I have some 90 ton hoppers that I would like to weather (Black, mostly N&W) and tried out my first hopper weathering job on an old Atlas 90T. I’m after that well worn (sun bleached) effect, but have not found too many good prototype pictures to work from. I was wondering if I did anywhere near something decent, or should I go back to the drawing board (the weathering is water-based and can be undone at this point). So what do you think?
Bruce, the trucks and couplers look especially "right-on"...good job! What did you do to get them that wonderfully rusted look?
Bruce, great job! Here is a link to a NS GB that has that same weathered look. http://gelwood.railfan.net/ns/ns197613asb.jpg
Thanks all for your feedback. I guess I hit the mark and have yet another “summer” MRR project ahead of me. RED ROCK: Thanks for the link to the picture! I have some black gondolas that will become another weathering project soon. It’s been frustrating trying to find pictures of freight cars, mainly because I’ve noticed that most Railfans seem to prefer photographing the locos. The weathering technique I used involved a paint brush and some watercolor paints (I purchased a color wheel at Michaels). For lack of a better term (unless there is one that I am unaware of), I would call it “Damp Brushing”. It’s not a “wash”, and not dry brushing. I slightly dampened the brush and paint, and then brushed on small streaks of color (White, then a touch of Brown). With a scrubbing action (up and down), I further smeared the streaks until I got the desired weathering effect. It’s a careful balance of not getting it too wet or too dry, and working out the brush strokes. I will eventually follow up with Dull Cote (or a matte sealer). The trucks and couplers were done in the same way, but I won’t seal them because I’m sure it will gum them up. I recently did this boxcar the same way (I love to beat up perfectly good cars):
