotive's cab and hood line. I seldomly use actual photo's of real life loco's and cars... I more or less go by my mind's eye when weatering pretty well anything. I also like the oils and powders for rust effects and grime too. Here are some cars I've done in the last few years past... it's a great part of this hobby, I must say it's my fave.. enjoy.

 

[TLOC]

Wow, this stuff looks great, nice job on the reefers and spine cars guys. I'm a big fan of the washes also, it's nice to just relax and brush the wash around untill you find the desired look. I tend to use the airbrushes for locomotive weathering, to give that softer weathered look for road spray and diesel smoke on the upper locomotive's cab and hood line. I seldomly use actual photo's of real life loco's and cars... I more or less go by my mind's eye when weatering pretty well anything. I also like the oils and powders for rust effects and grime too. Here are some cars I've done in the last few years past... it's a great part of this hobby, I must say it's my fave.. enjoy.




View attachment 183859View attachment 183860View attachment 183861

Welcome to the thread CPR Zee!

Your pictures are great and fit in well here.

The Crew loves pictures, paint formulas and more pictures. Offer up constructive criticism. Tell us how you did the whole car or a portion but we r an inquisitive Crew

What colors and brands of paint did you use to create the great rust effects on the Soo car?

 

[CPR Zee]

Thanks Tom for the warm welcome.

Well there's no magic I must say. My techniques are probably the same ones most of you's are already using. As far as constructive criticism goes... hard to give when we're all kind of like artists, we may all end up at the same place but we all took a different path to get there... it's great that we can ask each other about different techniques and most people I hope, will be open about it.

So,

I typically start with a model eraser, they come in various grits, and they are really fine some of them. I use them to rub off paint details like graphics on the cars. I think Tamiya makes them. I usually start with a Vallejo acrylic Model Air wash Burnt Umber for rust to start, as I always do. I start with the roof of the car, I just brush the wash around till I see what I like and stop right there.
I will let that set up for a day and hit it again if I want a heavier looking rust effect, again, let it set up for a day. Then I hit the sides. Same thing, same wash again and brush it around (vertical brush strokes always) along panel seams and other details until I see the ideal effect. Again I let it set up for a day. Again hit the same side depending on the amount of rust I want to see. I do this for the rest of the car's sides and ends.
The next step is to Dulcoat the car. Then out comes the oil paints, I mainly use Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna and black for the next steps. I will also use a piece of sponge ripped out of a large piece of sponge for the light speckling of rust rash and let that set up for a day. I then start to add by brush the burnt umber and sienna oils to the various spots of the car.. and let that set up for about an hour. Then I take like fanned brush with some mineral spirits on it (not to saturated) and down brush the ideal spots to simulate the down running rust streaks. The other various spots I would really just clean up the edges around the oil spots to give them that sharp rusted patch of medal look just before the rust would start to run down the side of the car, just like that patch of rust below the build date on the lower left side of the Soo car. At that point I would let it set up for a day and hit the remaining sides until I'm satisfied. I would give it another Dulcoat coat also at that point. Then I hit the model with the powders or pastels.. pretty straight forward with those. You can end it there or give it a light Dulcoat again and have the effect of dust and grime hit by rain like on the Soo car or not by not hitting it with a Dulcoat after the powder work... whatever you fancy. The trucks I will just hit them with a mixture of model air colors of Brown and Tyre Black in the airbrush for a base coat of grime and then apply powders to the frames, the wheels I typically hit them with an enamel rust paint and then add some powders to them. The underside of the car I usually don't bother with, if anything I would just hit that with the airbrush with the brown & black color.

You know maybe it's just me, but I almost on every car or loco I hit, it's almost like I am always doing things a little differently, maybe that's called progress... or maybe it's just called experimenting. I'm kind of like a non conformist.

I hope this gives you some light into the way I weather things. I'm like everyone else, always learning.

Z

 

[CPR Zee]

Welcome to the thread CPR Zee!

Your pictures are great and fit in well here.

The Crew loves pictures, paint formulas and more pictures. Offer up constructive criticism. Tell us how you did the whole car or a portion but we r an inquisitive Crew

What colors and brands of paint did you use to create the great rust effects on the Soo car?

Sorry Tom, I forgot to hit reply to your comment, my reply is above.

Z

 

[TLOC]

Thanks Tom for the warm welcome.

Well there's no magic I must say. My techniques are probably the same ones most of you's are already using. As far as constructive criticism goes... hard to give when we're all kind of like artists, we may all end up at the same place but we all took a different path to get there... it's great that we can ask each other about different teqhniques and most people I hope, will be oped about it.

So,

I typically start with a model eraser, they come in various grits, and they are really fine some of them. I use them to rub off paint details like graphics on the cars. I think Tamiya makes them. I usually start with a Vallejo acrylic Model Air wash Burnt Umber for rust to start, as I always do. I start with the roof of the car, I just brush the wash around till I see what I like and stop right there.
I will let that set up for a day and hit it again if I want a heavier looking rust effect, again, let it set up for a day. Then I hit the sides. Same thing, same wash again and brush it around (verticle brush strokes always) along panel seams and other details untill I see the ideal effect. Again I let it set up for a day. Again hit the same side depending on the amount of rust I want to see. I do this for the rest of the car's sides and ends.
The next step is to dulcoat the car. Then out comes the oil paints, I mainly use burnt umber, Sienna and black for the next steps. I will also use a piece of sponge ripped out of a large piece of sponge for the light speckling of rust rash and let that set up for a day. I then start to add by brush the burnt umber and sienna oils to the variouse spots of the car.. and let that set up for about an hour. Then I take like fanned brush with some mineral spirits on it (not to saturated) and down brush the ideal spots to simulate the down running rust streaks. The other variuos spots I would really just clean up the edges around the oil spots to give them that sharp rusted patch of medal look just before the rust would start to run down the side of the car, just like that patch of rust below the build date on the lower left side of the Soo car. At that point I would let it set up for a day and hit the remaining sides untill I'm satisfied. I would give it another Dulcoat coat also at that point. Then I hit the model with the powders or pastels.. pretty staight forward with those. You can end it there or give it a light Dulcoat again and have the effect of dust and grime hit by rain like on the Soo car or not by not hitting it with a Dulcoat after the powder work... whatever you fancy. The trucks I will just hit them with a mixture of model air colours of Brown and Tyre Black in the airbrush for a base coat of grime and then apply powders to the frames, the wheels I typically hit them with an enamel rust paint and then add some powders to them. The underside of the car I usually don't bother with, if anything I would just hit that with the airbrush with the brown & black colour.

You know maybe it's just me, but I almost on every car or loco I hit, it's almost like I am always doing things a little differently, maybe that's called progress... or maybe it's just called experimenting. I'm kind of like a non conformist.

I hope this gives you some light into the way I weather things. I'm like everyone else, always learning.

Z

Definitely agree about always learning. I experiment a lot. I know it’s not because I get bored with one method because no matter what I do the outcome is always a bit different. I tried to keep my mixing formulas consistent but even then I’d get slightly different results. Most of my mixes now are done by what looks good enough and feel. I still Write formulas down but I don’t live by them any longer. It helps to know I originally mixed 5 drops xf2 with 20 parts xf59 and 5 drops of xf21 but after that its just go ahead and mix those 3 together as I now have a great idea what it will look like.

Again thanks for joining us and WE ALL LOVE PICTURES

there are no mistakes in weathering…

that can’t be corrected