Not Just a Coat of Grimey Black !

The very first attempt?  Mapping pen applied to the door frames then rubbed and smudged with cotton wool buds to form dirty corners.  It's a technique I still use today.



The earliest complete locomotive weathering was on one of my class 42 "Warships" which has the doorframe inked and  received what amounted to a trial application of powders.

Ooh, nice. Say, is that the old operating TPO?

My first attempts at weathering were back in my teenage years (many centuries ago!), and consisted of holding a wad of cotton wool steeped in mineral turpentine in some tongs and lighting the wad, then holding an old wagon above the very sooty flame. It worked quite well, except for getting the wagon too close to the flame and melting a small portion of one of the sides!

The next candidate using the same technique (but keeping it further away from the flame) was a Triang 'Nellie' 0-4-0T.

I don't have either model in my collection now, so no pictures of them, unfortunately.

Since then, my weathering techniques have expanded to include thin washes, dry-brushing, stippling (all of these with paint), and weathering powders.

Perhaps not quite in the spirit of the thread for first attempts, here are two very recent items I have weathered.

The locomotive is a Hornby S15 4-6-0, while the wagon is a Cambrian Kits 'Sturgeon A'. I'm quite pleased with the effects I have achieved with both. Even so, there are further touches I could apply to really complete the jobs. 





Both of these have appeared in my workbench or layout threads before, just in case you thought you suffered from deja vu!

[user=1916]ZeldaTheSwordsman[/user] wrote:

Ooh, nice. Say, is that the old operating TPO?

'fraid not.  It's the much more recent Bachmann non-operating one.  As in they run perfectly but they don't have functional (nor indeed any) nets.

I know it says "not just a coat of grimy black", but I am not sure what else to use to weather a coal wagon! This is my first attempt at tackling some of my wagon stock. I thought I would practice and learn on these before moving onto coaches/loco's. I found it difficult to obtain good quality photographs and B&W ones just help with shades. The chassis hasn't been touched, other than Slaters 3-link couplings so I am looking for hints tips on weathering. I assume layers/combination of rust/brown/black. Wheels have been blackened using a Sharpie felt pen but I need to work on the spokes and inside rim. Coal loads are resin and add some good weight.
Before:


After:

Ian, I agree that coal wagons would not be simply grimy black.  There would be shades of rust and dirt/earth as well IMO.

You may already have seen this:

Lionheart PO wagon in end of life condition in 1962.



One thing I like to do first off is do the wheels.  If there are shiny rims, use a black sharpie to cover that.  It is pretty much indelible so if paint does rub off, it won't be obvious.

I have a pot of wheel grot which consists of black, dirt and rust and I paint them with that.  Sfterwards giving the tires a rub down with a fiberglass pen.

For the underframe, after the base airbrush coats of earth and black, I start with rust on the axleboxes, wheels and other ironmogery.  I rub this in and leave a thin layer.  To tone down the rust I follow up with black on the solebars axleboxes etc, and wheels.

I try to be subtle with the body powdering, it is so easy to overdo it.  I also try to simulate someone wiping off the ID number since that would be important for staff to see.

Another point is the interior.  If you plan to run you wagons loaded all the time, this is obviously a non issue.



A BR open wagon from Dapol.



Out of the box the interior was cream.  A good base colour because raw wood is close to that colour.  Interiors weren't painted as a rule.  I used my airbrush to lay down some earth and black first.

Aside:  You can enhance the wood grain by rubbing sandpaper in the grain direction.

Again with powders, rust for the iron bits, earth and black trying to randomise the weathering.

Don't forget to paint the brake lever handles white.

I like that you are doing 3 link.  I could never get on with these in 4mm, but then I never tried very hard either, preferring Kadee.  For 0 gauge I am trying harder and the uncoupling tools I have made show promise.

John

Wow. Now that is something to aspire to!!!! I probably need to get a how to guide so i can learn properly. Thank you for showing me those.

Thanks.  The best how to guide that I know of is to try it and see what effects you can acheive.  I have Martyn Welch's book on weathering but he uses enamels and I prefer acrylic.

John

Thanks John - i will see what i can find. A member on RMWeb reminded me of the articles in RM and the other magazines. I will see what I can dig up for help and techniques. 
I will keep on practicing and have fun while I am learning!

Ian