First attempt at weathering... needing some feedback.

[Agatheron]

I have an N-Scale layout at home that is in development, certainly no scenery yet, and still working on developing the track and the track plan itself. However, I do have some rolling stock, and decided to try my hand at doing some weathering.  Part of the motivation for this is I have 3 Atlas Boxcars that were "too old" for my layout, in that they had roof walkways. I decided to try and modify them by pulling off the roof racks, putting putty into the holes, and then painting the roof. I'm not really a rivet counter, but the roof racks would be obviously out of place, and the removal and painting might make it so it was less noticeable. I figured while I was at it, I'd try my hand at weathering, and even a bit of graffiti. Here's my first attempt... I have two more boxcars that are on my painting table, but this one was the first to be completed. I may still dust this with another layer of dullcote, since it has a bit of shine from one of the gunge washes I did... If I do that though, I'll provide another picture after the other two boxcars are done, and I've dullcoted all of them.

Basic shot:


Closer look at the same side:


The other side:


Any feedback for a first attempt before I move onto my other two?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Not bad at ALL for a first timer!

Good work.

There's a little "brushiness" in some of the rust spots and streaks, but that's something I myself still struggle with.

[wm3798]

For that vintage CN car, shouldn't one side read "Canadien" to appease the Great French Part?
Otherwise, looks pretty snappy.
Lee

[John]

It still has some shiny areas .. a little dull cote or hairspray might fix that .. Better ask Tom ..

[3rdrail]

'Twould look a lot better if taken without the flash. That's the cause of some of your shininess. Looks good, but you need to weather the placard holders on the doors. These are wood to permit tacking notices like "do not hump" or "unload this side" and should be very dark and dull. Otherwise, a very creditable job for a first attempt.

[ryourstone]

Good first attempt, the first car I can remember weathering was also an Atlas (Reading) DD boxcar that I also pulled the roofwalk from. Here are some tips.

-Like Ed said, be careful about the brush marks. This is the hardest part, and as mostly a question of patience. Work on a small area at a time when applying washes, and keep a clean dry brush handy to remove excess wash. Don't use washes as rust runoff, try chalks carefully applied with a small pointed brush instead.

-Completely paint the outside of truck sideframes (sides and top too!), drybrushing is too obvious. Use a dark brown wash for detail relief instead.

-Rust comes in three main tones. Old rust (dark brown), fresh (orange) and rust runoff (greyed down yellow-orange). Vary your tones a bit to make the rust more convincing. See pics below for examples.

-Eventually, if you want to really get into this, buy an airbrush and compressor. You can do pretty good work without an airbrush, but for some effects it's the only way.

-SUV's have roof racks. Old trains have roofwalks 





-Rich

[3rdrail]

-SUV's have roof racks. Old trains have roofwalks 

-Rich

Say that around Richard Hendrickson, Tony Thompson, or any of the other freight car historians and you'll be told "Freight cars did NOT have 'roofwalks', they are correctly known as running boards."

A quick look at prototype specifications for house cars will reveal that they are correct. 

[wm3798]

I was told a running board was on the side of an Oldsmobile, and it's what you stood on while you threw newspapers on your customers' front porch.

Lee

[ryourstone]

My Durango has the running boards option, and it's not that old! Roof rack too, but no roofwalk (though the neighbor's cat disagrees).

-Rich

[Agatheron]

Thanks for the feedback so far... I managed to get the other two "first attempts" on my desk completed. All of them still need one final layer of dullcote, but I snapped a picture without the flash on both of these. I am happier with the graffiti on the cn car, and there are some aspects of these two that I like better, but I am worried I "overdid" the GTW car...

Anyway, for your critique and feedback:

CN Boxcar:




GTW Boxcar:

[elogger]

hey dude, i'm glad to see that you've started weathering some stuff... if you want to learn, study mr. yourstone and mr. mann as much as you can... also visit this site, www.modeltrainsweathered.com  it's a weatherers forum and it's a great place to learn...

as far as your cars, i thought the first was pretty good, i think the second and third look a little hurried... take your time and make everything you do count... the rust on the last two cars could use a little darker rust mixed into the spots... then i would practice my streaks... you want them to run straight down the side of the car and be in proportion to the spot from which it came... study pics of rusted boxcars, rusted anything really and you'll see what i mean...


good luck
jeremy

[Agatheron]

In my other modeling experience, I've always understood the adage that "less is more" is one of the best idioms to follow. I'll fully admit that the last two boxcars was a bit more than I had anticipated, and I actually tried doing some things to correct some small errors... Big mistake Invariably it makes it worse. However, this recent experience has taught me my first valuable lesson. I've already printed off Tom Mann's advice article, which I will be studying a bit more closely for my next project. I have one more boxcar that needs to be converted, and then some covered grain hoppers which will need a fairly light touch of weathering on them.

Thanks for the feedback so far... I really appreciate it. The honesty helps

[Iain]

Back when I was first learning, I grabbed a bunch of old junk from junk boxes at train shows to practice on.