What was your latest purchase?

Primavw Feb 4, 2012

  1. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    I need some more of their plain painted service trucks for Lucky Penny Yard. (y)
     
  2. Mo-Pac

    Mo-Pac TrainBoard Member

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    It looks great! Compared with my painting skills.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  3. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    I got some good fine haired brushes from Michael's (about $10 for 12 brushes in assorted tip types) and the paint is only the cheapy $1 acrylic stuff from Michael's or WalMart. Just try to brush the same direction when you can and spread evenly and lightly. The windows are a bit tricky but a small brush with a flat end will win the day with a little patience.
     
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  4. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    This isn’t my latest purchase but I thought I would share as we were just talking about painting things.

    So I guess I will make this a quick “primer” on painting, or at least how I have been doing it.
    First and prolly the most important purchase is the brushes. You don’t need to spend $50 per brush, but don’t stick with those ones that Testers puts in their paint kits... actually just clip the bristles off and keep it for a stir stick.

    Here is my favorite set at the moment.
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    I think I paid about $10 for this pack.

    There are 3 brushes I mainly use in this pack.
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    The wide chisel tipped one I use to paint large areas, the small chisel tip is for the windows and trim, and the round fine tip for details such as the bricks of my DQ.

    The paint is not really anything special, it’s just the $1 bottles from most craft stores or Wally World.
    AA00BE63-53F4-457F-90B4-04F3C239BEDA.jpeg


    And lastly for the supplies I use these colored pencils for bricks.
    FF9A213F-888A-44B8-8282-A5FA929B9149.jpeg


    Now that we have the materials, let’s move to the how. Now I don’t claim to be any sort of expert here, but I think my results are pretty ok. Let’s start with prep. This is key. Wash all pieces in dish soap and water, that will remove any release agent or excess resin. Rinse well and dry. Air dry is best but a lint free towel will be ok too. When doing bricks I paint the brick area in grey first. This provides a mortar in the cracks. Then lightly color the bricks with the colored pencils. I use a bit of each color, unevenly to simulate how a real brick looks. They are rarely ever the same color uniformly.

    When painting large areas, I use the wide brush. This particular brush is thin so it will allow me to make a sharp edge if I need where 2 different colors meet. This is where the quality brush really stands out. I try to keep all strokes going the same direction for the purpose of uniformity. Don’t try to cover in one coat, it simply won’t work in most cases. 2 or 3 light coats will always work and look better than on thick coat. When you put the paint on with one thick coat, you risk losing details in favor of coverage. The multiple light coats will give the color and keep the details.

    Always start with light colors first, then move to darker colors. For things like trim and windows I use the small chisel tip and only lightly wet it in the paint, well hang on a sec, let me change it up a bit. So to help the color flow into my brush better I dip about 1/4 to 1/3 of the brush into the paint, then wipe the brush on a paper towel. This helps the wicking action of the brush, and you will be able to get those fine details much easier than if the brush has the paint in a ball on the tip of the brush. Small light touches to the fresh paint, only on one side of the brush, and light touches to the details you want to paint works best. Go slow, and little by little.

    The last favorite brush is the fine tip round brush. This one I use just like the small chisel brush with the wicking technique. This one I use for really fine details like door knobs, fuel level sight glasses, boiler details, things like that. My last time using it was for the individual bricks on the DQ.

    And lastly, wash the brush from time to time even if you are still using the same color. As the paint dries on the brush, it prevents the movement of the bristles, and will also prevent the wicking and thus the brushes ability to hold the paint. You will notice that it seems the brush needs to be recharged more often as well. These are signs it’s time to clean the brush.

    I know this is kinda long, and maybe a post that needs it’s own thread, if so we can make that happen, but I hope you all enjoy this and have maybe picked up a new technique that will help your models come out looking a little better than before.
     
  5. Mo-Pac

    Mo-Pac TrainBoard Member

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    Thank you for the how to on painting buildings. I did purchase some cheaper brushes and supplies at Michael’s a few months ago. I will need to focus on my project whenever I am painting.


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  6. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    THis applies to more than just the buildings, but only which is done with a brush. If you are painting a car or engine then there are other techniques needed for the air brush and masking. I wasnt trying ot run a class on all that LOL.
     
  7. S t e f a n

    S t e f a n TrainBoard Member

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  8. jhn_plsn

    jhn_plsn TrainBoard Supporter

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    My latest purchase has nothing to do with N scale, yet it does. My solution for storage from the attic space and from under the old layout and modules was to purchase and assemble a shed. The shed I wanted to fit the space required a three week wait, so I settled on a shed that was in stock and matches one I already have. I am now in pain but the shed is assembled and full. It took all that I expected and I can now pick a day and begin removing the old wallboard.
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  9. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    Looks like a familiar sight to me. Make sure everything is very well packed in those plastic containers. They need to be sealed to prevent bugs and other little critters from nesting in the bins. NO CARDBOARD boxes or 'Bankers Box' will survive outside without temperature and humidity control... that would be detrimental to your collectables. Many of my early model trains and sportscards were ruined in an un-aircondition environment... bad lesson learned years ago.

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  10. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    So this isn’t an N scale but it is trains, and it was purchased just this weekend. It’s a Hawthorne Village display case. These are normally $139, of course you can make 4 easy payments... but the new one was only $20.

    21211C99-E24D-41B5-B8A7-B36F26C06258.jpeg 7DDFB673-090A-4998-A021-020C5E0DFB06.jpeg
     
  11. jlundy46

    jlundy46 TrainBoard Supporter

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    Applied the Gloss coat and SP&S decals and finished with Dullcoat. Need to apply the details and eventually a decoder.

    Dsc_0016bsmallgood.jpg
     
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  12. bigGG1fan

    bigGG1fan TrainBoard Member

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  13. jlundy46

    jlundy46 TrainBoard Supporter

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    Just ordered one. Sure brings back memories. Thanks for sharing!
     
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  14. ns737

    ns737 TrainBoard Supporter

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    did mikado come with traction tire driver set?
     
  15. okane

    okane TrainBoard Supporter

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    Someplace in the last two moves, my Optivisor went missing. So the need for close up modelling assistance is certainly required with Nscale. Comes with a headband and 5 different magnifying strengths and an LED light to boot.

    Comfortable to wear and not too bad on the eyes - LOL



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    Last edited: Jan 7, 2021
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  16. Florent

    Florent TrainBoard Member

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    So beautiful:

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  17. okane

    okane TrainBoard Supporter

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    Watt Meter - Not sure it will work but for $19.00 CDN, I figured I can give it a try. I can always send it back. IMG_20210108_192234.jpg
     
  18. Run8Racing

    Run8Racing TrainBoard Member

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  19. Run8Racing

    Run8Racing TrainBoard Member

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    I purchased several ACME delivery trucks a few years back. Anvils, rockets, bird seed, and other "products" !!!
     
  20. Run8Racing

    Run8Racing TrainBoard Member

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    Received MT USN 39' tank car and "Bureau of Ordinance" boxcar. Also got Navy Gas 3-dome tank car. ALMOST got three helium cars, but sellers insisted on using a payment process that is no pal of mine. Not after attempting an $1,800 scam !!! I'll find the helium cars elsewhere.
     

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