Weathering PO Tank Wagons - Help Please

[M.I.B]

Im stuck in deepest Devon for a few weeks and have brought my tools and paints and powders and a number of items to make/paint and detail to keep me occupied.

 

5 Lima and Hornby horse boxes and 9 TOADs later I am getting down to the bottom of the pile.

 

I have half a dozen boxed (mainly Mainline) PO tanks which are far too pristine for my liking.

 

Please can anyone tell me how to go about weathering up tank wagons ( fuel and chemical). The bright blue RONUK one is way too "loud" to look realistic.

 

I have seen too many tank wagons which look like thay have had crude oil over flowed during top loading a number of times, so I'm not looking for this effect. Gasolines and other such noxious fluids are almost colour less.

 

Thaks in advance.

[Rods_of_Revolution]

If your tank wagons are very bright you could try and fade them, I normally do this by spraying the wagons with a white wash. You can also apply a very watered down white wash with a brush or sponge but make sure you keep any streaking running top to bottom.

 

I normally start a standard weathering job by applying a black/dark brown wash (water, paint and a tiny tiny bit of washing up liquid to reduce surface tension). Use a sponge or brush and apply to the top of the wagon and streak it down the sides. This should only be light as it represents dirt which has built up on top of the wagon and washed down with rain. Also apply a wash to the underframe.

 

Next I would dust the top of the wagon with one of your brown powders and then take a darker powder and apply around the filler. The darker area around the filler is where the dirt on top has contacted gasoline and is damp. When things are wet they normally appear darker.

 

Use a track dirt type powder and dust around the underframe, use a darker powder around the axle boxes. You can also paint the faces of the wheels in a colour sympathetic to the underframe dirt.

 

Finally clean areas that may be kept clean (data panels, wagon numbers, logos etc) and dry brush with an appropriate colour any areas you wish to pick out (worn handrails, paint chipped ladders etc).

 

This is more or less a basic weathering job, have a play and try adding more or less weathering, not only is it a good way to learn you'll also end up with varied weathering across your fleet as per the prototype.

 

I hope this gives you some ideas,

 

Kindest Regards,

 

Jack

[Fat Controller]

Just remember that 'Ronuk' was a brand of polish; they probably wouldn't let their tanks get too dirty.

The dirtiest tanks I have ever seen, apart from those carrying bitumen, were milk tankers- the limit of weathering on most tank barrels would seem to be streaks of spillage in the area around the filling catch and down the side below. The paint on barrels would matt and fade with age.

Underframes, as Jack says, have a lot more weathering on them, as might any framing at the ends.

Here's a picture of a Class B tank, belonging to Esso, on its way to scrapping in 1980:-

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/essounfit/h19510da4#h19510da4

Paul has quite a few shots of similar vehicles on his web-site; most, apart from those carrying bitumen, seem to be relatively clean.

[M.I.B]

Brian and Jack - many many thanks for the guidance.