I have a few kits of brick buildings; the look of the brick and motar just doesn't look right. I'd like to repaint and weather. Suggestions? Thanks.
I don't have much experience with brick buildings, but I usually paint the brick color, then, when dry, overpaint with gray to represent the mortar and wipe off with a cloth whilst wet. This gives the bricks and mortar look, and some of the gray "weathers" the bricks as well. Depending on the age of the building, it could also be weathered with chalks. I have no doubt that others will have much more detailed advice
I have used "drywall compound/mud" for bringing out the mortar lines. I paint the walls in the color of the brick I want. Let the paint dry overnight, and then smear on a little bit of drywall mud. Just enough to cover the mortar lines. Then take a damp paper towel or sponge and lightly wipe off the mud from the top of the bricks. This leaves the mud in the mortar and when everything is dry, I'll used a clear flat overspray to lock in the color, and mortar lines. I try to keep things simple(KISS) and cheap.
I stole my technique for painting bricks from Dave Frarey's(sp?) book on building urban scenery. I use an appropriate Floquil color for my brick. I have a lot of buildings so I use lots of different colors. I airbrush that on let it dry overnight then use an alcohol/water/Pollyscale wash to bring out the morter lines. Here's an example Hope this helps
That's the seam tecnique. I also use Floquil paint. That give the best result's. Just try it!!! it's not so hard!!!
First of all Eugen, that is beautiful work. Can you post some long shots of your layout as well. Great detailing Now back to Mr. Adney, I have some more time today so I took a close up of a brick building: Here is the formula I used to get the 'concrete' mortar lines in the brick. 1 part pollyscale concrete 9 parts alcohol 7 parts water 3 drops detergent over the next few weeks I'm going to experiment with that mix. I'm going to try using polly scale reefer white and 4 parts alcohol 3 parts water 3 drops detergent.
Full surface brick decals... A picture of the side of the actual building, reduced to scale in Photoshop, and printed on decal paper with an ALPS printer. Then the decal is slid onto H&R brick sheet (we use that for the building walls) which creates realistic relief. More on the NEB&W's website.
Thank's for the flower Chris! Sorry, I am nod able to post more Pic's. ( Can you post some long shots of your layout as well. ) I am waiting for the permit ion to put Pic's on the TrainBoard Photo-Album
Eugen, have you not tried to post some photos by using Railimages, accessible from Trainboard? Just click on the big orange emblem on the top Right of the page.
Another idea is to use white shoe polish well watered down. Spray on, wipe after about a minute, then respray if needed.
One thing to remeber, not all mortar is white. And older mortar looks more gray. [ 02. May 2003, 17:21: Message edited by: Coaltrain ]
Hello Jim Fitzgerald I tried to post some photos by using Railimages, accessible from Trainboard. It don't work!!!
If the model is already a nice brick colored plastic, I found a quick easy way to do mortor that gives a new brick look. I painted the entire surface with Woodland Scenics "Concrete Roadway", and immediatly wiped it off with a paper towel, and let it dry. Then I sanded the bricks with 220 grit sandpaper to let the original brick color show through better, leaving the concrete color paint as nice mortor lines. You can then weather with washes or chalk powders to the desired effect. Here is an unweathered example on the brick roundhouse:
Sounds like a good method Robert, as you can start with a new brick look then age it to the desired level.
