Atlas Coil Car

[tom mann]

This is a great little car.   First n scale car I've weathering since Bryan's x58 and LV gon - so the third n scale car in 2 years




Trying to get more subtle.  I always thought I was - but looking at some of my earlier stuff recently, there is room for improvement.

[Ridgeline]

That is a beautiful thing! Where did you find this "subtle" and how much does it cost?? 

[Denver Road Doug]

Wow that looks nice.   I agree, I need a bottle or two of that "subtle" stuff.

[Smike]

+1 Is that chaulk, or pigments? Very fine pattern on that. Well Done! 

Also need to get me some of that stuff that Conrail HS banner of yours is pushing these days...

[tom mann]

It's not chalk.  I don't really use chalk too much.  What looks like light surface rust is actually Burnt Umber oil paint mixed (but not thoroughly) with water.  It is on top of Dirt, on top of Tarnished Black, on top of Burnt Umber that was lightly scrubbed off for variety, on top of Dullcote that sealed a base layer of Zinc Chromate Primer and Aged White.

Based on photos, I probably over faded the car...

[ednadolski]

Hey looking real good there Tom!       Interesting about the oil paints - just to be clear, did you mean the real oil-based type, not the water-mixable stuff?
 
Ed

[DKS]

Based on photos, I probably over faded the car...

I don't know... they fade at different rates, and to my eye this is totally believable. It's a thing of beauty.

[GaryHinshaw]

Very nice!  I agree that these cars seem to have faded very little so far and that this one may be a bit much.  That said, it's a very well done fade and kudos on the overall subtlety.  I can't wait to do some weathering again some day...

These Atlas cars are really sweet, BTW.

[Bendtracker1]

Based on photos, I probably over faded the car...

I don't think it's too over done, these didn't last that long:



It would depend on what type of paint that got used.

[DKS]

So Tom, what's your airbrush of choice? Iwata is here at Springfield, of course, and I think it's time for me to (finally) get serious...

[Hyperion]

It's a rare day that a scale modeler doesn't answer that with "Iwata".  The HP-CS is pretty much the universal standard.

Grex is just starting to make a push into the market, and they're pushing hard.  Their new pistol-trigger controls are all the rave, but I haven't had a chance to try one yet.  For modelers were fine motor control was somewhat of an issue, this may be important.  But they're also not likely to be N-scale modelers if that's an issue.  And most certainly not going to be T-gauge modelers.

Given your penchant for uber-detail work, the recently lauched Badger Krome may be to your liking.  The Renegade launch a few years back was sort of a dud for Badger, but they came back last year with the new Krome model in the lineup after adjusting to the feedback they got.  It's pretty much unmatched (consumer-grade-wise at least) at super small detail work and is otherwise compared very favorably to the HP-CS (teardown, cleanup, ergonomics, etc).  The only downside to it is the availability of spare parts versus an Iwata brush -- but if you don't have a Hobby Lobby near you that carries Iwata components anyways, and you've got to go online, that becomes a moot point anyways (nor is parts availability that big a deal IMHO, as you should rarely ever need one aside from perhaps scheduled preventative maintenance/replacement).

[DKS]

...if you don't have a Hobby Lobby near you...

I don't have anything near me. I'm a minimum of an hour and a half away from a hobby shop of any sort. I do everything online.

[tom mann]

So Tom, what's your airbrush of choice? Iwata is here at Springfield, of course, and I think it's time for me to (finally) get serious...

Funny you ask that today!  I've been using an Iwata Eclipse HP BCS for 9 years, and today my new Iwata HP-C Plus arrived.

[wazzou]

I have an Iwata HP-B and an Iwata Revolution BCR. 
I also have a Paasche H that I do some of the heavy lifting with.

[Philip H]

interesting thread jack - one more Iwata post and I think they have to start paying Tom a royalty!

Looking at the car he weathered, I actually like the look, and I think its ok as is.  The subtle weathering and rust on top is really well done - Tom since I have your book I have to ask if you dabbed with a paint brush or a make up swab?