GWIX Hopper

[Sokramiketes]

Fantastic Tom.  How about a little tutorial on the rust treatment.  This is not salt is it?

If you don't want to wait for the caption in MR, that looks a lot like the effect one would get from sanding paint off a rough surface.   

[ednadolski]

Tom weathered the hopper using Woodland Scenics ground foam applied with a Micro Brush (available from MicroMark).  You can learn more about weathering by picking up Pelle K. Soeborg's book "Done in a Day" from Kalmbach.com.

If that's not tongue-in-cheek, then I take back what I said about my MR subscription.

I like a lot of Soeeborg's work, but his goal with weathering is to do a car in about an hour, so it's just not feasible to achieve the kind of results that come from making a greater time investment.   For myself, I'd rather put the time into something that I am pleased with, rather than rush just to get something onto the track only so I can start rushing thru the next project.  But maybe that's why it takes me forever to finish anything....   ;D ;D ;D

Ed

[ednadolski]

If you don't want to wait for the caption in MR, that looks a lot like the effect one would get from sanding paint off a rough surface.   

Looks to me like something made by the alternating application/removal of layers, esp. where a solvent like Micro-Sol or alcohol is used to partly eat thru a layer that was covered by a clear sealer.

Ed

[GaryHinshaw]

I like a lot of Soeeborg's work, but his goal with weathering is to do a car in about an hour, so it's just not feasible to achieve the kind of results that come from making a greater time investment.   For myself, I'd rather put the time into something that I am pleased with, rather than rush just to get something onto the track only so I can start rushing thru the next project.  But maybe that's why it takes me forever to finish anything....   ;D ;D ;D

Ed

I'm constantly having a debate with myself about how much time to spend on detailing and weathering, especially in N scale.  But I seem to have found a niche where I take a long time to do simple things...   

[tom mann]

Well, you guys are close!

No alcohol or sanding is necessary, just quick reflexes with a stiff brush and water!  The key is to ████ █ ████ ██ ███ ██████ ████████, and ███████ █████████ ████████████ ██ ██████████:  ████████ ██████ ████ █████ ███████ ██████████ █ ███████ ████████.

[Bob Bufkin]

Damn Tom, your a tease or you would do anything to sell your next book ;D

[ednadolski]

The key is to ████ █ ████ ██ ███ ██████ ████████, and ███████ █████████ ████████████ ██ ██████████:  ████████ ██████ ████ █████ ███████ ██████████ █ ███████ ████████.

Hey, watch your Language!   ;D ;D

[ednadolski]

Sorry guys, I forgot this thread was started by me and didn't see the questions!   

Let me comment on this in early June:  a photo (similar, but not exactly this one) will appear in the July MR that will explain the technique.  Once the issue hits, I can take questions and comment on the matter further.  ;D ;D

Hint:  the removal, and not the application of paint is key.

OK here it is, from the July 2010 MR, page 76:

"A Southern Pacific covered hopper that's seen hard use crosses Zombie Gulch on an HO scale photo diorama built by Tom Mann of Crownsville, Md.   Tom hand-weathered the Tangent Scale Models hopper by airbrushing on burnt umber paint, then scrubbing some of it off with a stiff paintbrush before it fully dried.  the bridge is a BLMA model.  Tom also shot the photo.""

So I guess I'm wondering, which kind of paint works best for you, and how long did you wait before starting to scrub? And I guess you had to scrub vertically from top to bottom?

It also looks like the model was done with a fade coat, how do you keep the brushing/removal from disturbing that?

Overall do you find the technique hard or easy to control?

Thanks,
Ed

[tom mann]

Ok, I'll tell, but if this same info appears in a future version of the weathering book I don't want to hear any complaints! ;D

Some time ago, I was looking for technique to simulate surface rust.  In the past, I used the foam brush technique of "dabbing" rust colored paint on.  This would sometimes result in a surface texture.  But what I wanted was something quicker and that would result in a more random appearance (the foam brush technique results in rust *only* where you put it, so sometimes rust patterns look too "scripted").

So here is what I came up with.  I apply a fade coat to the car using almost straight up Polly Scale paint to intentionally create a slight texture.  Let this dry overnight.  Next, mix some Liquidtex Burnt Umber with Reverse Osmosis water to create a mixture that will spray with my airbrush.  You can add Polly Scale rust to this to brighten it up.  Spray this on and let it dry enough so it doesn't look wet.  Take a brush wet with water and remove it by scrubbing it off.  The dryer the paint, the tougher it is to remove and the result is a light rust coat that fades at the edges.  Paint that is more wet comes off in pieces creating hard edges.  You can vary the brushes to get different effects.

The textured fade coat protects from any rust paint too easily coming off.

The technique takes a little bit of practice, but any mistakes can be fixed by applying more rust mixture with the airbrush. 

I'll be interested in seeing your results.

[tom mann]

Oh and BTW, what does it take to get your photo printed bigger? ;D  Groundfoam?

[ednadolski]

Thanks Tom, I've located a 'victim' car to work on, so I will try this out as soon as I can.  

what does it take to get your photo printed bigger? Groundfoam?

Maybe Unitrack?   I wish I could lose weight as fast as MR seems to be losing content. (It's like they think their readers are all ADD or something)

[ednadolski]

if this same info appears in a future version of the weathering book I don't want to hear any complaints! ;D

You wont hear any complaints from me, for sure -- If you're doing an updated version of the book that would be awesome!  
Ed

[ednadolski]

PS don't forget the potential value of a DVD!  (Now there is a thought:  A book with a companion DVD that walks thru several projects from start-to-finish ....  ;D  ;D  ;D)

[GaryHinshaw]

I'm anxious to try this technique too.  Tom, could you elaborate on the role of the texture in the fade coat?  Is that supposed to lend some tooth for the rust coat, or just rust-like texture?

Could you post a larger version of the photo here, maybe from a different angle if there are copyright issues?

Cheers,
Gary

[tom mann]

I'm anxious to try this technique too.  Tom, could you elaborate on the role of the texture in the fade coat?  Is that supposed to lend some tooth for the rust coat, or just rust-like texture?

Yes, it provides tooth: it essentially creates a random pattern of indentations where the rust coat "particles" stick.

Could you post a larger version of the photo here, maybe from a different angle if there are copyright issues?

Yes, I'll take some more.