new weathering book coming; feedback wanted

[tom mann]

It is not anywhere close to being complete, but a new weathering book with supplemental techniques and images will be released in the future.

A preview:



Because I want to incorporate your feedback into the new book (which is not a replacement for the old one, but a continuation), what would you like to see?  Anything from content pricing is of use to me.

Thanks!!

[Philip H]

I guess I'll start . . .
One of the things I like about your first book is the ease of reading.  Another is the relatively small number and type of materials you use to achieve results.  You've done a great job there of compiling a small list of things we need to get started, which makes it seem less overwhelming.

One challenge, however, it that folks often want to do weathering with what they often have, so as to get a feel for it before plunging in to new techniques and new materials head long (and spending the money).  I'm not sure how you would treat this in a new book, but it could be worth a look.

It might also be interesting to follow a model or two through the various transitions as you demonstrate new techniques - start with one at the intro "I know next to nothing about weathering" level and work it up in a series of images and narrative to the masterpiece level you are known for.  That way you reinforce the iterative approach, and manage to show folks that they can get close.

And lots of N scale weathered cars for me to drool over . . .

[tom mann]

Along your thoughts:  My plan is to include a chapter on "weathering w/o an airbursh".  The number one comment I hear is "I don't have/don't want an airbrush".  I also have a chapter on "quick weathering for a fleet".  In many ways, the new book is will be simpler than the existing one!!

Also, I've been inspired by Gary to do more N scale weathering (also thanks to BLMA trucks making lowering easier) so I plan on more n scale items.

[Bob Bufkin]

Tom

You've been doing some great weathering on buildings and ROW.  I think that you should stray a little into this besides cars.

[Dave V]

Tom,

How about some material on weathering structures and surfaces?  Things like effective brick walls, making sheet styrene look like weathered concrete, cracked asphalt, etc.  It's not uncommon to see modelers weathering structures with little regard for how and by what real structures weather.  Weathering occupied structures is particularly challenging because of how easy it is to over-do.

[Dave V]

LOL, Bob was too fast for me!

[wazzou]

That's what she said...

[esa123]

Tom,

First let me say that I have your book and found it really useful so it's great you're coming out with additional material! Here are a few items I would love to see addressed:

1) Weathering the "inside of gondolas" - we have a lot of new products within this category and there is a lot of material out there on how to weather the outside/loads so weathering empties would be really nice (you did address this conceptually in the last book however some specific examples would be nice).
2) Weathering wooden deck flatcars and intermodal equipment. When BLMA's new flats and spine cars hit the market there will undoubtedly be a lot of interest in attaining the “worn” intermodal look.
3) Vehicles - particularly in small scales. Primarily truck trailers and containers but any sort of vehicles would be great.
4) I second everyone's notions about structures if possible - especially concrete roads and weathered in pavement track areas (I'm thinking things like lumber unloading areas at modern facilities where the rails lie within really faded asphalt).

General comments: The following are some comments from the last book that my friends and I noted.
1) Book Size - A lot of people thought the previous book was a little small for the price. I follow you on the forums and am a big fan of your work so regardless of page size I had to have this. However, when I showed it to a lot of my railroad friends they found the information useful but weren’t willing to buy it for themselves because they thought it should be a little thicker for the price point (a lot are used to MR’s publications layout/size at that price range).
2) I like how you didn’t waste time repeating the same techniques over and over when describing a weathering process however it would be nice to include some sections with a series of progress shots for each new technique (i.e. step 1 – pic, step 2 – pic etc).
 
I hope this helps and once again I’m really glad to year you’re coming out with more great stuff!

Can’t wait,
Erik

[GaryHinshaw]

I'd love to see a play-by-play on your new surface rust treatment (probably already planned) .  Also, how about some home-brew graffiti tips too, like your white pencil method, and/or techniques for making graffiti decals from photos?  I second Erik's comment about weathering gon interiors.

I'd also like to hear more about methods for deforming panels, my favorite example being:



A guest editorial from Butch perhaps?

-gfh

P.S. The couplers on that tanker are hideous.    But the rest of it is great!

[ednadolski]

what would you like to see?

Tom, this is great news!   Where do I sign up to get my copy?   

For suggestions, how about some step-by-step, start to finish projects on a few cars?  Start with some basics, then include projects of increasing skill/complexity, perhaps something like these:


Creating rust pits and streaks:



Multi-layer peeling paint effects:



A classic well-worn Railbox:



And an extreme example showing a combination of several techniques:




Thanks!
Ed

[Hyperion]

Just throwin' this out there...

A supplemental DVD.  Or, hell, a separate DVD altogether.   I'd pay a solid $30 for one of those.

Wouldn't take many sales to pay off the necessary equipment and you get all the revenue not just some small piece.

[ednadolski]

Just throwin' this out there...

A supplemental DVD.  Or, hell, a separate DVD altogether.   I'd pay a solid $30 for one of those.

Wouldn't take many sales to pay off the necessary equipment and you get all the revenue not just some small piece.

IMHO a DVD is even better than a book, because it is one thing to read about the techniques, but quite another to see an actual demo.   With today's moderns HD cameras and video editing software, it's easier than ever to produce.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a DVD is more than worth its weight in gold!

Ed

[tom mann]

Anyone in the MD area that has equipment and can handle professional video camera work?

[DKS]

Anyone in the MD area that has equipment and can handle professional video camera work?

No camera, but I can do the post-production work.

[Subwayaz]

Tom I also enjoyed your first book, and it's been awhile since I have referred to it but I was wondering if a demo on graffiti would be included in this edition?
The DVD sounds like a good idea