Weathering a bulkload car
Due to many requests, I herewith submit my approach to weathering rolling stock. There are virtually endless methods out there but I think that the method shown here is also suitable for beginners who never dared to put hands on a freight car. So here we go:
| The tools needed are: | a small, hard paintbrush, a small knife, hair dryer, an an airbrush |
| The material list consists of : | pastel chalk, dull clearcoat |
 | For rusty patches on a car, I use pastels in light and dark brown, as well as a bit of light grey. |
 | First step:
Use the knife to scrape equal heaps of chalk onto a piece of paper. |
 | My "victim" is a bulkload car which is suitable to show the dirt and wear traces also appearing on prototype cars. |
 | Step 2: mix the rust color
Use the brush to mix the shades of brown with a bit grey chalk. This is a dry process. Don´t use water!!! |
 | Step 3: Apply chalk
Dip the paintbrush into the mixed chalk and virtually ´rub´ it into all the crevices that belong to the trucks, wheel boxes, and the car´s frame. Oh, did I mention that you should remove the wheels before doing this??? Next, dip the brush into grey chalk and and start brushing it onto the car´s side panels and ends. The only thing to keep in mind is: gravity. What?? Well, all things come down and this also goes for dirt! Brush marks are well visible after having sprayed the car with dullcote and so it doesn´t hurt to smear the chalk to thr right direction with your finger if you went wrong... |
 | Step 4: Dullcote
How far go wanto to go with the weathering is entirely up to your own taste. However, I recoomend to start with a light weathering and seal it with Dullcote. If you get the feeling that a little bit more doesn´t hurt, start over at step 3 after the Dullcote dried. |
 | The result of all the sweat and work...
... is a unique car that only you own. By varying mixture ratios of the pastels, you can show different shades of rust: "new" rust is very light colored while old rust is very dark and thick and builds up crusts... |
 | ... as can be seen on the wheel boxes in this picture. Just click it to enlarge. |
| A few general hints: | |
| - Don´t use pure colors. | They simply "gleam" too much. Visit your local yard and ask the yardmaster for permission to shoot some reference photos. I´ve had very good experiences in the past all over the world with this method and was able to take some really nice pictures. But please keep in mind: AlWAYS obey the recommendations and orders of the railroad staff and NEVER EVER walk on tracks! This not only endangers your life but could also minimize other photographers´ chances for good pictures !!! |
| - start with the wheel boxes and axle springs. | The rust came first and then all the smear, grease and dirt built up layers of grime on the rust. Roof and car sides and ends are next to be weathered. To simulate the dirt blown up between two car ends during a raod trip, dust on a triangle of grey chalk from the bottom up to about the middle of the car end. The tip of the triangle points to the roof. Do not be shy to expreiment a lot. Only training gives you convincing results. |
| - If you are a beginner, start working after photos. | This is a superb chance to train your eyes for spotting slight color nuances and a lot of details you wouldn´t notice otherwise. After all, one thing is for sure: This workshop could go on for ever - paint patches on the car sides, grease smear on the brake gear, and, and, and,... |
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© 2009 by Erhard Baltrusch, Hamburg, Germany