Conrail NW2 9253

[Lemosteam]

Brutal.

[chicken45]

Brutal.

That wasn't what I was going for. I did talk to Ed offline to make sure he knew I wasn't trying to be a jerk.

I'm like JK Simmons in Whiplash. And Ed K! is my sexy student who...no, that must have been a different movie.

[Dave V]

I've used weathering to blend and cover minor mistakes and flaws.  It's usually effective at least IMHO.  I never realized I was philosophically wrong.   

[Ed Kapuscinski]

When it comes to brushing, there are two separate issues: brush strokes and light spots.

Light spots are easy to resolve, and are actually the reason I take in-progress shots like this (I share them because I'm a masochist). I'm planning on touching those up.

And don't worry, John and I are still friends. In fact, if he wasn't being brutal in his assessment, I'd have been disappointed.

I disagree with him about the "quality" issue between good brushing and airbrushing, but just because he's wrong doesn't mean his point isn't worth deliberating.

Also, guys, sorry to disappoint, but after quite a bit of consideration, I'm not doing the louvers. Too much work for too little reward, and if I didn't notice them before this thread, I'm not going to lose sleep on them. I think the potential to mess them up is also too high. If they're not perfectly aligned, they're going to look worse than not being there, and each louver panel will need to be aligned perfectly in two axes.

Oh, and one last thing, I really DO appreciate all of the criticism and discussion here. If I didn't have a thick enough skin to handle it, I wouldn't be sharing my in-progress stuff!

[Lemosteam]

I've used weathering to blend and cover minor mistakes and flaws.  It's usually effective at least IMHO.  I never realized I was philosophically wrong.   

Who said that?  This place is all about peer pressure right?  Ed's a big boy, he can handle it.  I was just joshing Josh, and I think there are those that can live with brush strokes and the like and that there is room for both philosophies within our realm.

[Dave V]

Who said that?  This place is all about peer pressure right?  Ed's a big boy, he can handle it.  I was just joshing Josh, and I think there are those that can live with brush strokes and the like and that there is room for both philosophies within our realm.

Maybe after weathering it will look less so, but in general, weathering shouldn't be used to hide mistakes. It could coincidentally hide them.

No less than the great DKS has admitted to using weathering to hide mistakes.  Good enough for DKS is good enough for me.

Besides, I'm just a hack who has decent PR.

[chicken45]

I've used weathering to blend and cover minor mistakes and flaws.  It's usually effective at least IMHO.  I never realized I was philosophically wrong.   

I tried to be as careful with my words to avoid someone saying that, because I realize that it often goes hand in hand.
Weather to match photographs and make things look real, not "I'm weathering this to hide my flaws."
I hope that makes more sense.

[Dave V]

I tried to be as careful with my words to avoid someone saying that, because I realize that it often goes hand in hand.
Weather to match photographs and make things look real, not "I'm weathering this to hide my flaws."
I hope that makes more sense.

Fair enough.  I agree that the sole purpose of weathering isn't to cover mistakes; it's to make the model either more realistic or to match a prototype.  However, weathering can be wonderful at hiding mistakes or flaws.  Case in point; I install Trainphone antennas on all my PRR diesel locomotives and they come in raw brass.  Since all manufacturers use different shades of DGLE (and none exactly match PolyScale Brunswick Green, my go-to color) a little soot on the roof goes a long way to hide the color mismatch while adding realism.

Another good example is if you have adjacent trim or windows differing from the wall color but, say, the trim or windows are molded on...  Sometimes it's very hard to get a perfect break.  A quick wash with a little thinned black adds shadow and hides some of the imperfections in the paint color break.

Don't know about all of you but I don't have the talent not to take advantage of weathering as a means to hide imperfections.

[mark.hinds]

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I can clearly see brush strokes, uneven paint, and light spots in these pictures.
Sure, it'll pass the three foot rule, but you aren't always photographing them from three feet away.
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IMHO, any minor degree of unevenness in Ed’s paint application here is “below the noise floor” WRT the unevenness which typical weathering will introduce.  Check out the prototype image he linked to.  I have it blown up so it spans about 18" on my monitor. 

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Also, guys, sorry to disappoint, but after quite a bit of consideration, I'm not doing the louvers. Too much work for too little reward, and if I didn't notice them before this thread, I'm not going to lose sleep on them. I think the potential to mess them up is also too high. If they're not perfectly aligned, they're going to look worse than not being there, and each louver panel will need to be aligned perfectly in two axes.
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I may have missed it, but did anyone find an example of a Conrail NW2 without louvers (different "phase", or whatever modelers call it)?  That would be another approach. 

[chicken45]

Fair enough.  I agree that the sole purpose of weathering isn't to cover mistakes; it's to make the model either more realistic or to match a prototype.  However, weathering can be wonderful at hiding mistakes or flaws.  Case in point; I install Trainphone antennas on all my PRR diesel locomotives and they come in raw brass.  Since all manufacturers use different shades of DGLE (and none exactly match PolyScale Brunswick Green, my go-to color) a little soot on the roof goes a long way to hide the color mismatch while adding realism.
Don't know about all of you but I don't have the talent not to take advantage of weathering as a means to hide imperfections.

I totally get what you're saying. Putting soot up there isn't to compensate for a lack in talent or technique. It's realistic, and it happens to fix the color match.
Ed now has an airbrush. I'm trying to convince him to use it!!
He said he's bringing it tonight to Thirsty Modeling so I'll get to see it tonight, and after looking it with my loupe, endless chide him during our Supertree Marathon.


In other news, I wonder if anyone has any side by side comparisons of a hand painted vs. airbrushed model.

[chicken45]

No less than the great DKS has admitted to using weathering to hide mistakes.  Good enough for DKS is good enough for me.

Besides, I'm just a hack who has decent PR.

Nah. You're stuff is all super good! The speed in which you also work is something I envy. You have the vision and you execute. I wish I had that.

[chessie system fan]

Just for fun I searched through rr picture archives and didn't find any in CR paint.  CR did have a few former Erie units with no louvers but they were in EL paint and had full length handrails.  I'm guessing they were sold/scrapped around 1980 based upon picture dates.

[johnt48618]

Ed - How did you get the window glass out of your CR NW2 prior to painting? I have 5 of these ready to custom paint for my railroad and am having difficulty getting the window glass out.

John

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ed - How did you get the window glass out of your CR NW2 prior to painting? I have 5 of these ready to custom paint for my railroad and am having difficulty getting the window glass out.

John

Very, very carefully, a shot of bourbon, and plenty of under the breath murmuring.

The key is understanding the way everything interlocks. I can't tell you from memory, but you should definitely do either the sides or the fronts first. It should be obvious when you look.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Just for fun I searched through rr picture archives and didn't find any in CR paint.  CR did have a few former Erie units with no louvers but they were in EL paint and had full length handrails.  I'm guessing they were sold/scrapped around 1980 based upon picture dates.

Yeah, plus, based on the location, this is the one I want.

It's a bummer about the louvers, but I'll get over it.