Any hints & tips for a beginner

Even though I am fairly new to this hobby, I am keen to add some 'realism' by trying out some weathering. Initially I intend to start with scenery and buildings and maybe eventually move on to locos. I am looking at starting with some things I don't mind experimenting with -  a bridge (it's going to be a wood / plastic mix hand made - maybe a bit ambitious), a second hand resin engine shed and some plastic fencing.
I have taken a flyer by purchasing some powders but before I start I am looking for any hints and tips that members can pass on. I'm sure there are others out there who have taken the plunge as a novice weatherer!!!

I haven't used powders much but however you work the key thing is try and work from a photograph and recreate what you actually see rather than what you think it might look like.

In the index under W
http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=787&forum_id=46
are many threads, etc relating to weathering which will help out.

Hi Merlin,

Some observations from my experience over the past few years using weathering powders:

From my reading and research really dirty/rusty/weathered locomotives were only found towards the end of steam in the UK.  Those locomotives that had lime/rust/oil and hadn't been washed or cleaned for months were waiting failure and then the scrap yard. There were issues with some of the early diesels such as the Warships and Westerns where poor paint jobs combined with staffing cuts (cleaners) meant peeling paint and rust, along with a lot of track dirt and oil stains. To a large extent it depended on the shed foreman. My daughter got me a great little book for Christmas detailing the exploits of a group who in the 1960's would go around sprucing up steam engines the night before their final run. Dirty yes, neglected no.

Don't try and do a full weathering using powders alone. Spray paint or brush first, use powders for highlighting.

Have a dedicated area for weathering. Nearly all weathering powders are finely ground minerals based on various shades of iron oxides. They are abrasive, keep them away from gears, motors, etc.

Use a good set of brushes, and only use them for weathering. Good quality powders are expensive (the GIGO principle applies here).

Wear a face mask and gloves, the powders will get into your lungs and the rest of the house unless there is good external ventilation. I rigged an exhaust fan to the outside after questions were raised about red colored dust throughout the house.

Sealing powders with flat varnish will change the color, experiment first.

Dark grey or soot black works well on ventilation grills.

Keep rust to logical areas, use various shades (dark red through light orange).

Keep lime to where water would be leaking.

Carriages (coaches) usually had cleanish sides, highlight seams and creavices that the washing brooms would miss. The ends, gangways and roofs were usually filthy.

PO wagons pre-WW2 were kept reasonably clean - they were adverts for the company who owned them. Ex-PO wagons post-WW2 were usually filthy until scrapped.

Pre-WW1 mainline stock was usually immaculate (cleaned everyday), branchline stock clean but usually showing track dust and soot (cleaned every week). Cabs/footplates were clean. Coal was sprayed with water to keep dust down, same for the cab floor.

Immaculate engines were seen after a major overhaul, or when on a special, so a very light weathering of the engine with track dust below the running plate is all that's required. I take the wheels off to do this, otherwise powder gets in the mechanism.

I've had one engine done professionally, with a bit of patience you can do better. Having a photograph of what you want is essential.  Brossard (John) did a Warship for me some years ago based on a photograph, superb.

Nigel

GIGO principle?

Terry

GIGO…..

usually applies to computer processing. Garbage In Garbage Out.
Enter incorrect data and the resulting output will be incorrect too.

Increasingly in general use- what you get out depends on the quality of what you put in.

Interesting, but I would prefer it if everyone stuck to plain English.  The latest nonsense heard in the UK is the stupid term 'going forward' when what they really mean is 'in future'.  Not to mention the silly term much beloved by radio presenters, "my show runs 12 through 3".  What on earth does that nonsense mean?  And as for 'period'.  Don't get me started!

Terry

GIGO, LIFO, FIFO, they have all been around since 1965-1979 (OED, 1964). Probably a lot earlier. GIGO is credited to George Fuechsel, an IBM programmer and computer science teacher.  I can remember first coming across the terms in computing science in 1968 (teletype input, get the hole wrong and everything ground to a halt). The expression is commonly used in the analog world in the context that if garbage (rubbish) is used, the end result will be garbage (rubbish).

Cheap weathering powders are more like grit, the expensive ones tend to be a lot finer (and more problematic re dust contamination). Ball milling is how they're produced (which is not expensive), it's the pigment quality and purity more than anything that defines the price.

Bottom line is that a little powder goes a long way, and it's worthwhile investing in decent materials and brushes (sable for preference). Cheap powder will abrade the surface, evident when the powders are washed off. More expensive, finer powders result in scratches that are not visible (the analogy would be #100 grit paper vs #1000 grit paper).

Nigel

Period. Hmm. "Middle English periode, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin, Latin, & Greek; Medieval Latin periodus period of time, punctuation mark, from Latin & Greek; Latin, rhetorical period, from Greek periodos circuit, period of time, rhetorical period, from peri- + hodos way. First Known Use: circa 1530". "Full stop" appears to have developed from "period", not the other way around.

I'm quite comfortable with "going forward" (which is not the same as "in the future"), "12 through 3", "24/7", etc., although the use of "period" and "full stop" (which I heard last week in the UK, as "that's it. Full stop!") as emphasis to define closure is rather redundant.

Bet you wish you hadn't asked Terry :???:

Blame it all on TV and radio announcers, never was English (on both sides of the pond) mangled so much by so few so quickly. The OED is apparently overwhelmed to the point that words are now being dropped. Technobabble for the most part, much of which will never make it into general usage. Shakespeare was very inventive with new words, wonder what the audiences made of it?  Makes me appreciate good old Anglo-Saxon.

All of which is off-topic.

Nigel

[user=1692]Merlin1960[/user] wrote:

Even though I am fairly new to this hobby, I am keen to add some 'realism' by trying out some weathering. Initially I intend to start with scenery and buildings and maybe eventually move on to locos. I am looking at starting with some things I don't mind experimenting with -  a bridge (it's going to be a wood / plastic mix hand made - maybe a bit ambitious), a second hand resin engine shed and some plastic fencing.
I have taken a flyer by purchasing some powders but before I start I am looking for any hints and tips that members can pass on. I'm sure there are others out there who have taken the plunge as a novice weatherer!!!

Merlin, try tea stain for your wood work, works well, just leave the tea bag in longer for a darker stain, also add a little liquid boot polish to make a dark stain [brown or black]. Hope this helps. Jeff.

Sorry, let's return Merlin1960 his thread.

Terry

Hi Merlin,

One thing I forgot to mention (and I was just doing some, which reminded me) is to combine weathering powders with dry brushing. This highlights any rust (use a metallic acrylic paint, Tamiya do a nice range). Try also a thin wash of paint followed immediately by judicious powdering. I load the brush with powder, paint and then tap the brush very gently from a height of about 3-4 inches. Described in many places is a slurry of powder and paint. Useful for accumulated grime in corners and crevices.

And another thing I forgot to mention is don't practise on that brand new model. Get a junk/cheap/ model from a local show/boot sale/ and use that. Or do what I did, and get a Dapol locomotive kit. An evenings work and you have a model for practicing on. If it looks good, it can always be parked on a siding waiting for a tow to the scrap yard with its rods on the running plate.

Nigel

G'day Merlin, Found this on a net search, Very good article that will help you out, Regards Jeff.

My method for weathering: If you are weathering at all, make sure you clean the model first! If it's second hand, there will be 'life sized' dust in the crevices and if there are greasy finger prints on the model, then weathering will make it look like a prop from CSI! I wear vinyl gloves and remove the bodywork, (if a loco or with electrical parts) before immersing the whole model in weak washing up liquid. A quick rinse and a flick to remove the drips and allow to air dry for a couple of days. For wagons, remove the axles and stick a bit of electrical tape over the bearings. Weather the wheels separately. Then using the gloves again, start to weather with a little dilute ink or paint of your choice, removing most of it with a cotton bud, moving towards the crevices you are weathering, if that makes sense? Work in many layers to build up a colour and state of weathering you like. THEN go on to the expensive powders, if you really want to. Remember though that working in small scales applies to weathering too and a little goes a long way! I usually give wagons a wash of browny-black paint, after painting in individual planks to look like repairs. Hope this helps? Hardly technical, but gives OK results for me.

I think Nigel has touched on the basics.

I have some pictures of weathered wagons in my thread:  http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=14578&forum_id=150&page=4

I discuss my methods.  Weathering is very subjective and is probably in the eye of the beholder.

John

Drybrushing  (that is, dipping the brush tip in a tiny bit of paint and then wiping almost all of it off) works wonders. The best way to drybrush for most stuff is to lightly poke the end of the tip against whatever you're painting (this is called stippling).

Regarding terminology, "full stop" is ollld. That goes back to the telegraph days!