Next steps?

[Coxy]

I'm curious to find out what you guys suggest as the next steps for this N scale MicroTrains 2-bay ACF covered hopper.  I plan to make it reasonably ravaged by cement spills, but not so grunged that the lettering is obscured.

So far, the car has received an initial grimy acrylic wash, then some weeks later (last night) I sanded the "MKT" lettering and mixed some black and white water mixable oils in 70% alcohol to create a pale gray milky wash. To both fade the car and simulate cement dust accumulation, the gray wash was brushed on then gently sponged off with makeup sponges after a few minutes. The oil paint sticks well to the car and the sponge gives good control over how much paint stays on the surface.  The ends were done similarly but used brushes instead of sponges to remove the excess oil wash.  As it has dried, the color has lightened up some and the oils have a satin sheen to them that will need to be matted down.

Clearly there is more to be done, and I thought I would be interesting to get your collective advice before I start cementifying!



I like how the gray creates a reddish tone on the bottom of the lettering. I plan to preserve that if I can.



The sanded letters look pretty thick but this is a very close shot. From a foot away it is not noticeable at all. Ignore the various detritus stuck to teh car that shows up under magnification!



Hatch covers need some work at their base.



All feedback appreciated.

Best, Coxy

[ednadolski]

I think you're off to a terrific start.  Maybe just intensifying the vertical streaking effect in some areas, some additional drybrush/fade on the yellow lettering, and perhaps a suggestion of a paint-out/patch area or two:





Ed

[Coxy]

Much appreciated Ednadolski. Thanks for posting the protopics. I especially like the way the lettering has faded in the last shot.

I couldn't wait after seeing them and pressed ahead more or less following your suggestions.  Here's a few pics from tonight's efforts:







There's a little touch up work to be done but it looks pretty good from any viewing distance I'm likely to encounter.

Thanks!

Coxy

[ednadolski]

Very nice!   The colors & textures are awesome.   In some cases the vertical streaking shows a bit of side-to-side waviness, whereas in the proto pics the streaks are pulled straight down by gravity over time.  Sometimes I try touch that up with a flat brush dampened or wet with whatever solvent or thinner I am using.  The trick is to pull it straight down, which can take a bit of practice. Also in some cases like with gouache it takes a pretty light touch otherwise I end up taking off more than I want.

BTW you pics are awesome too -- what kind of camera & lighting do you use?

Ed

[Coxy]

Edanolski you are right about the wonky streaks. That really shows up in the close up pics. I'll try to lift and redo the offending ones.

I use a Pentax Optio M40 8 megapixel happy snap camera for everything, both stills and video. It is small and goes in a pouch on my belt - always handy vs an SLR which I find is a hassle to carry around and look after. I use the super-macro setting. Lighting is from a magnifying lamp that has two small fluoros, one on each side.

Thanks for taking the time to send comments.

Coxy

[seusscaboose]

lookin good!

[GaryHinshaw]

That does look good Coxy.  You nicely captured up the fact that the middle of the car is cleaner than the top or bottom too (not sure why that is though).  What did you use for the cement? 

-Gary

[Coxy]

Gary,  base coat is water mixable oils sponged on. That gives both the blotchy dust marks on the side of the car and the "clean belly" look without even trying. I agree with you it is strange how the spills and dust seem to aggregate top and bottom.
The cement spills on the top are gouache mixed with 70% alcohol brushed on with a fine brush and a little sponging at the top to blend. Several shades of grey were used. The dark streaks along side the paler greys are important in N.  The whole thing is so small some contrast is needed. The car was finished off with some dirty grey AIM chalk to simulate clumps of cement dust.

[DocGeoff]

I am so jealous. I have twenty hoppers that need weathering. Some have a start and its only taken me nearly twenty years to get this far.But I am inspired see the beautiful job you have done on the MKT. Stand back everybody, the chalk is starting to fly!!

[Coxy]

At first I thought N scale would be harder to weather. The small size can be an advantage too. The ends for example only needed a "cement" wash to fade down the base color. Compared to larger scales, there's not much detail there on an N scale car other than the external ladders and so on. So a quick wash is all that's needed. I think if you get the top and sides looking good, that's 80% of the effect right there.

This hopper for example has just a grey wash on the trucks and a little rust wash on the wheel faces, neither of which are especially visible from normal viewing angles on this car.

It did take a while to pluck up the nerve to put real paint on an unblemished MT car! Very glad I did though.