Basic weathering...............where to start.

Andrew Coward 

I hope that these notes are of some interest should you be considering weathering for your stock. There is some film of these techniques taken by the Railway Channel on my line's website............................... the address of which is below.

I started out on this subject because I felt that I would like to try to make my model vehicles look more like those I saw in photographs or real life. A wagon was the easiest first project but finally I plucked up the courage to tackle a loco. People told me I was mad as I had 'reduced its value' but I had come to the conclusion that the satisfaction of making my loco's look as if they really worked for a living outweighed monetary costs. In fact, I have had people offer to buy these loco's or ask me to do the same to theirs.................................so maybe I have 'added value' !

I have not invented these methods.........well ok I have 'tweaked ideas' to meet my own aims that in many cases were designed for indoor 'smaller scale' models, but the basic methods I have taken from other people's writing and so make no claims to having invented them.

Like most things in this hobby ( and life ) the hardest part is making the initial start.................from then on it gets very much easier. This is also very much an art and not a science.............beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder and we may not all agree on what constitutes 'accuracy'. However, we can probably agree that if it looks like a photo of a real prototype..................then we are getting somewhere ! Above all we are all in this for fun so lets not get over serious about it!

When I started out I was very pleased with some 'basic weathering' that really made a difference to the look of an otherwise spotlessly clean vehicle. As I progressed I have enjoyed each stage of improving techniques and this in turn has made me want to try to improve my models further. By not attempting too much at each stage I have not had too many real 'disaster ' errors.................mind you I have had a goodly number, but nothing that could not be rectified.......and its been very enjoyable seeing the end results! I regularly go back and add 'tweaks' to the weathering effect of vehicles I have worked on in the past to attempt to improve them. The total number of hours on these over the years must be huge !

The point for me is not to attempt too much at one go as I have found that I almost invariably 'over-weather'. Much better to make a 'light' first step and add to this later possible over several sessions. 

Weathering methods for outdoor lines, as far as I am concerned, revolve around my applying paint by brush. Airbrushing I have no experience in, and so I can only advise on the methods I use which are a number of brush based methods. I hope someone else will enlighten us on airbrush methods over and above what is written in books.

There are also 'weathering powders' available , but although I have tried these, they neither produce the effects I seek, not will the finish survive long in the 'real environment' that my models run in rather than the 'controlled environment' of the model railway room used in the smaller scales. Covering the finish achieved with varnish seems to change the look and so I have not taken this method further.

When using the brush I use two basic methods..........................a colour wash and dry brushing.

Aims

The weathering effects on railway vehicles seem to revolve around 'atmospheric' effects (such as a dust of mud/rust deposited on the vehicle mainly originating from what is on the trackbed) and those brought about by 'physical' means such as rusting or scraping of the surface. On a new model the finish is invariably better than that of a newly constructed and painted full size prototype item............ and what most of us seek is not the effect of a 'Museum exhibit'. So some change is needed. Some effort should produce something that looks like it has lived in the real world for a while !

Materials

Stay away from pure black and white paints. Neither is seen in the real world other than soon after application. The colours of stock seems to tend to gravitate to 'shades of grey' and so these are the colours I use. Pure black in particular seems to 'lose the detail' of the model as these 'sink' into the background colour. Having said that my preferred loco livery is black in the main................but by the time I have finished none of the loco will be pure black and nearer various shades of grey which somehow reveals the details that would otherwise be lost.

I tend to stick to 'good old Humbrol enamel paints' as they are easy to obtain, have a good range of colours and are easy to apply. They also have also caused me no problems on my gas fired steam loco's where they are used throughout the body work despite heat. Having said that however..................I give no guarantees and can only report what has happened to mine under the useage they get.

Rolls of kitchen towel are excellent for this work. Some thinner 'tissues' can also be useful.

Various tool with sharp edges allow the addition of a graining effect when desired by dragging the point lightly over the paint surface. Screwdrivers, pointed tools and especialy some of the 'dentist's tools' sold at model railway shows are ideal.

Colour wash

This tends to be step one for me when starting on a model.

Mix some dark grey paint with a large quantity of paint thinners …..............just as if you were cleaning a brush. Using a large 'square end' brush take a little of the paint/thinners mix and, starting at the top of the vehicle, stroke the brush downwards. It should intially look as if little has happened to the model surface but dark paint should be collecting in any surface variation. This often 'lifts' detail out that previously was hidden and immediately you start to see change. As always in this field 'keep it light' and do not put on too much I one go.

If too much dark paint is there, then dab some off with the kitchen towel. Cover the whole side evenly and then allow to dry.

You should now have achieved a satisfying change to a vehicle that now looks as though it has collected an even layer of some dirt from being outside. Do the other sides, roof and underside areas. On the underside go for a darker colour as dirt tends to build up here more and possible a heavier coating of paint to reflect the fact that the frames of the vehicle are both nearer to the sources of dirt and unlikely to get cleaned either on purpose, or by the effects of rain washing down the vehicle sides. Use of some reddish browns could imitate the rust dust that would reach here more than higher up the vehicle sides.

Always flow the paint from the vehicle roof to body bottom to reflect the effect of gravity in making dirty water flow down the bodywork.

If the final effect looks too 'mild' you can add other layers of wash'. If too heavy then take the Kitchen towel, when the paint has dried, and rub up and down on the areas that are too 'dark'. This will remove some of the paint on the raised areas even when the paint is dry leaving that which is in crevises.

Play around puting paint on and taking it off by the kitchen towel method until you are happy. Better to go for a light effect and then add more later.

For a first vehicle this might be as far as you want to go …................but doesn't it look great ! Somehow it now looks 'heavier' to my eye and the details stand out better. It is a real wagon that exists in a real world.

Dry Brushing

The aim is to put barely discernible amounts of paint on. Although you might initially think that this has no effect, it produces subtle and realistic weathering results. I tend to use this method second, having first used the Colour-wash method above and let that dry fully.

I personally use a square flat sided brush as this I find easiest. This destroys the brush so use a cheap one with fine hairs. Dip the brush lightly into the well stirred paint (no additional thinners this time) and immediately rub the brush onto a piece of Kitchen-roll. Keep rubbing the brush until it appears that no paint remains at first glance, and then use the brush on the vehicle you are weathering. On sides go for the downward movement to simulate the effects of rainwater running down. On roofs run across from side to side once again to simulate water travelling downwards. On interior planking for wagons I tend to initially follow the wood grain direction of the planks initially, but on later coats go for random direction across the vehicle varying the angles to simulate the effect of shovels being used to unload lose cargo or, say, crates being dragged across the wagon floor.

Use this method with several different 'layers' of paint (having allowed the one just added to the vehicle to dry) making slight variations to the colour by mixing in white or black paint to vary the colour just slightly. Aim to not have a visible line of change between paint colours but rather 'feather' these in to each other.

From here on its a case of looking at photographs and seeking to copy the effect shown by these methods. It takes a lot of time to produce the best effects...................several hours per wagon …..............and is best done over a few days and maybe on a couple of wagons at a time.  I now attempt to 'make the eye see the weathered effect .........................but not see the weathering itself'. By this I mean that nothing should be obviously applied. In real life most of the effects of dirt seems to belnd into each other rather than have identifiable edges. By using dry brushing techniques it is possible to 'feather the edges' ang blend changes in colour. 

The main problem I find is that I am too heavy with the paint and 'over-weather'. If you put some on then go away and do something else (after washing your brushes ! ) then when you come back a better idea of the appearance is gained. Many, many times what I first thought was a fantastic finish I have had to alter on reviewing because the effect was just to heavy. In fact, it is very rare that I get the effect I am seeking at first attempt and can keep altering the paintwork for days having left the vehicle on a side shelf to view as I pass.

To tone down a 'too heavy effect' you can use a bit of kitchen towel onto which a small amount of some paint thinners has been placed to 'polish' away some paint. Do this in the same direction you put the paint on and as always BE SUBTLE or you will end up with stripes ! One other way I use is a soft pencil rubber. Another is very fine sandpaper which used very lightly produces some interesting belneding effects.

On wagon interiors once a few layers of slightly varying paint has been achieved then use a sharp tool (some of the dentist instruments being sold at model railway shows are great' to lightly scrape the paint following the grain direction. This has the effect of revealing and mixing the different layers of paint and produces about the best imitation of badly treated wood I find. Follow up with a light sandpaper sanding and some pleasing effects arise. If there are then areas that are not so good then go over them again dry-brushing , scratching etc until the right result is achieved. Wagon floors will have sufferd bad abuse by heavy objects being dragged over them so this can form part of the effect sought.

What suprised me at first when I looked a coal wagons was how little the timber was darkened by the coal itself. While filling the loco bunker at Bala I had good reason to be able to study this effect at close quarters and no longer use black paint on the inside of such wagons. Dust sits in crevises and gaps between planks but the wood stayed its normal faded grey colour.

From here on in I really just look at the prototype appearance I am seeking and playing around with ideas. Light sanding with fine grit paper produces some interesting results and does scraping layers of paint with a variety of tools. I am currently playing with attempting to add the effect of shadows on parts of wagon. Onward and upwards …...............as I said earlier the first attempt is the hardest in this game I find but by not attempting too much at any stage nothing irreversible occurs. Have fun !

If you want to judge whether my methods suit your requirements then take a trip to the Isle of Westland Railway for some pictures

Film outlining  the techniques as used on my railway.

Andrew Coward (Isle of Westland Railway )