PRODUCTSI N F O R M AT I O N S TAT I O N

Weathering tips and techniques

Back when I got started in the hobbyI read an article on weathering inwhich the author stated that every-

thing should be weathered. My reactionwas like that of most beginners: Whyweather anything? I felt my cars andlocomotives looked quite realistic out ofthe box, so how could gunking them uphelp? I also worried that I’d ruin a per-fectly good model.

Why weather?“Weathering” is a catchall phrase

used to describe finishing a model toduplicate the effects of time and use.Since it doesn’t actually rain, snow, orbeat down with relentless desert sun onour layouts (at least I hope you don’thave those problems!) we need to resortto other materials and techniques toduplicate the ravages of Mother Naturein our plastic and plaster worlds.

But don’t fall into the trap of weath-ering every model to the same degree.This is as bad for realism as no weath-ering at all. Instead, weather models toreflect various ages, maintenance prac-tices, and locales.

For example, older cars should beweathered more than newly paintedcars or brand-new equipment. Automo-biles in daily use may look worn butthey’re rarely rusted through, especiallytoday’s autos which feature paintsdesigned to prevent rust and corrosion.

Weathering techniquesI do a lot of weathering with an air-

brush but I also use washes and chalk.

Frequently I’ll combine all three (air-brush, wash, and chalk) on one model.

The most basic weathering is elimi-nating the plastic sheen from models.This single step does more to increaserealism than anything. Painting all yourtrucks and wheels flat Grimy Black alsohelps since it eliminates that “floatingon air” look shiny trucks impart.

The difference between an unweath-ered and weathered model is really star-tling, as the lead photo shows. Thephotos and captions explain how I usedwashes and powdered pastel chalks toage some N scale freight cars. The sametechniques can be applied to buildings,roads, vehicles, locomotives, and evenfigures. Now get dirty. 1

Weathering

A wash of Polly Scale Grimy Black (9 partsPolly S airbrush thinner to 1 part paint) pro-duces a basic road grime. Cover the entiremodel so the paint won’t dry spotty.

Pastel chalks, available from art supplystores, are great for rust or heavy road dirt.Apply the chalk with a brush. I add morethan I need, then brush away the excess.

If the car looks too filthy, simply moistenyour thumb and rub it along the side of thecar in a vertical motion. This removes mostof the chalk from the model.

Combining these techniques – a wash ofGrimy Black and Rust paints, followed byrust-colored chalks – makes a night and daydifference between the roofs of these cars.

PHOTOS BY JIM FORBES

&freight car weathering

Many freight car weathering techniques produce a highdegree of realism, but also tend to be time-consuming.If your layout has a large number of freight cars, you

probably don’t want to spend an entire evening weatheringjust one piece of rolling stock. As an alternative, I’ve developeda quick and dirty weathering method that requires only basicairbrushing skills and a little knowledge of the prototype.

Color selectionThere are many paints on the market made specifically for

weathering. Table 1 lists the water-based acrylic and organic-solvent-based enamel paints I used to duplicate the weather-ing pattern shown in fig. 1. It also lists the dilution formula

required to spray the paint through a fine airbrush tip with-out clogging. Weathering color choice is also dictated by arailroad’s operating region. The color you choose to representdirt and dust on a car’s trucks and underbody is based on thearea of the country that you model or on a car’s home road.Table 2 shows some suggested truck and underbody colorsfor cars from different locations in North America.

Quick and dirty weathering By using an airbrush with a fine tip and readily available

enamel or acrylic model paints, you can weather one car in afew minutes or a batch of ten cars in less than an hour. It isimportant to follow each step in its proper sequence, as someprototype weathering (faded paint on side panels, soot onvertical side ribs) takes place over a long period, while otherweathering (ballast dust on the underbody and accumulated

� In September 1948, an aging New Haven 2-8-2 hauls a peddlerfreight toward its next destination on John Pryke’s HO scale layout.With a little prototype knowledge and an airbrush, John can applyweathering in a matter of minutes.

Easy ways to make rolling stocklook more realistic

By John Pryke • Photos by the author

soot on the roof) occurs faster and should be applied over it.I spray one color at a time on all the cars that I’m painting,

then switch to the next color and repeat the process. Whenusing a fine tip, it’s essential to keep your airbrush as clean aspossible so that it doesn’t clog or spray globs of paint. Whilepainting, I wear disposable latex gloves (available at any drugstore) to protect my hands.

I start by applying light streaks to the sides of the car-body, as shown in fig. 2, using a quick vertical stroke fromtop to bottom with my airbrush. If I am painting a rib-sidedcar, I spray only the panels (between the ribs) and keep thestreak parallel to the ribs on either side. See fig. 3. I recom-mend practicing this technique on an index card or an oldcar shell until you are comfortable with it. Next, I paint thin,dark streaks on the ribs with a very narrow spray, again moving quickly from top to bottom. Figure 4 shows thesevertical streaks on the Pennsy boxcar on the left.

When the weathering on the carbody is finished, I paintthe underbody and trucks with a color that matches the bal-last dust and dirt from the car’s home region as shown in fig. 5. Using the same color, I also paint streaks halfway upthe car’s ends above each rail. See fig. 6. These are caused byroadbed dust kicked up by the next car in a train.

Control coat and sootNext, I spray a control coat – Grimy Black diluted 50

percent with thinner – over the entire carbody. This makes acar’s lettering look dull and mutes the weathering, avoidingstark contrasts in color. The more control coat you apply theolder the car will look.

In fig. 4, I sprayed several passes of control coat on the carto the left; it looks like it has not seen any new paint in manyyears. The car on the right has only one light pass of controlcoat and looks like it was painted only a few months ago.

Finally, I spray the roof with a dusting of soot and/ordiesel exhaust, with the heaviest coating along the center lineand lightest along the edges. If you model the steam era,spray Engine Black to simulate soot – especially if your lay-out has hills or mountains. The amount of soot on car roofswill be heavy because steam engines work hard on grades throwing up lots of cinders.

Diesel exhaust is thinner, and car roofs require only adusting of Oily Black.

Optional weathering detailsOnce a freight car has been weathered using the quick

and dirty process, you can either put it in service “as is,” oradd some more weathering to make it unique.

• Rust: Stirrup steps, lower ladder rungs, door stops, trucksprings, brake shoes, coupler faces, and end poling pocketsusually display rusty spots. I hand-paint rust on these partsusing a no. 5/0 brush (see fig. 7) as the last step in the weath-ering process.

• Dust: Cars from dry climates such as the Southwest oftenpick up a heavy coating of dust, which settles into every nookand cranny of the carbody. I spray Floquil Dust on these carsafter the basic weathering is complete, but before sprayingsoot on the roof. I hold my airbrush above the roofline andspray down onto the sides and ends at a narrow angle, pro-ducing the dusty car in fig. 8.

• Galvanized roofs: During the transition era many boxcarroofs displayed patches of galvanized steel showing wherethe paint had started to peel away. I add these spots of baremetal after all of the car’s weathering is complete except forthe roof soot. Using a no. 1 brush and Polly Scale UndercoatLight Gray, I paint irregularly shaped blotches on the roof

� Fig. 2 SMOOTH SIDES. For smooth-sided cars like this boxcar, Johnstarts the weathering process by painting light streaks on the sides tosimulate where dirt and grime have washed off of the roof.

� Fig. 3 RIBBED SIDES. When spraying light streaks on rib-sidedcars such as this hopper, John aims the spray between the sideposts. Starting at one end, he uses a quick top-to-bottom motion tospray each car panel individually.

Rust

Fig. 1 WEATHERING PATTERNS

Soot/exhaust: darkest in the middle, fading to light

along the edges

Roadbed dirt/dust: streaks above rail and on end sills and coupler

Light streaksDark streaksRoadbed dirt/dust

� Fig. 5 ROAD DUST. John sprays Earth on the underframe, trucks,and lower portion of the bodies of his cars to simulate dust and dirtkicked up from the roadbed. He changes colors on cars that operatein different regions of North America as shown in table 2.

TABLE 1 – Paint colors used for freight car weathering

� Fig. 4 RIBS AND RIVETS. The Pennsylvania boxcar (left) has light streaks on its panels and dark streaks along its rivet lines. The Pennsy car also has a liberal coating of control coat (Grimy Black diluted 50 percent) to make it look older than the Baltimore &Ohio car (right).

Weathering pattern: Light streaks on side panels

Polly Scale (water-basedacrylic): Erie-Lackawanna

GrayFloquil (enamel thinned withorganic solvents): Grime

Weathering pattern: Dark streaks on ribs/rivets

Polly Scale: Grimy BlackFloquil: Grimy Black

Weathering pattern: Trucks and underbody

Polly Scale: see table 2Floquil: see table 2

Weathering pattern: End streaks

Polly Scale: see table 2Floquil: see table 2

Weathering pattern: RustPolly Scale: RustFloquil: Rust

Weathering pattern: Roof soot (steam era)

Polly Scale: Engine BlackFloquil: Engine Black

Weathering pattern: Roof soot (diesel era)

Polly Scale: Oily BlackFloquil: No match, use

Oily Black

Weathering pattern: Dilution (for fine tip airbrush)

Polly Scale: 20-25 percentdistilled water

Floquil: 15-20 percentDio-Sol

Weathering pattern: Control coat

Polly Scale: Grimy Black, thinned 50 percent with distilled water

Floquil: Grimy Black, thinned 50 percent with Dio-Sol

panels. I put larger blotches in the middle and only a fewtiny ones, using the end of the brush’s bristles, on the endpanels as shown in fig. 9.

AdvantagesMy quick and dirty weathering process consists of a few

simple steps that allow you to weather freight cars in a mini-mum amount of time with an airbrush and readily availablepaints. Rolling stock weathered using this process will lookgreat on your pike “as is,” or you can easily add some of theoptional techniques to make individual cars really stand out. 1

John Pryke is a frequent contributor to the pages of MODEL

RAILROADER. “Quick and dirty freight car weathering” is a follow-up to his article “Realistic weathering for steam loco-motives,” featured in the August 2002 issue. John models theNew Haven in HO scale.

� Fig. 8 SOUTHWESTERN DUST. To create distinctive weathering ona car from the Southwest, John sprays Dust down the sides at a narrow angle from a point above the roof. The paint, like real dust,settles on all the upper surfaces of the car’s details – ribs, ladders,even the wood grain – and really makes them stand out.

� Fig. 9 GALVANIZED ROOF. Using a no. 1 brush, John paintedpatches of Undercoat Light Gray on the roof of this boxcar to simulatepaint peeling off a galvanized steel roof. He then sprays Engine Blackover the roof (shown on the right-hand end of the car) to representlocomotive soot.

TABLE 2 – Dirt color mixesfor different regions

� Fig. 6 END STREAKS. Earth streaks over each rail on the ends of acar are caused by dirt sprayed up from the wheels of the next car ina train. Match the color used on the trucks and underframe.

� Fig. 7 RUST. John paints Rust onto any parts of the car that wouldreceive a lot of wear. He added rust to the steps, ladder rungs, coupler faces, and truck parts of this boxcar with a 5/0 brush.

Region: NortheastPolly Scale: EarthFloquil: Earth

Region: SoutheastPolly Scale: 3 parts Earth,

1 part Oxide RedFloquil: 3 parts Earth,

1 part Boxcar Red

Region: MidwestPolly Scale: 3 parts Earth,

1 part MudFloquil: 3 parts Earth,

1 part Mud

Region: Mountain statesPolly Scale: 3 parts Earth,

2 parts MOW GrayFloquil: 3 parts Earth,

2 parts Grime

Region: Desert southwestPolly Scale: DustFloquil: Dust

Region: NorthwestPolly Scale: DirtFloquil: 3 parts Earth,

1 part Roof Brown� More on our Web siteTo see a video clip of weathered freight cars in action on John’s HOscale New Haven layout, go to www.modelrailroader.com.

CabooseDetail: Streaks on sidesPolly Scale: Erie-Lackawanna Gray

(light coat)Floquil: Grime (light coat)Note: Most cabooses display little weath-ering except for soot on the roof anddust on the trucks and underframe.

Chemical tank carDetail: DomePolly Scale: Erie-Lackawanna GrayFloquil: GrimeDetail: Streaks on tankPolly Scale: Erie-Lackawanna GrayFloquil: GrimeDetail: Drip marks under domePolly Scale: 3 parts Milwaukee Rd. Gray,

1 part Depot BuffFloquil: DustNote: On chemical tank cars, I sprayGrime on the dome and tank and thenpaint drip marks of Dust or very lightgray with a 5/0 brush.

Coal hopper Detail: Top 1⁄4 of carbodyPolly Scale: Engine BlackFloquil: Engine BlackDetail: Hopper doorsPolly Scale: Engine BlackFloquil: Engine BlackDetail: PanelsPolly Scale: Erie-Lackawanna Gray

(light coat)Floquil: Grime (light coat)Detail: Side postsPolly Scale: Grimy BlackFloquil: Grimy BlackNote: I spray Control Coat liberally overthese cars to simulate the coal dust.

Covered cement hopper Detail: Drips and streaks on car side

(use stencil)

Polly Scale: ConcreteFloquil: ConcreteDetail: Side postsPolly Scale: ConcreteFloquil: ConcreteDetail: Bottom of hoppersPolly Scale: ConcreteFloquil: Concrete Detail: Coating on trucksPolly Scale: 1 part Concrete, 1 part EarthFloquil: 1 part Concrete, 1 part EarthNote: I paint drip marks on the side pan-els by spraying through a narrow V-shaped stencil, made from an indexcard. When the stencil is removed a neatdrip mark remains.

Car Type: GondolaDetail: PanelsPolly Scale: Erie-Lackawanna GrayFloquil: GrimeDetail: RibsPolly Scale: Rust over Grimy BlackFloquil: Rust over Grimy BlackDetail: Interior of carPolly Scale: RustFloquil: RustNote: If the car is used for carrying othermaterials such as pipe loads, spray theribs Grimy Black and only lightly dustthe interior with Rust.

Petroleum tank car Detail: DomePolly Scale: Engine BlackFloquil: Engine BlackDetail: Streaks on tankPolly Scale: Engine BlackFloquil: Engine BlackDetail: Drip marks under domePolly Scale: Oily BlackFloquil: Oily BlackNote: I use a 5/0 brush to add Oily Blackdrips around the filler hatch, down thesides of the dome, and a short way downthe tank.

Refrigerator carDetail: Streaks on sidesPolly Scale: Erie-Lackawanna Gray

(light coat)Floquil: Grime (light coat)Detail: Door hinge pinsPolly Scale: RustFloquil: RustDetail: Drips under ice hatches

(use stencil)Polly Scale: Rust (light coat)Floquil: Rust (light coat)Note: I paint Rail Brown on the ice hatchhinges and handles, as well as on thedoor hinges. On steel reefers, I spray afew, very light rust drips through a sten-cil onto the sides just under the hatches.

TABLE 3 – Additional weathering for specific cars

Filth? Yes. Rust? Yes. Faded paint? Absolutely.And those are just the start of the fun.

By Terry Thompson Model photos by Jim Forbes, prototype photos by Carl Swanson

Okay, let’s have a show of hands.How many of you weather yourstructures, and maybe even some

rolling stock, but leave your diesels assqueaky clean as the day they left thefactory? I thought so! What are youwaiting for?

I’ll confess that at one time I wasreluctant to weather locomotives.“What if I want to sell it?” I thought.Then I decided that while I wasn’t surewhether I would sell any given locomo-tive, I was sure that my power would

look better if I weathered it – and thatI’d enjoy it more. Now weathering anew diesel is one of my favorite parts ofthe hobby.

As with all rail equipment, dieselshave a variety of moving parts, staticparts, parts that get hot, parts that getwet, parts that are subject to the wind,and parts that are touched – oftenroughly. Weathering model diesels,however, is different from weatheringfreight cars or steam locomotives. It’sno harder, though. Even better, well-

executed weathering can add so muchrealism that many viewers will thinkyou’ve added extra detail to a modelthat’s actually out-of-the-box.

In the August 2002 and February2003 issues of MODEL RAILROADER,John Pryke showed the simple tech-niques he uses to weather steam loco-motives and freight cars. In this article,I’ll show how you can use a few ofJohn’s techniques plus a few that mightbe new to you to make your dieselsmore realistic. Let’s get started. 1

It’s simple to weather your locomotives sothey look more like prototype diesels, as Terrydid with these F units. Read on as he showsyou why real diesels weather the way they doand how you can duplicate those effects.

SPECIAL SECTION

Weatheringyour diesels

WheelsLet’s start with the wheels.

Because they are not painted,they could conceivably be grayon a brand-new locomotive, butthey rust almost immediately. Astime passes the wheels darkenfrom additional oxidation and acombination of dirt, brake dust,and grease.

First, I clean any oil from thefaces of the wheels using a cot-ton swab dipped in Windex. Mixan oxide red (I use one of severaldifferent Polly Scale and Tamiyacolors; which color isn’t terriblyimportant) and black of the samebrand, then brush that mix ontothe faces of the wheels. Don’tworry if you get some on thetreads – Windex will take it off ifyou don’t let it dry too long. Justmoisten a paper towel, lay it onsome track, and run the locomo-tive over that.

I also paint couplers with anoxide red blend, but always withan airbrush so that I don’t gumup the moving parts. Spray sothe paint is nearly dry when ithits the coupler – this gives you arealistic rough finish.

Wheels can be weathered to differentextents to match the rust, grease, andoxidation they exhibit on a real loco-motive. The wheel on the left isunpainted, the wheel in the center ispainted to simulate a new wheel, andthe one on the right has been weath-ered with a rust color.

The brand-new wheels and trucks onthis SD70M shine in the sunlight, butthey’re already collecting rust anddirt. You can improve even a “new”locomotive by painting wheels with afew specks of dirt.

Rust spots and paint chips can reallydraw attention to the details of your side-frames. Use colors representative of thearea where your locomotive works.

Note the many distinct colors on the side-frames of this GP9. Carefully airbrushingdirt and grime or brushing chalk onto yourmodel will give it this realistic look.

Accenting the sideframesAdd interest to your trucks with

accents. You will sometimes see abit of silver on the brake cylinderpiston rod. When brake shoes arechanged, the paint is often chippedfrom bolts or other nearby surfaces,which means small rust spotsappear. I just brush tiny spots ofrust-colored paint onto the placeswhere I want an accent.

The lower surfaces of a truckwill often develop a layer of crud.

Some locomotives have grease neartheir axle bearings. Most trucks willhave a light-to-heavy coating ofdust and grime from the area wherethe locomotive works. Hint: thiscolor should also be one of the col-ors you use when painting yourtrack. I usually airbrush this fromslightly above the truck using a verythin mix of the color. Chalks workwell also, and they’re especiallygood if you want to highlight par-ticular spots.

SideframesI love painting sideframes

because I am firmly convinced thattime spent on them has a greaterpayoff than on any other area. Thefirst step is to remove any flash orparting lines and adddetail parts. Next,decide what yourbase color will be.Most railroads useeither black or silver.I don’t recommendusing either flatblack or straight sil-ver for your basebecause you wantto be able to mixaccent colors thatare both lighter anddarker than yourbase color. Giveyourself some lati-tude by startingwith a color that’seither slightlylighter (if you’reusing black) or darker (for silver)than the pure color.

Apply the base color to start.Though the particular brand ofpaint isn’t terribly important, I pre-fer an acrylic paint. Next, mix aslightly darker blend and spray or

brush it on the inner areas. Onceyou’re satisfied with the results, mixa slightly lighter blend and paintthe pieces farthest from the rails(and closest to the viewer). This

“painting for depth”increases the apparentrelief of the part. I usean airbrush for this stepand often spray frombelow with the darkercolor and from abovewith the lighter color.

Once the paintsare thoroughly dry,brush on a wash ofburnt umber oil paintthinned withTurpenoid. Makesure the sideframeis laying flat so that

the wash will settleinto the low spots.The Turpenoidwon’t remove driedacrylic paint, but itcan soften or even

remove enamels – this is why it’simportant to use acrylics for yourbase colors. I don’t usually dry-brush (see below) sideframes, butit’s another option if done judi-ciously. That means don’t usewhite, which is just too obvious.

Sideframe steps (top to bottom): darkgray, highlights added, shadowsadded, overall grime added.

PilotsAh, the pilot. So little space,

so many opportunities. You’ll seestone chips, dents, and hoses thatnot only add color but also addtheir own chips in the paint.There’s also the dirt that camefrom any units that were aheadof your diesel, and the effects ofrainwater and wind – what abeautiful thing!

Most pilots start out bodycolor. Add grime using your air-brush or chalks, and add stonechips using rust-colored paint. Iwill occasionally add the tiniestbit of silver in a chip, but don’toverdo it. If your locomotive hasmultiple-unit hoses, they shouldbe a grimy black, with steel orrust-colored ends. If you’re feel-ing sporty, put some thick, dirt-colored paint in your airbrush,crank up the air pressure, andadd some specks. On some air-brushes, notably Iwata andTamiya brushes, you can alsocreate this effect by removing thecap and nozzle from the brushbefore you spray.

I don’t add plows, but you canaccent a plow with some rust-colored paint. Rubbing a littlesilver Rub-n-Buff or SNJ metalpowder along the very bottomcan give it a just-used shine (lookat a bulldozer blade to see what Imean); for a slightly less starkeffect use a cotton swab to rubsome graphite powder on thelower part of the plow.

Bearing platesMany diesels have shiny bear-

ing plates on the sides of gear-boxes (“Accenting the sideframes,”page 67), which are at the centerof the truck. These plates are dis-tracting if left unpainted.Degrease them with a swabdipped in either Windex or a mixof dish soap and water. I don’t uselacquer thinner here for two rea-sons – it will rinse all the oil fromthe axle bearings, and it can dam-age some plastics. Dry the plates,then brush or spray them (withan airbrush – a rattle can will getpaint everywhere) flat black.

Notice the dirt specks, rust marks,and steel details added to the pilots.The grime-covered m.u. hoses on thebottom locomotive fit right in!

Some modelers adjust their paintcolors according to a theory called

“scale color.” Here’s the short ver-sion: because air is not totally trans-parent, objects appear lighter incolor the farther away from them weare. The smaller the scale of amodel, the “farther away” we arefrom it visually. Thus N is fartheraway than O or G in scale even atthe same actual distance.

Great theory, but what does itmean? Simply that it doesn’t hurt tolighten all your colors a bit, espe-cially in the smaller scales, or if yourlayout room is somewhat dark. – T.T.

SCALE COLOR

Frames and tanksNot every locomotive has a visi-

ble frame, but on those that do,weather the frame with the samecolors you used on the truck side-frames. I don’t spend nearly asmuch time on this step. All I nor-mally do is airbrush the frame withthe basic frame color then dust itwith the grime color.

The fuel (and water) tank, how-ever, is a very different matter.Tanks are large and highly visiblecanvases for you to weather. Onceagain, start with the basic framecolor, then add a bit of lightenedframe color along the upward-facing surfaces and darkened framecolor on the downward-facing. Theends of real fuel and water tanksare literally blasted by grime, how-ever, so make sure to put some ver-tical streaks of grime there, roughlyin line with the wheels. Fuel willinevitably get spilled on the tank, sobrush a streak of lighter (on a blacktank) or darker (on a silver tank)paint under the fuel filler. (Remem-

ber, you’re not seeing the actualfuel, but rather the dirt that stuckthere while the surface was wet.) Ifyour locomotive also carries water,it should be cleaner under that fillcap. And if the air reservoirs arevisible over or behind the tank,weather them as you did the tank –lighter above, darker below.

Note how the fuel tank on this SD40 hasbeen heavily colored with grime, dust,and spilled fuel.

Fuel tanks can be weathered and givenextra dimension by carefully adding alighter color to the top of the tank and adarker one to the bottom. Vertical streaksin line with the wheels will give the endsof the tank a realistic grime-blasted look.

Body sides and endsSeveral factors determine the

weathering of the sides of the loco-motive. The same road grime thatclings to the trucks, pilot, and framealso covers the sides, though lessheavily, and the ends suffer theoccasional rock hit. In addition, thesun’s ultraviolet radiation causespaint to fade. So does the rain andany cleaners the railroad might useon the unit, and the minute particlesof dirt that pass over the locomotivewill blast the paint off over a longperiod of time.

Depending on the locomotive, Isometimes fade the paint and thelettering. This sounds a lot harderthan it is, as long as you have an air-brush. Find or mix a paint that’sslightly lighter (just slightly, though)than the body color, and make anairbrush mix that’s thinner than youwould spray if you were painting theunit, but heavier (more viscous)

than a wash. Spray some of it on apiece of styrene to make sure you’llbe able to lay down color withouthaving droplets of paint visible. Ioften add a drop or two of Liquitexflow enhancer to the mix to makesure it covers evenly. Once you’resatisfied, spray a few light coats ofthe paint onto the locomotive,including the lettering. If you havethe right mix, you’ll lighten the bodycolor and (almost magically!) makethe lettering look faded. Sometimesit helps to keep a new body nearbyfor comparison.

Once you’ve faded the paint toyour satisfaction, add a light layer ofgrime with chalks or paint. This isanother point at which to keep theword “judicious” in mind. I’ve seenmodels over the years that wereexcessively weathered with FloquilGrimy Black, Dust, or both, andthat’s what they look like – a modelcovered in paint. Remember, be

subtle. On cab units (streamlineddiesels) in particular, make thegrime heaviest along the bottomedge of the body.

In HO or larger scales, it’s evenpossible to fade individual panels(or doors) by airbrushing the lightercolor into the center of the paneland leaving the edges in the original(darker) color. If you go this far, youcan follow up by drybrushing themodel (with a brush that has hadvirtually all of the paint alreadyrubbed off onto a card) with thelighter color. Doing this highlightsthe raised areas, like the jointsbetween panels on an F unit, mak-ing the shadowed areas more visi-ble. As an alternative, you can fadethe model then highlight panels anddoors by airbrushing a darker coloraround the outer edges of the panelsand doors. (If you’re good enough todo this in N or Z scale, please send aphoto of your work!)

Fade the lettering on your locomotives by spraying with a slightly lighter version of thebase color. Vary the fading by how much paint you apply. The Santa Fe F3s have a lightoverspray of a heavily thinned dark blue. The Baltimore & Ohio GP30 has a heavier coatof the same color. The New York Central Geep and B&O Fs have oversprays of black.

The heavier rust spots on the kickplatesand pilot and the more pronounced “bowwave” give the B&O F unit a more weath-ered appearance than the Santa Fe unit.

Footboards, steps,walkways, and doors

These areas attract not onlyroad grime but also whatever thecrew members might track ontothem. They also get scuffed andchipped, which means that you’llsee bare metal and then rust.Add grime with your airbrush orchalks, then accent with rust,steel, and dirt. For a nice tex-tured effect, sprinkle just a bit ofreal soil over wet dirt-coloredpaint. On steps, the outer andcenter parts of the tread are themost likely areas to have thepaint worn off and the areasmost likely to remain free of rust.Kick plates and doors get similartreatment, and handrails willlikewise have chips, wear, andareas polished smooth.

By cranking up the air pressure inyour airbrush, you can add dirt specksto the pilot of your diesel. Addingrust, steel, and dirt to your steps andwalkways is just as easy using an air-brush or brush. Real soil will giveyour locomotive a more textured look.

Roof – fading and exhaustA locomotive’s roof (page 71)

will fade more severely than itssides, so make sure to fade thepaint there. Diesel exhaust is abluish black, and while it mostoften blows opposite to the direc-tion of the locomotive’s travel,most power will eventually havea bit of it on nearly every part ofthe roof. Simulate it with a flatblack, with a bit of very darkblue added if you like. On a blacklocomotive, it’s doubly importantto fade the paint, because other-wise you won’t be able to see theexhaust residue!

Roof – fansThe fans on a model diesel are

very visible. On some diesels, I’llairbrush the tops black and thendrybrush with body color tobring back the grill detail, and onothers I’ll leave the fans body col-ored and use a wash to increasethe apparent depth.

Some model railroaders liketo highlight fan blades with silveror steel so that they’re especiallyvisible. I can’t get too excitedabout that, though, because anoperating locomotive would haveits fans running, making theblades a blur.

Special effectsSenior editor Carl Swanson noted

that how a locomotive weathers isespecially dependent on three fac-tors: geography, service, and age.For example, the trucks and framesof locomotives that serve in moun-tainous territory will often have adusty appearance from the sand thatthey use to get traction, but theirbodies are often blackened frombeing in smoky tunnels (SouthernPacific fans know what I mean!).Locomotives that work in iron orecountry (or in steel mills) will oftenhave a reddish appearance.

Locomotives in heavy service, likedrag freight operation or pusher ser-vice, will often have a more weather-beaten appearance than a

locomotive in passenger or inter-modal service. And don’t forget toconsider a locomotive’s age – a GP9would likely look considerably dif-ferent by the 1970s than it did in the’50s. (If you’re really getting specific,consider whether the period you’remodeling is toward the beginning orend of a particular paint scheme’stime frame.)

I admit that I sometimes get a lit-tle carried away with weathering,but if you look at the prototype (andyou don’t even have to look veryclosely), you’ll see that locomotivesare dirty pieces of machinery. Thereis a point in weathering beyondwhich you can overdo it, but withpractice you’ll develop an eye forwhat looks right.

This C&NW GP15-1 has an especially weather-beaten appearance because of its use indrag-freight operations around heavy industries.

TamiyaPaints and air-brusheswww.tamiya.com

IwataAirbrusheswww.iwata-medea.com

Rub-n-BuffMetal pasteavailable at craft stores

SNJPowdered metalP.O. Box 292713Sacramento, CA95829

Polly ScaleAcrylic paints in railroad and military colors

TurpenoidPaint thinner avail-able at craft stores

SOURCES

Roof – heatThe roof is also where heat

affects a locomotive’s paint mostseverely. The exhaust stack(s) willhave no paint on their sides – paintthem rust, with black at the very topand a transition to body color at thebottom. The dynamic brake gridswill often lose their paint in thesame way. A light coating of rust, oreven shades of rust with some heatdiscoloration (bluish color) in thecenter, will accent them. If yourlocomotive has a steam generator,don’t forget to show the effects ofheat in that area also.

Even if you didn’t overspray yourlocomotive with body color to fadethe lettering, a coat of a lightenedversion of the body color will helpimitate the fading that comes fromthe sun’s rays. On darker locomo-tives it also allows the exhaust stainsto be visible. On my NYC diesels, Ialways lighten the roofs, even if thelocomotive is otherwise quite clean.If you really want to see the details,drybrush with an even lighter color.

Notice the different levels of weathering on the roofs of these three locomotives. The B&OF7 (top) was weathered extensively, with fading, exhaust, and heat damage evident onboth the roof and fans. The B&O GP30 wears a slightly less weather-beaten look, while theATSF F3 has black only around the fan and stacks.

TIPS FOR HAPPY AIRBRUSHING

• Never shake paint – always stir. Shak-ing leaves paint around the top of thejar, where it dries into clumps. Thoseclumps are the best way to clog anairbrush. Using a screen on yourpickup tube can help, as can strainingyour paint before spraying.

• Stir thoroughly. It takes longer thanyou would think to remix a bottle ofpaint that has settled, especially if alarge percentage of its pigment is clay(common on tans, grays, and browns).

• If using a single-action brush, close it(run the needle forward or twist the tipclosed) if it will sit for more than 20seconds. Thinned paint dries quickly.

• Drain your water trap each time youspray. It can’t work if it’s full.

• Make sure your thinner is clean. Dirtor lint (been doing the old tip the canonto the towel trick?) can clog yourbrush, or at least appear in your paint.

• Lubricate your airbrush according tothe instructions, and don’t abuse it byover-tightening the threads.

• Some parts, including washers, gas-kets, needles and tips, will wear out.Paint is abrasive (due to the pigment– many contain titanium dioxide), andsolvents are harsh chemicals. Keepspares so you can keep modeling.

• If you think you bent your airbrush’sneedle, check it by pulling it across atowel while rotating the needle. Do notcheck it by running it back into thebrush – that just ensures that you’llruin the tip or your airbrush as well.

• If you own needle and tip sets in mul-tiple sizes, keep the sets separate.They all look very similar, but theydon’t all work together.

• If you can afford to, it’s a good idea tohave separate airbrushes for solvent-based paints and acrylic paints. Thetwo paint types don’t mix well, andsometimes paint left in an airbrush canform clots when exposed to a solvent.

• When you reassemble a double-actionbrush, the action should be crisp. Ifthe needle sticks in the nozzle or theaction seems mushy, there’s still paintin the nozzle. Clean it again.

• If you get bubbles in your color cup orfeed jar, you have an air leak, proba-bly where the tip joins the nozzle.Check your brush’s instructions to seewhether you can repair it.

• Weathering mixes are much thinnerthan regular airbrush mixes, so theirpigments settle faster. Remember tostir every few minutes.

• Flow enhancer can help substantially

when spraying acrylics – a few dropsper jar of weathering mix is plenty.

• Lower your air pressure when sprayingthinned mixes of solvent based paintsto avoid spidering. You can spray fromsurprisingly close to a model with lowpressure, well-thinned paint, and anairbrush with a small aperture (I usean Iwata brush with an .18mm tip forreally fussy work). Removing the cap(or installing a crown cap, if available)can let you get even closer becausethe blowback can dissipate more eas-ily, but be careful – once the cap isoff, your needle has no protection.

• Most manufacturers have a recom-mended airbrush mix, but considerthat a starting point only. Differentcolors (even different bottles of paint)will behave differently. Mix, then test,then adjust if necessary before youstart painting your model.

• Test your mix on a similar substrate –if the model is styrene, test onstyrene, and so on. - T.T.

� More on our Web siteBefore you start your next airbrushingproject, read tips on how to clean sin-gle-action, double-action, and hybridairbrushes at www.modelrailroader.com

Adding that realistic run-down feeling to structures in any scale

By Steve Harris • Photos by the author

It doesn’t take much railfanning torealize that most prototype struc-tures and rolling stock show the

effects of sun, wind, rain, snow, andyears of use or neglect. In fact, somelineside buildings and pieces of railroadequipment have more bare wood orrusted steel on them than their originalpaint and primer. You can easily learnseveral tricks that will allow you toachieve the weathered look of the pro-totype on your own models.

The key is to develop an eye forcolor. Look closely at any piece of land-scape art, and you’ll see that the artist

used many different colors to achievewhat at a distance appears to be a solidcolor. This same principle holds true inreal life. Almost nothing in the realworld is only one color, but instead acombination of distinct separate hueswhen observed closely. Even shadowsadd their own color to the surface.

The blend of color that makes upwhat we see in the real world, particu-larly on structures that have sufferedthe effects of nature, can be reproducedin our modeled world using variouscommercially available art and officesupplies and easy-to-make stains. Fol-

lowing are some of the methods I’veused to mimic the effects of age and theelements on my own models. Withsome practice and careful observationof real structures, you should be ableto give your models a greater touch ofrealism too. 1

Steve Harris lives with his wife in Val-ley Center, Calif., a suburb of San Diego.He models the Rio Grande Southern inHOn3 and built his layout in an officetrailer. Steve’s modeling work has alsobeen featured in the Narrow Gauge &Short Line Gazette.

Steve Harris built this American ModelBuilders’ Baltimore & Ohio depot kit straightfrom the box, but aged the model using anumber of weathering techniques. Followalong as he explains how to make structureslook as though they have withstood the ravages of time.

SPECIAL SECTION

Weatheringyour structures

Using alcohol-based stainsIsopropyl alcohol is a good

medium for making your ownstains by adding India ink or shoedye for pigments. I use alcoholinstead of water because it pene-trates well, dries fast, and is lesslikely to warp wood. Isopropylalcohol is also inexpensive andavailable at any drugstore. Getthe highest percent alcohol youcan find, as it contains less water.

I use leftover film cans to mixand store my dyes and stains,labeling the cans to show the for-mula I used. Start by filling thefilm can nearly full with alcohol,then use an eyedropper to addink or shoe dye. As the brewdarkens, test it on a piece ofscrap material and add drops ofink or dye as necessary. A com-parison of shoe dye and ink stainon scribed wood siding is shownin the top photo.

Alcohol and India ink stainapplied to wood gives it a weath-ered gray look as if it had beenout in the sun for many years. Iuse it for things like station plat-forms and loading docks.

Alcohol and shoe dye giveswood a darker, creosoted appear-ance. It works well on things liketies, trestles, and timber cribbing,as seen in the second photo. Anyshoe dye will work, as long as itdoes not produce a shiny finish. Iuse a mixture of half brown andhalf black dye.

Powdered pastels I like to use powdered pastels and

pigments to get a soft-edged colorapplication that looks to me morenatural than if painted with a brushor airbrush. To cover a broad area,simply brush the pastel powder onthe model. For more control in asmall area, or to scrub the powderinto the surface, use a Microbrushdisposable applicator. A little pastelpowder goes a long way, so be sureto practice before you apply it to

your model. When you have thecolor where you want it, fix it inplace by applying a light coat ofTestor’s Dullcote. Because the Dull-cote tends to make the coat ofweathering less apparent, you mayneed to apply more pastel powderand Dullcote.

I make my weathering powdersby rubbing colored pastel sticks ona piece of drywall sanding screenmounted on two wood blocks asshown in the photo. I place a sheetof paper under the mesh to catchthe powder (a fold down the middlewill help you dump it). Sometimes Igrind up several colors and mixthem to get the shade I want. I savethese mixtures in a plastic parts boxfor future use.

I also use Bragdon Enterprisesweathering powders (pre-ground)which seem to affix themselves tosurfaces a little better.

Pastel pencilsPastel pencils allow you to

quickly and precisely apply color toareas that are too small for pow-dered pastels. These are great forcoloring individual boards onplank, scribed, or clapboard sidingas well as door and window trim.

For a weathered wood-sidinglook, I use several different colors,being careful not to overlap theedges of the boards. I use two orthree shades of gray, a couple ofbrowns, and sometimes a littleblack. I blend the colors by rubbingthem with a blending stump, whichlooks like a crayon made fromrolled up paper, though a piece ofthick cardstock cut to a sharp pointworks just as well. To get an even-more-blended look or to bleed thecolors, rub it with a little alcohol.

On the building at right, I firststained the individual boards using

the alcohol-and-dye technique, thenweathered the wood with the pastelpencils. I used a white pencil to addthe remnants of paint in the pro-tected area under the eaves, thenblended the color into the unpaintedarea with a blending stump.

I also use pastel pencils on mywood-sided rolling stock to tonedown the white lettering, as shownon the boxcar above.

DrybrushingArtists often lighten the tips of

objects to simulate the reflectionof the sun. I accomplish thesame effect on my models byusing the drybrushing technique.Drybrushing is just what itsounds like. For a broad area likea roof, use a wide, flat brush andwipe off most of the paint on apiece of cardstock or paper toweluntil the paint is streaky. Thenlightly whisk it over the area youwant to highlight.

For example, on the Rico sta-tion roof above, I first stained theroof with shoe dye and let it dry.Then, I drybrushed thinnedwhite paint on the roof to high-light just the tips of the shingles.

Scratching backUse this technique on styrene sid-

ing to simulate wood or to make apainted wall look worn. First spraythe model with two or more coats of the undercoat paint. Then aftereach coat has dried thoroughly,lightly “scratch back” through thepainted surface with a scratch brush(a fine wire brush) or fine sandpaperto expose the undercoat. Be careful,because it’s easy to scratch too

much and expose the white styrene. I used the scratch-back technique

on my model of the Ophir depot.First I sprayed the styrene wallswith a mixture of Floquil RoofBrown and white and let the firstcoat dry completely. Next, I sprayedthe walls with Floquil Depot Buff.Then, using a folded piece of finesandpaper, I lightly scratched thebuff coat back to the first coat to getthe look of worn paint.

Etched corrugated roofingAfter many years of exposure to

the elements, corrugated metal sid-ing and roofing begins to rust, leav-ing jagged, decayed edges. Dippingmodel panels in etchant can pro-duce this same look. Because of itsharmful effects, make sure you useetchant in a well-ventilated area,according to the manufacturer’s

instructions, and wear proper eyeand skin protection.

First, cut sections of metal cor-rugated material into the sizesyou’re going to use on your struc-ture. Pour a little etchant into aplastic container, then drop a panelinto the etchant. After a few sec-onds, the panel will begun to bub-ble indicating that the etchant isstarting to work. After a few moreseconds, lift out the panel with apair of tweezers, rinse it thor-oughly in cold water to stop theetching process, and lay it out to dry on a paper towel. The result-ing panels are fragile, so handlethem carefully.

In addition to eating away someof the metal, the etchant also con-veniently discolors them with ablotchy weathered look. If you hada different color in mind, spraypaint or dust them with pastels.

I used this technique on some ofthe panels on my model of theOphir tram house. Before assem-bling the structure, I painted thepanels, including the etched ones,different shades of Floquil brown. Ithen used pastel powders to givethem the final rusty touch.

• Whenever possible, use a photo ofthe prototype you are modeling asyour guide. It is much easier tocatch details held in photographs ofthe real thing than trying to workfrom memory.

• Before using any weathering tech-nique, test it on a piece of scrapmaterial. This will give you a pre-view of the final look and helpavoid nasty surprises. Also, with alittle experimentation, you mayeven find a better approach.

• Plan ahead and weather yourmodel as early in the buildingstage as possible. Though sometechniques can be applied to thefinished model, many, such asscratched or peeling paint, must bedone before assembly. It’s alsoeasier to work on a wall when it’sflat on your workbench.

• Doors and windows show theeffects of the weather too, soremember to make your trim piecesappear as tired as your walls.

• Be prepared to do it again. Mis-takes will happen and sometimesthe only way to master a techniqueis to be willing to try again. – S. H.

TIPS FOR BETTER RESULTS

WEATHERING A BALTIMORE & OHIO DEPOT

Building the American ModelBuilders’ Baltimore & Ohio depot kit

shown on the cover in its dilapidatedcondition presented an enjoyableweathering challenge. I treated it as ifthe depot hadn’t seen any paint orother maintenance for many years. Thatgave me the opportunity to employ anumber of my favorite techniques.

I started with the walls. Time andweather fade paint and turn exposedwood a silver gray. Before removing thesides from their material sheets, Istained them with a base coat of alco-hol and ink. The stain accentuated the seams between the boards andgave the walls the correct weathered-gray look.

Next, I made a custom paint mix forthe station using 10 parts FloquilReefer White, 1 part Reefer Yellow, 10parts Depot Buff, and 2 parts thinner.(Always start with the lightest color andslowly add the others to it.) The resultwas a thin, faded version of the originalbuff color. (Before adding most of thewhite and the thinner, I painted theunderside of the overhanging roof,which would still be closer to the origi-nal color as it had not been exposed to weather.)

I drybrushed the paint over the graywalls, keeping in mind that each boardwould have weathered in a mannerslightly different from its neighbor.With thinned paint I could build up thefinal color in successive coats, provid-ing variety. Finally, I used three differ-ent colors of gray pastel pencils lightlydrawn over individual boards.

I made the broken windows by cut-ting clear styrene with a no. 11 hobby-knife blade and a little patience. Mygoal was to make each window a littledifferent from the others – some are

missing entire panes, some have a fewshards remaining, others are simplycracked. After installing the glazing, Idusted it with powdered pastels tomake the glass look dirty.

I wanted some of the bare sub-roofto show through the shingles, so in sev-eral places I scribed the roof panels torepresent planking and then gave thema wash of ink stain.

The slate roof material comes inprecut strips with peel-and-stick back-ing. I sprayed it with Floquil SouthernPacific Lark Dark Gray, then lightly air-brushed over that coat with Reefer Grayand SP Lettering Light Gray. Unfortu-nately, the solvent in the paint causedthe adhesive to come off the shingles.As a result, I had to glue the strips onone at a time. A water-based paintwould work better.

I painted the trim Roof Brown. Aftergluing the trim in place, I weathered itwith a gray pastel pencil.

I made the depot signs on my com-puter, printing them in color on glossypaper and then fading the letteringwith a wash of white acrylic paint. Ialso lightly weathered the signs with awash of thinned shoe dye stain. Once Ihad glued them in place, the depot wascomplete – another model made to lookas though it had been ravaged by theeffects of nature and time. – S. H.

Correction film paintI use correction film to simulatepeeling paint. To start, I stain thesiding with the color I want toshow through the peeled paint. Ithen place correction film overthe surface and burnish it with aburnishing tool or ball-point penjust like when using a dry trans-fer. The technique transfers some,but not all, of the white materialto the wall, leaving lots of placeswhere the “paint” has peeledaway. If you want more of a peel-ing effect, use a scratch brush toexpose more of the undercoat.

Bragdon Enterprises FF60 rust and soot weathering powders

Ko-Rec-Type 1ES correction film

Micromark82466 scratch brush

Pastel pencilsBruynzeel pastel pencils http://www.marcopaper.com/bruynzeelpastel.htm

Pastel pencils can be purchased insets or as open stock.

Pastel sticksAlphacolorwww.currys.com/drymedia/prod-info2.asp?SubcatID=640&catID=3

Soft square pastel sticks come in avariety of sets including grays and earth tones.

Radio Shack276-1535 PCB etchant

BILL OF MATERIALS

Walls treated with alcoholand ink stain base thendrybrushed with thinnedpaint colors

Exposed roof sectionsweathered with alcoholand ink stain

Random individualboards and trim coloredwith pastel pencils

Shingles highlightedwith drybrushing

Paper signs weathered withbrown shoe dye stain

Glazingdustedwithpastelpowderto lookdirty

Often we pay so much attention topainting and weathering locomo-tives and freight cars that we for-

get the track they run on is worthy ofsimilar attention.

Today’s ready-to-use track generallyhas fine detail, including close-to-scaletie plates and spike heads, accurate railprofile, and wood grain molded into theplastic ties. However, the bright nickel-silver rail and shiny plastic ties detractfrom the appearance. A little time andpaint can easily take care of this.

You can take painting track to as higha degree of detail as you want. Simplypainting the ties and rail a uniformshade of flat brown is an improvement.You can go on to paint and weather therail, individual ties, and even spikes andtie plates.

PreparationYou can paint track before or after

it’s installed on a layout. The advantagesof prepainting track are that you can doit in a spray booth or outdoors withoutworrying about paint fumes or gettingstray paint on your layout or scenery.

One disadvantage of prepaintingflextrack is that the plastic spike headsmask the rail, and as you bend the tracksome of the spikes move, revealingshiny areas that were shielded from thepaint. See fig. 1. Simply touch up theseareas with a brush.

Painting track after it’s laid lets youget it working properly, with all feederwires and gaps in place, before paint-ing. If you do this, paint the trackbefore adding scenery. Should you haveto paint track in a scenicked area, usemasking tape and paper to protect thescenery from overspray.

A disadvantage of painting track inplace is that it can be awkward to getan airbrush into tight areas. Usingsolvent-based paint or spray cans is alsoa hazard in an enclosed room.

Track appearance is important, butnot as vital as locomotive electrical con-tact. For good contact it’s important toensure that you can easily remove paintfrom the railheads.

One way to do this is by applying alight coat of oil to the railheads beforepainting. Once the rail is painted aBright Boy or similar track cleaner will

easily remove the paint. Figure 2 showshow to apply the oil with a cloth. Itdoesn’t take much – just wrap a cornerof a rag around a fingertip and rub thecloth along the railhead, taking care notto get oil on the ties or sides of the rails.

Turnouts require special care toavoid gumming up the moving partswith paint. Before painting, mask alongthe points and throw bar as shown infig. 3. Brush-paint these areas later.

You’ll also have to clean paint fromthe rail before soldering feeder wiresand from the rail ends before addingrail joiners.

Consider the colors you want to use.Wood ties on a heavily used main lineare replaced often, thus are usually black

With a few simple techniques and somepaint, you can turn shiny nickel-silver trackinto a near replica of the real thing.

Fig. 1 SPIKE MASKS. When prepainting flex-track the spikes sometimes move, revealingunpainted rail. Touch these up with a brush.

Fig. 2 OILING RAILHEAD. Applying a lightcoat of oil with a piece of soft cloth makes iteasier to remove the paint later.

PHOTOS BY JEFF WILSON

Painting andweathering track

or dark brown and are uniformlyspaced. Spurs and lightly traveledbranch lines often have older ties thathave weathered to medium or lightgray, with much more variation in colorand spacing.

Rail can be found in many shades ofdark brown and dark rust while spurs,sidings, and branch lines sometimeshave a brighter rust color.

PaintingStart by painting the ties and rail a

dark brown color. If you have an air-brush you can use any flat dark brown,such as Polly Scale Railroad Tie Brown,Roof Brown, or Rail Brown, or mix-tures of all.

Spray cans also do the job in shortorder. For the samples shown here Iused Krylon spray paints including nos.8142 Brown, 8147 Medium Brown, and1317 Ruddy Brown Primer.

Cover the ties and rails from allangles, making sure the paint coats thesides of the rails. Figure 4 shows a stripof flextrack after painting.

The next step is to highlight the railswith streaks of lighter colors. An air-brush is handy for finer control, butyou can use spray cans if you’re careful.Aim directly from the sides, just hittingthe outside of the rail nearest youand the inside of the far rail. You canalso do this step with a brush, but it willtake a bit of time. See fig. 5. Don’tworry if a little paint gets on the ties.

Combination track and roadbedAs fig. 6 shows, painting greatly

improves the appearance of combina-tion track and roadbed. Start by sepa-rating the track and roadbed if possible,then paint the track in the normal way.

Figure 7 shows how I gave theroadbed a wash of Polly Scale GrimyBlack (one part paint, ten parts Polly SAirbrush Thinner). You can use othercolors as well. Once they’re dry, pressthe pieces back together.

If you’re working with track thatcan’t be separated, brush-paint the rails,give the roadbed a wash, and paint theties individually.

Fig. 5 PAINTING RAILS

Keep angle of airbrush low tokeep paint on rails, not ties

Fig. 3 TURNOUTS. You can airbrush turnoutsas you do flextrack, but mask the points andthrow bar and paint these areas by hand.

Fig. 4 COMPARISON. Simply painting flex-track a uniform shade of brown is an im-provement compared to unpainted flextrack.

Fig. 5 PAINTING RAILS. Keep angle of air-brush low to direct paint onto the rails, notthe ties.

Fig. 6 TRACK AND ROADBED. Painting theroadbed, rails, and ties greatly improved theappearance of this Life-Like True-Track.

Fig. 7 PAINTING ROADBED. Give the roadbeda wash of Grimy Black or any medium gray toblack color to cover the plastic appearance.

ILLUSTRATION BY RICK JOHNSON

WeatheringYou can stop at this point and have

nice-looking track, but for a truly out-standing appearance you’ll need to breakout a fine brush and highlight the details.

Paint individual ties with washes ofgrays, browns, and blacks for a variedappearance. See fig. 8. These highlightsshould be subtle on mainline track, withmore variations on lightly used track. Ikeep four mixes handy: black, grimyblack, gray, and Railroad Tie Brown. Goahead and dip your brush in more thanone mix to create varied effects.

Well-used track often has a blackishstreak down the middle created bygrease and oil dripping from locomotivesand cars. Re-create this effect with PollyScale Oily Black paint as fig. 9 shows.

If you really want to take your trackto another level, get out a fine-pointbrush and some rust-colored paint andhighlight the tie plates and spike heads.Although this often isn’t practical for anentire layout, it adds fine detail to fore-ground scenes.

When you’re finished, use an abra-sive track cleaner to gently polish therailheads, and you’re ready for trains.

None of these techniques are diffi-cult, and a bit of time and paint are allit takes to turn ordinary track into aworthy stage for your detailed locomo-tives and cars. 1

Jeff Wilson is a former associate editorfor MODEL RAILROADER.

Fig. 8 TIES. Give individual ties washes ofblack, gray, grimy black, and brown. Thegrayer a tie is, generally the older it is.

Fig. 9 OILY STREAK. Drag a brush of OilyBlack paint down the middle of the track tosimulate grease and oil drippings.