My latest project was upgrading this Intermountain coil car for the LA layout. The goal of this project, and the point of today’s blog, was to focus on keeping the weathering subtle. Follow along as I walk you through things.
The title of today’s blog involves a bit of bait and switch. It’s less about steps A,B, and C, and more about the mindset of moving on to the next modeling level. At some point, there will be folks who want to transition from casual recreationalists to modelers. Doing so entails moving out of your comfort zone and learning how to use new tools and new techniques. The techniques are usually pretty simple. The moving out of your comfort zone? It’s a lifelong roadblock for many. For today’s subject, you’ll need an airbrush, the thought of which is an almost paralyzing fear for many. Using an airbrush isn’t like running a nuclear power plant. You push a button, and paint comes out. That’s it. They’re ridiculously simple to use.
For today’s tutorial, I’ll be using an Intermountain BNSF coil car. This is an exquisitely detailed model. It’s also quite delicate so plan accordingly. When working on something like this, I wear latex gloves to prevent fingerprints from getting on the model’s surface. I place a fluffy old towel on the workbench to serve as a cushioned work surface.
With a project like this, it helps to know the overall goals you’re shooting for. In this case, my primary objectives are to: knock down the shine and tone down the brilliant white in the sublest of ways.
Everything starts with studying a few prototype photos of your subject. Notice the dead flat finish. Note the subtle haze layer that tones down the white lettering. In many photos of these BNSF cars, the haze has an oxide reddish cast similar to that of the base car color. For whatever reason, the taggers leave them alone, so most are graffiti-free.
If you’re a newbie, I suggest starting with the low-hanging fruit, simple upgrades that are hard to mess up and have a large visual payoff. Start with the trucks, couplers, and air hoses. Get those done and take a break for a few days.
Replace the couplers with Kadee “scale” couplers, #158. Trim the coupler trip pin off. Remove the trucks and mask the wheel treads with strips of 1/16″ masking tape. Using an airbrush, paint them with Tamiya XF-72 “Brown”. Let things dry. Now we need to add contrast. Using a small, old, ratty brush, grind some Bragdon Soot Black FF-64 (or similar black from any supplier) weathering chalk onto the surfaces. Seal with rattle can Dullcote. Put the trucks back on the car. Out of the box, the air hoses have no sag. Using tweezers to stabilize the hose, impart a slight bend into them. Using a small brush, paint the hose a medium gray and the hose fittings a lighter gray.
….and now for the crucial step, the subtle haze overcoat. Before you start, go into a darkened room, light some candles and incense, and repeat the mantra over and over, “Use a light touch. Work in Layers. Use a light touch. Work in Layers”. Next, write a blood oath to yourself, “I fully realize that if I take a heavy-handed approach to the weathering, I’m screwed, will have gone past the point of no return, and will have likely ruined the model”. Moving onward…..
The haze is obtained by applying a highly, highly diluted wash with an airbrush. Pour some Tamiya XF-20 thinner into a tiny bottle or medicine cup. The tint will be Tamiya XF-68 “Nato Brown”. This has a bit of a red tint akin to the BNSF base. Dip a paint brush handle into the Nato Brown and swirl it into the thinner. Repeat until you see some color appearing. Airbrush the wash onto a 3×5 card to see how it looks. (testing your mix on the model? Not recommended!!) You should see some color, but just a bit. Make sure it’s not too dark. Overspray the model with the wash using your airbrush. I use a hairdryer to speed up the drying. At this point, the haze will be barely noticeable. We’ll build it up with more layers. Better too light than too dark. Apply, more paint drops to the thinner, test on your white card, and repeat the process by adding another layer to the model. Continue adding thin layered washes until you see a hint of color on the white lettering and then…STOP! If you’re not sure if the haze is dark enough, take a break and come back later.
The overspray will likely give the car a dead flat finish. If you still have some shine, lightly puff on some rattle can Dullcote to knock that down.
The final step was to add some shadows along the seams near the grab holders. If you’re a newbie, I suggest skipping this step. One of the more crucial modeling skills to learn is where the danger areas are, places where there is little room for error, places where it’s easy to overdo the weathering and ruin the model. This is one of them. It is so easy to go too dark and have a mess. With that disclaimer, this is what I did. Take a tiny, new artist’s brush with a sharp tip and dip it into the black weather chalk. You want to pick up just a few small grains of the weathering powder. Lightly tap it on the joint. Blow on it hard to remove the excess. I did not draw the grains downward; I let gravity do that. You need to go super light with this step.
So there you have it. Have fun!