Hello TrainBoard, I have decided to take my first adventure into the world of custom painting with this Athearn Sd40. I figured I would start this step by step thread not only just for sharing, but for other new painters (And maybe for my benefit too, haha). I claim no expertise in painting or for that matter, model railroading. This is really a learning experience for me and at 18, I suspect that I will be doing many more custom paintings in the future. So don't be hesitant to give advice and constructive criticism. Lets get right to it. This is the victim, an Athearn Sd40. Here, I lay out all of the parts to be painted, and label what color they are to be. I like things organized. Now I cut out the place for the hand brake. This took me over an hour and a few bandaids. It took a little patience. Tomorrow I plan on washing the body and other parts, and doing the black painting for the details and walkways. Pictures to come! The roadname is going to be secret for now, but I think some will be presently surprised by what it is planned to be. Robert
update Hello again Just got back from the paint shop and here is what has been accomplished. Washed the plastic parts in mild soapy water. My other project, an undec athearn baggage car, needed a black underbody so I did it at the same time. Painted the walkways and other appropriate parts flat black. The flash made some parts look more gray than they actually are. and painted all the appropriate details black. I think that this is coming along quite nicely. Suggestions and advice would be helpful! Also, should I paint the rest of the body black so the other color isnt uneven? should I have taped the engine up? Thanks guys, Robert
Robert, Will you be using an airbrush or rattle cans? I like that you're organizing parts into seperate colors that will pay off for you. 2slim
Robert, Keep in mind light colors will require multiple coats to cover black. Darker colors require less coveage to cover black or light colors. So painting light colors (including silver and gold) before painting dark colors is what you want. 2slim
2slim Ok, light before dark. woops. Luckily the next color is relatively dark, so I don't think that it should be too big of a problem. Thanks for the tip! Robert
I hate to give advixce that is backwards from where you already are. Here's my reccomended practie though. I painted an Athearn Bluebox GP60 into Trainboard colors, similar to Frisco but with orange and silver. First thing, was a primer coat of grey. I did this for two reasons, one because the metallic paint I was using was strong and I wanted another buffer between it and the plastic, two because Blue boxes are black plastic. Then, I did the silver. Did the entire model in it, but I wasn't all that concerned wih and even cover on parts that weren't silver. Tehn I put the mask down over what would be the silver stripe, and painte the entire model in Orange. Now, I don't do much in the way of Anti-glare or anti-skid, mostly becaue I don't know it enough to do it right. However, I'd hold off the airbrush, and either hand-brush them, or look into Paint markwers, which is what I plan to use to do the handrails on the GP60. Also, I applaud you for takign aprt and sorting details. I sually just strip paint off a completed model though. Saves me assembly time, and 90% of what I'm goin to paint will be the same color as the body piece it goes onto. But that's just me.
Flashwave, I wasn't too concerned about a primer paint since it was an undec in primer color, but I suppose I still should have used a primer anyways. Looking back, I should definitely have just painted the whole thing in the main color, then come back and painted the walkways. I'm afraid that I wouldn't want to hand brush as It doesnt ever give a consistent cote (at least for me) and I highly doubt that they make the shade of paint marker that I need. This is definitely a learning experience for me, and every tip helps! Thanks Robert
I've said the same thing about hand painting, but those markers can be soemthing else. I used them to touch up the gold on this work truck and do the silver bumpers, as well as the sidewalls on the "tires". That last one is not the smoothest application, but it worked for me. You might still keep them in mind. Not sure what color you need, but they do have "black". Oh, and the truck in front is hand painted too. Didn't start that way, I originally sparay-canned it, but I had to patch a bleed-through and nby the time I got the color right, I ended up with the whole model hand-jobbed. We'll see, I may just re-mask it and try th ecans again. yes, I said cans. I'm on a love-hate relationship with airbrushes. After two of them did a better job of painting me than the model they were pointed at, I love to hate them. EDIT: Let's see. Green, black, yellow. Not sure what the other one is. I wonder what this will be. Surely it's not a Seaboard engine...
Update Hello again, The project is moving along quite swiftly. Here I mas all the black parts to get ready for painting the main color. And here I have painted, done a litle detail painting, and gloss coated the engine. Unfortunately the color came out a little bit too dark, but that's ok. I'm not too bothered. That flash really makes things look shiny, but you could hardly see the engine without it. :/ Flashwave, I am heading to the store tomorrow and will pick up a black paint marker for touch up or future projects. As for the guess, very very close but no cigar. Sadly Seaboard had no Sd40s but luckily one of their shortlines did... http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=281628&nseq=1 Stripes and numbers tomorrow. I think that I will be finished with this by Friday. Thanks Robert
That's looking good. You might want to slow down though, and give the paint longer tiem to cure. I say that beacause I had a shell bond to the styrafoam packing... Yeah, I know, who wants to slow down when they're doing so good.
That's going to look really good.:thumbs_up: And you'd better believe it that you're going to do more paint jobs. Once you've done one, you're hooked. As you might guess, I'm guilty of that too...laugh:
Update Hello once again, I've added all the road number decals and added the little "f"s. and I added the first stripe. I lost hair over those decals. They were harder than the painting. Mike, Thanks! And I have already planned my next engine project. :mcool: Robert
Lost hair huh? I',m going to guess they tried to tear on you, didn't they? Did you ytry to slide them off the decal paper? Or float them off, therin allowing them to wrap themselves around your finger numerous times? FOr next time, try keeping your finger more wet than the shell, that somestimes helps. And as soon as you can stop Decal stripes from tearing apart, let the rest of us all, we're all wondering... You did glosscote the shell first, didn't you?
Morgan, Yes sir, the first stripe i tried ripped right up on me, had to throw it away. I did slide it off the paper though and also used gloscote a couple days before the decals. Ill try keeping my fingers wet when I do the other decals later today. When I find the perfect method to decal application I'll let everyone now haha. Robert
If it makes you feel any better, I went through 4 packs of decals for MicroScale's 1947 American Freedom Train before I ever got a tolerable looking ALCo. I think there was a problem with their printer for that run though. I still have a bunch of coaches to do yet, which I'm not looking forward to. I've usally ended up having to piecemeal stripes back together on the cars, in whcih ccase I reccomend pverlapping them and nudging with your fignernail or a toothpick edge to get the sides lined up. Alternatively, you could not pick a paintscheme that involves a lot of striping. :GRIN:
Robert, I have also had problems with decals cracking or 'exploding' when they seperate from the backing. I have taken to giving any decals I'm using a clear coating prior to using them, (usually a day or two in advance) I wish I could say this method is fool proof but it has improved my chances of a good decal job significantly. I have also purchased one of these to store my decals in. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Smead-Expanding-File-12-Pockets-Poly-Letter-Black-Blue/14917751 If nothing else it helps catagorize them. @slim
update Hello again Trainboard, Well, I meant to update over the weekend but I took a last second trip up to Hamlet with my Dad. The sd40 is nearing completion. All the striping and other decals (except for fuel decal) are completed. Now I need to put some dullcote on and do the final assembly, including gas tank, lights, and all the other bells and whistles. I will post a completed, running picture later whenever it's entirely finished. Robert
