Bringing rolling stock to life...

I've got a habit of collecting rolling stock for projects before they really get going and the Canadian layout project is no exception. The first few items were re-worked from old models I already had but I couldn't pass up this bargain DTI box car on eBay...

I've wanted to patch paint one for some time, and this seemed a good candidate. A decent level of detail, most of it intact as well - and so a scheme was hatched to re-letter for my short line, the Halifax South Western... 

The body was tackled first. The metal handrails were touched in with box car red, an old Polyscale acrylic I had from years ago... before I good begin with weathering. Once dry I used a Humbrol 'dark brown' enamel wash - this is a new product to me and in this application I'm yet to be convinced - it seemed a little 'thicker' than I'd have liked a wash but it was easy to control and stayed 'editable' for sometime, a distinct advantage over the Games Workshop acrylic washes I have used in the past, and is at least, consistent, an advantage over my usual home brewed wash technique. The brown was encouraged to draw along each box car rib by capillary action, and the ends were given a heavier treatment. The doors were given an all over wash, and then wiped clean vertically to suggest some streaking. 

The body patches were masked carefully so that when applied they would hide just the DTI and number markings. A gloss black let down with a touch of gloss grey was carefully airbrushed in place. A set of custom transfers were measured up and I got these made whilst the weathering continued.

Once the black panels were dry I used a mix of Humbrol matt black, and matt orange to address the roof. First of all a rusty dark brown was mixed and painted along the roof edges. I then used a sponge to apply this to the roof panels. The same technique was used on one side of the upper panels, to see if this gave a good representation of thin paint and corroding metal. Rust patches were also painted on the sides and doors by brush - before using a brush moistened in thinners to drag this vertically down the body sides. Once dry I used a Games Workshop 'Agrax Earthshade' wash on the roof, this is a warm brown colour and softened the stark 'sponged' rust panels nicely.

The transfers were then applied (see first image) using Micro-scale Set and Sol to ensure no silvering of the backing paper. All that remains is to seal with dull-cote (tomorrow) and then weather the bogies and give it a dusting of road dirt with the airbrush. A good fun project and an opportunity to try out some new (to me) products and experiment with some more techniques for representing rust in the smaller scales. I think this approach ought to work nicely on British Rail 16T minerals, and as it happens I've a few larger coal hopper wagons to build for Pont-y-dulais that I can experiment with... if you'd like me to breathe life into your rolling stock I do offer a custom re-finishing service including renumbering and lettering, blending into the original finish and subtle weathering to your desired finish. Get in touch if you're interested in learning more, but for now, more soon...