Weathering techniques
Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:40 pm
I’ve started this new thread in response to Green Arrow’s question about the weathering techniques used on my stock posted on Tom Quayle’s thread ‘Annersley. Hmmm where’s my hammer’. (Also see Colombo’s weathering job on his turntable; Page 2 of ‘Photos of Colombo’s layout’).
I thought I would say a few introductory words about my techniques here (entry level words), and then perhaps others could share their methods, no doubt improving on what I have to offer. (Sorry, all examples are in BR livery; I just haven't got around to photographing my LNER stock yet.)
The short answer to Green Arrow's question is that I follow the methods suggested by Martyn Welch in his book ‘The art of Weathering’ (Wild Swan). This is an excellent book and I never tire of rereading it; reminding myself of what I should be doing and looking for inspiration. But here are a few comments of my own; some inspired by MW, others of my own invention.
1) I find that an airbrush is essential. (If I had to do the under frames of an entire express train using a regular brush I’d probably look for another hobby!). Dry-brushing is also an essential technique, particularly for wagons (a good way of learning; and if you botch one side irredeemably, you can always run it the other way around; though personally I tend to use the different sides for pre- and post- war liveries) and finishing off on locos. My first serious weathering job on a loco was on an 8F, which I dry brushed from top to bottom. Initially I was quit pleased with the results (it took hours), but eventually I had to admit that it looked, well, as though someone had brushed it with a dry brush (and I’ve seen published examples that look that way). Perhaps some people achieve greater mastery of this technique than I can manage, but my point is that even with a gentle touch and a lot of patience, this technique still reveals its origins (at least in my hands). This prompted me to buy an airbrush, and redo the 8F. A big improvement, and much quicker to do. I think it takes a great deal of skill to use an airbrush in the way a real artist might, but for serendipitous stock weathering, it doesn’t take long to master what’s needed.
2) Having commented on the speed of airbrushing, I have to add that care is needed; and it still takes me several hours to do a complete job on a loco. I usually do several locos at a time, that way I stick with the same paint mix for longer. I usually start with an overall muck colour mixed from Phoenix framedirt, and Humbrol Gunmetal metalcoat (this is very matt) and Gunmetal53. I add only a few drops of 53 at this stage – the idea is to add just a touch of sparkle.
3) After several coats of airbrushing – dirt, rust (I always start more intensely orange than it will end up), soot, brake dust, ash etc – I add weathering powders, a build up of talc and matt varnish and dry-brushing to do the following: generate a cracked paint look on the smokebox (best done before the initial airbrushing); ash spills, oils spills, and water leaks. For example, I usually do the white boiler streaks on a 9F using a mix of talc with a touch of yellow weathering powder applied to matt streaks of varnish (Fig 1). This is followed by dry-brushing (no paint, just a dusting) and further touches of paint as appropriate. Dry-brushing with 53 really brings the whole thing to life (on black locos) on both body and motion, but it is easy to overdo this. The aim is to mimic the way light reflects of the (gritty) surfaces. I usually finish with a final light coat of grime, which helps to take any sharp edges off the dry-brushing.
4) Another example of where I start with very bright/light colours is burnt smokeboxes (there is an example in the ‘hammer’ thread). White and pink work well. This is then toned down with dry brushing and weathering powders. BTW, the chalked smokebox numbers (which close-up photography is not very kind to) were done using white paint with a touch of yellow and a very fine brush. But this looks terrible. I much sharper look is then created by cutting/scraping away the unwanted (blurred) bits of paint with a scalpel – this really is quite easy to do.
5) Most of my express locos receive a coat of grime first, which is then rubbed off the boiler and other parts, leaving filth in the cracks and boiler bands etc. Then I coat with one or two sprays of either satin or gloss varnish (sometimes with a touch of dirt mixed in), with the aim of mimicking the effects of the oily rag. I find this looks much more convincing with the grime under the shine. Oddly though, it’s difficult to convey this effect in photos. Fig 2 is an attempt (and disgracefully, that Pullman looks as though it hasn’t been under the ‘brush’ yet!). I usually finish these ‘shiny’ locos with a final dusting of smoke deposits and road dirt.
6) Another technique, good for gunky oily bits, is to mix very small amounts of different shades of paint on the model. Most of my wagons start this way (Fig 3 is an example, though individual planks have been picked out for special treatment). I also use the paint-on rust product available from model rail on wagons. And of course a dust over with the airbrush.
7) I usually use matt varnish to make weathering powders stick. Typically this is for detailing (thick gunk, rotting wood, ash, anything that needs texture really), but I have used this method for entire locos. This produces a lovely gritty look. Fig 4 is an example of an austerity 8F done this way. Once you have done a complete coat of weathering powder, it’s easy to add additional touches without the varnish – weathering powders adhere to weathering powders very well! This is also dry brushed with 53, particularly around the frames, but also the boiler.
8) I always work from photographs. Fig 5 is my rendition of Salmon Trout. This was copied from a widely published photo, and appeared in model rail a few years back. However, for me this is quite unusual. I usually start with half a dozen photos (often of different types) of the effects that I’m looking to achieve, and then make it up from there. I care more that it looks right, rather than it actually is right (and sometimes looks wrong!), but quite understandably others will have different philosophies on this.
9) I almost forgot: Contrary to some advice, I never use cheap or really old brushes for dry-brushing. This is because of the havoc that ensues with hairs left stuck to your artwork. I find I get the best results using sable (or an artificial substitute). But this technique does muck them up, so I give them a good bit of conventional use first!
cheers
Tim.
I thought I would say a few introductory words about my techniques here (entry level words), and then perhaps others could share their methods, no doubt improving on what I have to offer. (Sorry, all examples are in BR livery; I just haven't got around to photographing my LNER stock yet.)
The short answer to Green Arrow's question is that I follow the methods suggested by Martyn Welch in his book ‘The art of Weathering’ (Wild Swan). This is an excellent book and I never tire of rereading it; reminding myself of what I should be doing and looking for inspiration. But here are a few comments of my own; some inspired by MW, others of my own invention.
1) I find that an airbrush is essential. (If I had to do the under frames of an entire express train using a regular brush I’d probably look for another hobby!). Dry-brushing is also an essential technique, particularly for wagons (a good way of learning; and if you botch one side irredeemably, you can always run it the other way around; though personally I tend to use the different sides for pre- and post- war liveries) and finishing off on locos. My first serious weathering job on a loco was on an 8F, which I dry brushed from top to bottom. Initially I was quit pleased with the results (it took hours), but eventually I had to admit that it looked, well, as though someone had brushed it with a dry brush (and I’ve seen published examples that look that way). Perhaps some people achieve greater mastery of this technique than I can manage, but my point is that even with a gentle touch and a lot of patience, this technique still reveals its origins (at least in my hands). This prompted me to buy an airbrush, and redo the 8F. A big improvement, and much quicker to do. I think it takes a great deal of skill to use an airbrush in the way a real artist might, but for serendipitous stock weathering, it doesn’t take long to master what’s needed.
2) Having commented on the speed of airbrushing, I have to add that care is needed; and it still takes me several hours to do a complete job on a loco. I usually do several locos at a time, that way I stick with the same paint mix for longer. I usually start with an overall muck colour mixed from Phoenix framedirt, and Humbrol Gunmetal metalcoat (this is very matt) and Gunmetal53. I add only a few drops of 53 at this stage – the idea is to add just a touch of sparkle.
3) After several coats of airbrushing – dirt, rust (I always start more intensely orange than it will end up), soot, brake dust, ash etc – I add weathering powders, a build up of talc and matt varnish and dry-brushing to do the following: generate a cracked paint look on the smokebox (best done before the initial airbrushing); ash spills, oils spills, and water leaks. For example, I usually do the white boiler streaks on a 9F using a mix of talc with a touch of yellow weathering powder applied to matt streaks of varnish (Fig 1). This is followed by dry-brushing (no paint, just a dusting) and further touches of paint as appropriate. Dry-brushing with 53 really brings the whole thing to life (on black locos) on both body and motion, but it is easy to overdo this. The aim is to mimic the way light reflects of the (gritty) surfaces. I usually finish with a final light coat of grime, which helps to take any sharp edges off the dry-brushing.
4) Another example of where I start with very bright/light colours is burnt smokeboxes (there is an example in the ‘hammer’ thread). White and pink work well. This is then toned down with dry brushing and weathering powders. BTW, the chalked smokebox numbers (which close-up photography is not very kind to) were done using white paint with a touch of yellow and a very fine brush. But this looks terrible. I much sharper look is then created by cutting/scraping away the unwanted (blurred) bits of paint with a scalpel – this really is quite easy to do.
5) Most of my express locos receive a coat of grime first, which is then rubbed off the boiler and other parts, leaving filth in the cracks and boiler bands etc. Then I coat with one or two sprays of either satin or gloss varnish (sometimes with a touch of dirt mixed in), with the aim of mimicking the effects of the oily rag. I find this looks much more convincing with the grime under the shine. Oddly though, it’s difficult to convey this effect in photos. Fig 2 is an attempt (and disgracefully, that Pullman looks as though it hasn’t been under the ‘brush’ yet!). I usually finish these ‘shiny’ locos with a final dusting of smoke deposits and road dirt.
6) Another technique, good for gunky oily bits, is to mix very small amounts of different shades of paint on the model. Most of my wagons start this way (Fig 3 is an example, though individual planks have been picked out for special treatment). I also use the paint-on rust product available from model rail on wagons. And of course a dust over with the airbrush.
7) I usually use matt varnish to make weathering powders stick. Typically this is for detailing (thick gunk, rotting wood, ash, anything that needs texture really), but I have used this method for entire locos. This produces a lovely gritty look. Fig 4 is an example of an austerity 8F done this way. Once you have done a complete coat of weathering powder, it’s easy to add additional touches without the varnish – weathering powders adhere to weathering powders very well! This is also dry brushed with 53, particularly around the frames, but also the boiler.
8) I always work from photographs. Fig 5 is my rendition of Salmon Trout. This was copied from a widely published photo, and appeared in model rail a few years back. However, for me this is quite unusual. I usually start with half a dozen photos (often of different types) of the effects that I’m looking to achieve, and then make it up from there. I care more that it looks right, rather than it actually is right (and sometimes looks wrong!), but quite understandably others will have different philosophies on this.
9) I almost forgot: Contrary to some advice, I never use cheap or really old brushes for dry-brushing. This is because of the havoc that ensues with hairs left stuck to your artwork. I find I get the best results using sable (or an artificial substitute). But this technique does muck them up, so I give them a good bit of conventional use first!
cheers
Tim.
