Another curiosity question. Weathering Your Equipment.

[6axlepwr]

Just curious as to your opinion on weathering. Do you do it or is it something that is not important for your modeling efforts?

My first cars are getting to the point where I need to make that choice. I know this is a personal choice and preference and that there is no right answer. It is all about what you as in individual wants.

I like weathering or rather I like the results of weathering. I never liked the process. It is something that makes me procrastinate and adds time to getting a model done. I can do the work, but do I want to. In HO I jut plain stopped doing it. It was either stop weathering or stop modeling and I did not want to stop modeling. So I finished my models with a nice satin varnish. I really liked the look of it and I was able to get loads of models done. Heck, in 8 months I finished 168 cars.

In N-Scale though since I will be having a layout, I feel it is necessary to weather my equipment. It will help with the scene and overall look of the railroad. I am not going to get to involved with weathering. Just give the "look and feel" of used cars and locomotives.

I am fighting it, but I am loosing and weathering will most likely win out. When I finally get my first cars done, I will create my folder and have one for un-weathered cars and then one for after they get weathered.

Brian

[dem34]

I prefer light weathering on everything. With it done a bit heavier on certain items. It doesn't show brilliantly in pictures but in person the little panel washes, dust on the underframe, soot/Conrail Patina on the roofs with a shot of dullcote doesn't pop out but does knock off the shine and can be done in a half hour per locomotive and maybe 10m per rolling stock. I prefer light since, end of the day I rubber around with Era in my consists so a TTX Box might be on a PC Corridor freight one sesssion and a NYSW late 90s local the next, so it wouldn't be "immersive" if a 2yr old box looked like it was traveling the rails for 30yrs, but there are always some lucky bits of stock near their Outlaw dates with only some missing paint chips. So my excuse for a quick dust up.

But of course stuff like Cement Hoppers, Coal Porters, etc. Those I do spend a little extra time with Pan Pastels and MIG Powders.

,

[wazzou]

For me, it's a necessity.

[ristooch]

It's necessary for me - it adds realism and "presence" to rolling stock and buildings and can bring out details that might escape the eye on a fresh, out-of-the-box model. I find that I weather my locomotives less than rolling stock. I've leaned toward having locos look like they receive some occasional cleaning. It depends on my mood, though.

Now, graffiti? Probably not going to happen. A discussion of that will open a serious can of worms!

[jjb62556]

Just look at a real train...you don't see too many clean cars...

[bbussey]

I do, but not nearly enough.

[C855B]

I don't weather only because it's low on the roundtuit list. If I were (or, rather, were to recruit my artist wife) to weather, it would be with locale in mind. I model the Southwest. Most of the weathering there is going to be coats of dust. I might ask for a bit of rust on cars bearing Eastern reporting marks, or on something really old relative to my era. Whatever she or I do will be light.

We have weathering powders in our supplies stash, so it's not like we aren't prepared. It's that roundtuit again. Trees are higher up on her list, anyway!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Absolutely.
I'm trying to recreate reality.

Or at least, the experience of reality.

So yeah, stuff gets weathered.

[amato1969]

I do, but not nearly enough.

Agreed, a few clean cars (new/repaint) in your train provides nice contrast with the old rust buckets in the consist.

  Frank

[Dave V]

Modeling Colorado narrow gauge in its sunset years...yeah, weathering is mandatory.

[randgust]

I'm modeling a specific date, July '72, so depending on the car it can be shop fresh (the "Santa Fe" billboard scheme came out in June '72) or nearly beyond recognition (all the unhacked 40' Pullman Standard boxcars with "Route of the ______" still on them.   The 70's were the last stand of the 40' fleet and most of them were really, really beat.

And the intermodal cars - particularly the ones that travelled at speed - picked up a good layer of brownish, blackish dust from what was then a volcanic basalt ballast layer that ground down into dust and got sucked all over the place at 90mph train speeds.   NOTHING except a handfull of cars survived that treatment.   

I also love the contrast of an 'original scheme' car right beside a fresh repaint.  These are both Intermountains, I repainted the new one in the fresh 72 scheme with that characteristic orange roof overspray thing they did.



Link:  http://www.randgust.com/IMRFR04.jpg



Link:  http://www.randgust.com/IMRFR03.jpg

I find that kind of contrast a lot of fun, but pretty much 80% of my cars are weathered.

Same thing with power, I have factory-fresh SD45-2's that would have been a month old, and F7's that look ready for the CF7 scrap line.

[Bendtracker1]

When one models the Rock Island, you don't have a choice.

[Cajonpassfan]

Modeling a place in time pretty much requires appropriate weathering. During my transition era, trains were dirty, in a variety of ways,see pic below.. But even just a quick and subtle black wash goes a long way to kill the shine and blend the equipment into the scene. In my world, shiny plastic is for collectors and resellers...YMMV
Otto K.

[wm3798]

I've got a couple that I've done that I really like.



And then there's the ones that just stay on the layout long enough to collect enough dust that I consider them "naturally" weathered...

It's fun to sit down with a batch at a time and do them up, then sprinkle them into the fleet.

Lee

[ednadolski]

@6axlepwr you might wish to skim this doc over and see if it is of any interest.

http://www.mannresearch.com/rr/shawnvann/tommann_weathering150.pdf

Ed