Weathering

[mick b]

Done with Humbrol powders , not sealed they are quite resilient to handling, can be washed off if needed in the future.

[Atso]

Lovely model Mick. I take it the powders were applied to a Matt base?

[mick b]

Yes , direct onto Testors Dullcote.

[Atso]

Thanks Mick, I'll give that a go next time I'm in the mood to weather some bits.

[Bunkerbarge]

I sometimes wonder why I bother.

[jwealleans]

Bunkerbarge, what powders did you use to be able to get them to stick to the areas you'd treated with Klear? I find everything just slides straight off that stuff and usually weather where I'm going to use it with paint first, then apply the Klear on top.

[Bunkerbarge]

Bunkerbarge, what powders did you use to be bale to get them to stick to the areas you'd treated with Klear? I find everything just slides straight off that stuff and usually weather where I'm going to use it with paint first, then apply the Klear on top.

You are absolutely correct so you have to layer the processes and think your way through how you are going to build up the levels of effects. Once the Klear is on powders will not adhere to it very well as the powders hold much better to a matt surface. I use AK Interactive pigments and only usually use four colours, a smoke, a track dirt colour and an ash colour. I use an old MIG rust for the brake dust.

Once the Klear is on the remaining effects are done by airbrush but then of course you can use pigment again after that. A good example is that the smoke deposits on top of the boiler are airbrushed over the Klear and then the rust streaks from the whistles are added with pigments onto the paint. The lower edges of the Klear coat are very gently and lightly feathered in with an airbrush, which can then take some pigment again to blend it into the lower areas.

I nearly always use enamels as they are so much more flexible with time and much more forgiving in the airbrush.

[Atso]

I sometimes wonder why I bother.

I know that feeling all to well!

My apologies, it was late (long day) and I only read page two. Thank you for posting your techniques, I'll be looking into trying those in the future.

[Bunkerbarge]

I sometimes wonder why I bother.

I know that feeling all to well!

My apologies, it was late (long day) and I only read page two. Thank you for posting your techniques, I'll be looking into trying those in the future.

Thanks for the comment, you gave me a smile to start the day.

[notascoobie]

In my view weathering is an essential part of a model. Just be careful that your weathering is appropriate to the era. Looking at photos I reckon that gross dirty locos didn't feature until the end of steam....

While Tim Shack is an expert weatherer, his examples are from the end of steam. Don't be suckered into turning your models into unrepresentitive examples. Pride and adequate cleaning manpower existed for most of the steam era.

[Bunkerbarge]

Completely agree. I think one of the most important things you can do is to try to find period pictures, preferably in colour if possible, of the era and area you are modelling. In my own case, going for 1948, most steam locomotives are still showing the abuse of the war years with many locomotives still wearing their war time black paint and, before remedial maintenance could be applied, the whole consolidation into British Rail all but ended any enthusiasm and funding for maintenance. Consequently a lot of my locomotives will be pretty heavily weathered. Interestingly however my next subject will be a Thompson L1, which was only introduced in 1948 so the approach to that particular loco will be a lot more restrained.

As you say it is all about knowing your subject. Tim Shakleton advocates that weathering is 80% observation, which means no more than research actual examples before applying anything to the model.

[Atso]

Ok, the only loco that I own that is weathered. My N Gauge K3, done mainly with an airbrush but I used a little dry brushing as well. This was done some time ago and while I was happy with it, I'd like to get a little more depth to it. Modelling the 1930's a lot of locomotives were relatively clean so 2425 is more towards the extreme end of what I'm going for. Tony Wright took the photograph when the loco got running rights on The North of England line at an exhibition.

[Hatfield Shed]

There are good 1930s colour photos showing green liveried GWR locos and red liveried LMS locos with most of the paintwork covered in black - or nearly so - grime. Freight locos typically didn't get nearly so much attention from early colour photographers, but since the filth stuck equally effectively on black paint as it did on coloured, and freight engines got much less cleaning ...

It's all in a lovely book 'The Big Four in Colour 1935 - 50' which gives the lie to a lot of myth making. See those GWR coaches with no two adjacent coaches with matching 'cream' upper panels in an express train behind a Castle; a Hall too dirty identify and the 'Crimson Rambler' and 'Dreadnought' with black boilers, and these are pictures from the 1930s. (The LNER and SR gleamed - sometimes.)

[Atso]

Ah, The Big Four in Colour, the best £7 I ever spent! There is a lovely picture in there of an A1 (sorry it's not at my present location and I can't remember which one) which is generally clean but far from spotless! I'd love to recreate that look on some of mine one day.

I recently managed to get hold of a copy of Yeadon's which covered Gresley's eight coupled tender locos. There is a picture in there of an O2 which definitely shows lime scale deposits (or at least water stains of some sort) that have leaked out of a boiler washout plug. That was a 1930's photograph as well.

[Bunkerbarge]

Ok, the only loco that I own that is weathered. My N Gauge K3, done mainly with an airbrush but I used a little dry brushing as well. This was done some time ago and while I was happy with it, I'd like to get a little more depth to it. Modelling the 1930's a lot of locomotives were relatively clean so 2425 is more towards the extreme end of what I'm going for. Tony Wright took the photograph when the loco got running rights on The North of England line at an exhibition.

That is a beautiful job in 'n' gauge. It can hold its head up against many 'OO' gauge models.