I'm aware of the ability to vastly increase the believability of small models with weathering. But the only type of weathering I have ever done is washes with dark thinner and highlights by dry brushing with white or silver pigment. And on much larger scales. Now I'm seeing weathering sets of various powders in train shops. I want to very lightly weather my cars and houses. I want to bring out detail by highlighting bright edges and darkening seams. Do any of you have a system or reference for going about weathering Z scale models?
There are whole books and hours of DVDs on the subject and you'll find everyone has an opinion. You might want to check out some of the Model Railroader material. Personally I'm not a big fan of weathering. In the era I model (mid-20th century) railroads generally maintained their equipment. I weather primarily for improved detail definition and indications or oxidation and rust. To improve definition I like to use a 10:1 solution of rubbing alcohol and India ink (black or brown) as a brush-on wash. I particularly use this on the Rokuhan and MTL roadbed track to improve the gravel definition. For oxidation I use a similar wash of white or grey paint. I'll use this brush-on to emphasize mortar lines. For overall oxidation, it's useful to have an air brush to apply this wash. To get a feel for it, you can go on the cheap with an air brush/sprayer from the hobby stores that use a compressed air can. Essentially you want to mist the item you're working on. For soot, rust and general grime, I like using the weathering powders. I'll apply them with a makeup brush (think of the fingerprint powder scenes in the CIS programs). An acid brush from the hardware store can be used to work the powders into tight spots. The advantage with the powders is that if you don't like to results, you can wash it off and try again. Be careful of fingerprints as it's easy to "weather" them into the side of a car. I'd also suggest getting an N scale boxcar to practice on. Weathering techniques are somewhat scale indepedent. There is so much more, but this should be enough to get you thinking. Mark
My thoughts are similar. I just want to make the detail on my cars and buildings a bit more visible. And adding some light/shade effect. I have several airbrushes and some experience. I don't want to ruin my cars with incompatible solvents or heavy handed applications though. Getting some cheap N scale cars and trying on them sounds good.
I'll usually just weather the trucks a little, just to show some wear. I've seen some rolling stock that I've been looking for, only to see them barely recognizable cause they're soooooo weathered!!
Yeah, I do think weathering will decrease the value of any loco. That's my biggest reservation. Heavy weather maybe make it unsaleable.
