Painting Atlas Code 55 Track

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Just "pee" the weathering solution/paint all over the track. 

Hahaha, I see what you did there. It's all the same thing, right @chicken45 ?

Anyway, I just squirt some from the bottle out and then spread it out with the brush.

[dem34]

Hahaha, I see what you did there. It's all the same thing, right @chicken45 ?

Anyway, I just squirt some from the bottle out and then spread it out with the brush.

Huh, might have to try that one out sometime.....


edit: its legitimately shocking to me that my best looking rail was achieved by just lathering the track in dollar store acrylic paint.

[CRL]

edit: its legitimately shocking to me that my best looking rail was achieved by just lathering the track in dollar store acrylic paint.

That’s what I’ve found to be true, especially when ballasting track. The faster you do it, the more natural it looks.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

That’s what I’ve found to be true, especially when ballasting track. The faster you do it, the more natural it looks.

It's what I like about the grout for that purpose, too. You hit it with some water, it "sets" and then you glue the ***** outta it. Works rapidly AND great.

[Maletrain]

It's what I like about the grout for that purpose, too. You hit it with some water, it "sets" and then you glue the ***** outta it. Works rapidly AND great.

But, what if you need to replace some track?  Do you need to blast?

[peteski]

But, what if you need to replace some track?  Do you need to blast?

He just scraps the entire layout and builds another one. 

[dem34]

So, like 3 minutes of work later. With a stock piece of Atlas C55 for comparison.


Also went ahead and dry brushed a tan over the ties afterword, only thing I can see to improve it further would be to just dry brush a rust color over the spikeheads.
So yeah. The sploosh method, gonna peddle that around and see how far I can go and keep a straight face.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

But, what if you need to replace some track?  Do you need to blast?

He just scraps the entire layout and builds another one. 

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[DKS]

Yeah, mortar for ballast has more cons than pros, IMO. Shiny bits of sand, impossible to remove, etc. There's got to be something that offers the same look without the drawbacks. I understand it has a "just add water" appeal, but that ain't enough.

[wazzou]

Yeah, mortar for ballast has more cons than pros, IMO. Shiny bits of sand, impossible to remove, etc. There's got to be something that offers the same look without the drawbacks. I understand it has a "just add water" appeal, but that ain't enough.

Agreed.

[MVW]

Yeah, mortar for ballast has more cons than pros, IMO. Shiny bits of sand, impossible to remove, etc. There's got to be something that offers the same look without the drawbacks. I understand it has a "just add water" appeal, but that ain't enough.

The permanence of Ed's grout approach scares me, too, although I love the way it looks. I've had some success putting down Woodland Scenics or Arizona Rock & Mineral ballast first, then sprinkling grout on top while the glue is damp. You get pretty much the same look, but the "traditional ballast" base makes it easier to pull up track, if necessary.

Jim

[Ed Kapuscinski]

The permanence of Ed's grout approach scares me, too, although I love the way it looks. I've had some success putting down Woodland Scenics or Arizona Rock & Mineral ballast first, then sprinkling grout on top while the glue is damp. You get pretty much the same look, but the "traditional ballast" base makes it easier to pull up track, if necessary.

Jim

In reality I don't think it's much worse than anything else. It bonds well TOGETHER but its bond to whatever it's sitting on is no harder than any other material.

[nscalbitz]

Huh, might have to try that one out sometime.....

edit: its legitimately shocking to me that my best looking rail was achieved by just lathering the track in dollar store acrylic paint.

Yes this- nature is full of contrast and ambiguity.

The human (brains) need for colour translates into models that have intense/ dense/ conspicuous shapes and intervals- 'je deteste le static grass'- areas of wild that look like manicured lawns and Trumpish courses instead of random and wild growth.

So the moral is lightly applied, several shades, darken first then lighten, not all, apply some foliage, spray again (ignoring foliage- that what nature does) and then clean rails. Apply random visibility blocks such as reeds, medium bushes of pale colours/ brush etc even when they shouldn't have been growing so close to the track.
FWIW d

[robert3985]

So, like 3 minutes of work later. With a stock piece of Atlas C55 for comparison.


Also went ahead and dry brushed a tan over the ties afterword, only thing I can see to improve it further would be to just dry brush a rust color over the spikeheads.
So yeah. The sploosh method, gonna peddle that around and see how far I can go and keep a straight face.

Splooshing on shiny paint looks like crap.  That's one thing I really like about the Krylon Ultra Flat Camo paint...it's "Ultra Flat". If you had flat paint, the sploosh method would look a whole lot better.

Same thing done with two colors out of rattle cans on the same length of track would have taken about half the time...with light coats and using a flat sponge lightly loaded with paint thinner...and looked exponentially better.

Use flat paints for further dry-brushing/weathering.

Shiny sucks.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[CRL]

Splooshing on shiny paint looks like crap... Shiny sucks.

IMHO this is a definitive statement for scenery techniques.