Favourite Photos...

Favourite Photos...
Reading Lines GP35 #3647

Middletown, Pa

Thursday 28 November 2013

More Photo Backdrops...

So today after doing some work around Allied Warehouse & Storage I thought I would add the photo backdrop that I had in mind for inside this industry.
And from what I can see I'm pretty happy with it, not spot on from all angles but darn close.


Jas...

Sunday 24 November 2013

Fence Updated...

Here is a little alteration to the fence at the rear of Allied Warehouse & Storage, Alan reminded me the other day that I had forgotten the top cross bar.  So the other day I added it, and the corner diagonal cross brace too.




Cheers,
Jas...

Thursday 14 November 2013

Allied Warehouse & Storage Nearly Done...

Well today was an extremely productive day.  The rear chain wire fence has been completed and installed, the Hayes bump stop has been weathered and installed.
The chain wire fence is the BLMA version, very prototypical and easy to work with!
The signs for the structure have been installed and the LED lighting to the front and rear doors has been installed and weathered. And the windows have been randomly darkened with washes.
Only thing left to do now is install the remaining ballast around the structure and redo the backdrops.
Cheers,
Jas...

Tuesday 12 November 2013

My first attempt at weathering...

Well yesterday and today I finally bit the bullet and tried my hand at weathering a piece of rolling stock.  I'd been putting this off for some time as I was unsure if I was going to be able to achieve the standard I wanted.
My idea is to be able to get one piece done in a hour or two (and down under an hour with practice), I also want a weathered look that is in line with the "good enough principle".
So with the catalyst of wanting a few pieces of rolling stock for layout photos showing completed stages I decided to start with a Atlas 50' Yellow "Railbox" Boxcar.
I've been reading just about every thread on MRH & the internet about weathering rolling stock, and decided for the first attempt to use my newly acquired Vallejo Model Washes.  First step was to remove all the couplers, and wheels. This was followed by several coats of Dullcote to flatten the plastic sheen, and give the boxcar some tooth for the washes and oils.
One the Dullcote had dried I started with the roof, first off was a good coat of grey model wash.  This was allowed to almost dry and then a coat of dark brown model wash, as this was drying I lightly wiped off some of the areas on the peaks of the roof panels with a cotton lint free cloth.
I then dried these series of washes with a hair dryer, then it was a coat of rust coloured wash, and finally a black wash to highlight the seam and details.  As this was drying I again using the cotton cloth to dab this time to give a mottled look to the dirt & grime.  Once this was nearly dried I again lightly wiper some of the wash off the higher panel sections.
This was the outcome of the roof:
Next was to move onto the sides & ends of the boxcar, I used a similar principle for the sides as what I had used on the roof.  I again firstly applied a coat of grey model wash to all the panels, once this was applied I used the cotton cloth to wipe most of the excess wash off, trying to leave a little in the panel seams and around the areas that would naturally collect dirt & grime.
Then once this had almost dry using a fine flat brush the same width of the panels, I soaked the brush in water and thinned out the remaining wash and blended any pools of wash so that they looked like downward streaks from rain.  Again when this was nearly dried I used the cloth again to form the streaks towards the bottom of the panels.
I then dried this whole step with a hair dryer making sure not to disturb any of the wash that was sitting in the door tracks or areas that need to be highlighted.  I then went and applied a second layer of wash but this time dark brown, again using the same method as the first to thin out and distribute the wash to the required areas and form the streak effects on the panels.
Lastly I went over the areas that needed highlighting and extra dirt & grime with a thinned wash of black.  Once this was dried the entire boxcar was coated in Dullcote.
This is how the panels/sides came out:
The trucks were painted with PS Grimy Black and then dusted with AIM Dark Rust & Black weathering powders.  The wheels were painted with PS Railroad Tie Brown & dusted with Dark Rust weathering powder.
Next stage will be to weather the finer details (rust, more grime, and highlights) with oil paints using dry brushing.
Overall very happy that I had a go, and with the results.  The photos actually don't show it to well, but it actually is a little darker in the flesh and is exactly the level that I wanted to achieve.
Stay tuned for more weathering soon...
Jas.

Almost complete...

The new L&T structure Allied Warehouse & Storage is almost complete.  The windows have been installed after being sprayed with Dullcote to "frost" the windows out, the weathering is complete and all that remains is to add some signage and LED flood lights.
Then onto ballasting the remaining track work around the structure and installing the chain wire fence at the rear and re-installing the backdrops.
Again the finer weathering such as the rust streaks from the window frames was achieved with oil paints & dry brushing...
More soon...


Jas.

Friday 8 November 2013

Allied Warehouse & Storage...

The latest structure addition to the L&T Branch has started (well the shell has been complete for quite awhile...) and in two days is actually almost completed.
This structure is associated with the Appliance Manufacturing Plant and will be used as a warehouse for storing raw goods and materials for the various sections of the plant.  It will mainly be served by boxcars with the odd flat car load with a special freight such as machinery or large machine parts.
The kit is a Walther's Back Shop Building Flat and is completely out of the box except for the scratch built styrene concrete floor.  It has been painted with Vallejo Model Air - Sand Yellow, this was my first time using these and I'm really impressed.  Straight into the airbrush and went on really well.
The weathering was accomplished by using Vallejo Model Washes, the colour was Rust.  When this was dried I then applied ready made plaster filler to highlight some of mortar in the brick work.  This was further blended using a extremely thinned down mixture of rust weathering powdered, followed by more dry powdering once dry.
The internal floor has been airbrushed with Polly Scale - Concrete and weathered with Vallejo Model Washes in Dark Brown & Lamp Black.
More to follow shortly.
Jas...