First crack at airbrushing and weathering

[Blackthorn]

I finally worked up the courage to have a go at airbrushing and weathering using some weathering powders. My girlfriend bought me a Paasche dual action airbrush about five years ago and it has just been sitting in it's box for all this time, can't rush into these things you know. I must say it is surprisingly easy to use, after a couple of tests on some paper I tried it on a Dapol 21T MOT hopper, I have five of them so I thought if I really mess it up it won't be any great loss.

 

The before picture:

 

 

And after:

 

 

 

The whole thing took about ten minutes apart from the mixing of paint and setting up the compressor. I didn't have any photo's to work from so I just did what I thought looked right and used various shades of rust powders to try and get a good effect.

 

Comments positive or negative would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

Mark.

[BlackRat]

Mark, looks great!

 

Easy aint it, impossible to go wrong, if you do wipe it off and start again, it all adds to the effect!

 

Nice one

[smudgeloco]

That doesn't look to sad at all. Certainly more realistic than the pristine one.

[Blackthorn]

Thanks for the comments, I think I'll tackle the other four and see what results I come up with.

 

I should really source some 3 link couplings to finish them off and one of these days start a layout!

[craigwelsh]

I'd suggest looking though the galleries here

http://gallery6801.fotopic.net/c128749.html

http://gallery6801.fotopic.net/c128749.html

http://gallery6801.fotopic.net/c1388963.html

 

You've done well to avoid spatter with the airbrush and the toning down coat is great. The rust though, as the links show, is something better achieved in localised patches manually as it doesn't work as you have attempted.

[Blackthorn]

Thanks for those comments craigwelsh and those links too! That is a fantastic site, I think I could spend hours looking through everything. I see what you mean about the rust patches, now I know what to aim for.

 

Mark.

 

edit: really have to check my spelling! Doh!

[Alex]

Like it Mark .........if my attempts come anywhere near as good i will be v.happy

 

Alex

[Pete Piszczek]

A very credible first try!

 

Don't be afraid to attack it further with a fiberglas brush or some fine, wet and dry paper.

 

I usually do cars in batches, because it is a pain to set up the airbrush, and some wagons go back several times. Sometimes cars that are a year or two old get some additional weathering too.

[Blackthorn]

Thanks Alex, I felt pretty pleased with myself an it was really easy. Why I didn't try before????

 

 

Thanks also, Pete. I hadn't thought of the fiberglass pencil approach, I imagine it give a good distressed look as well as something for the powders to key to. Love the avatar too. I first thought I had imagined the movement, so I watched it for a few seconds and it had me laughing out loud. Good one!

[Blackthorn]

Had another crack at this hopper wagon. I still don't have the right look for the rust spots but it does look a lot more scabby now. Although I think it looks as if it should be in the condemned siding rather than mid '50's condition.

 

[jackrob]

Nice work. How did you warp the side of the hopper?

[ChrisB]

That last one is great. There'll be no stopping you now !

[Blackthorn]

Thanks for the comments, the camera can be pretty cruel that close up. I'm not sure if the people at Dapol would like what I have been doing to their models!

 

jackrob, I used a butane micro torch to warp the sides. I just held it several inches away from the wagon and worked it back and forth along the body quickly for just a few seconds. It really didn't take much and it would be easy to go too far in a hurry!

 

ChrisB, I think the weathering bug has really bitten!

[Alex]

warping looks good looks more realistic with the battered body

[Blackthorn]

Thanks again, Alex. Hopefully I can get some various amounts of wear and abuse portrayed on future attempts. The wagons, not me, that is!

[Jon020]

Great effects there. Weel done. Quite fancy doing something like these converted to carry sand - think they were 25ton hoppers (?) so may need some modding. Great idea about the burner to add the warping - very effective.

Weathering can be fun... looks like you're enjoying it.

[Blackthorn]

Thank you Jon020, I'm waiting for a rainy day to have a go at some more weathering! Maybe Sunday??

[gwrman]

Hi, they look pretty good to me, I was like you airbrush in a box not really sure, but I think you've just got to bite the bullet and go for it, then you'll be spraying everything in sight.

Nigel

[Blackthorn]

Thanks gwrman, hopefully I can achieve some more subtle weathering. I have a couple of autocoaches that I would like to tone down the underframes on, they are 'out of the box' at the moment and the shiny black plastic is a bit irritating. Tomorrows weather forecast is pretty dire, so it may be a good day to have another go, so long as I can keep curious fingers out of the way!

[deltic21]

excellent effort Mark!!

 

I have yet to venture down the weathering road but i know the day is looming, i will use your pics as guidance

[Blackthorn]

Thank you deltic 21. The first step does seem to be the hardest, as BlackRat pointed out if things go wrong, just wipe it off and start again. Plus the positive comments and constructive criticism from members on here make you want to keep going. There don't seem to be ego's or attitudes on here that I've seen on other forums. If and when you do tackle weathering be sure to post your efforts on here, there are members with much better skills than mine who, I'm sure, will point you in the right direction.

 

Edited for a glaring spelling error!

[deltic21]

Cheers for that Blackthorn, currently trying to make some progress on the layout, so the stock is packed away just now. Been trying to take some photos of the layout to show the progress, but the weather has been awful and the garage door firmly closed!!

[ozzyo]

Had another crack at this hopper wagon. I still don't have the right look for the rust spots but it does look a lot more scabby now. Although I think it looks as if it should be in the condemned siding rather than mid '50's condition.

 

 

 

Hello Blackthorn,

 

just a small point, when you are using the small flame to distress the wagons remember that the load and loading of the wagons tend to bow the sides outwards. So next time you try it (and you will) put some thing inside the wagon to push it out, if you get sharp points dont worry. To help have a look on Paul Bartletts wagon site for ideas.

 

OzzyO.

[Blackthorn]

Thanks ozzyo, I'll give that a shot. Will have a bit of time to try now.