Weathering an O gauge Open Wagon

Discussion in 'The Wizards Weathering' started by Gary, Jul 7, 2019.

  1. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    During the Epping Model Railway Exhibition, Martin (hartleymartin) gave me two 7 plank wagons as he had too many in his collection. Both these wagons were ready for painting and weathering, having only primer applied. I decided to paint and weather a wagon to see what results could come from a few hours work.

    This thread details how I went about the process.

    The model I have here is a Cooper Craft 7 plank open wagon. The individual planks do have a faint wood grain finish to them, but I wanted to enhance the model with more distressing of the individual planks.

    Using a scalpel, I dragged a few lines along the individual plants, running with the length of the planks. A light sanding may be necessary to remove any flash that is created when scribing the planks.

    I also scraped some of the top edge off the planks to represent damaged timber.


    Once complete, the inside of the wagon is painted with a variety of colours. I used this selection of paints (excluding the crimson red), occasionally mixing a few together to get a variation in the timber planks.


    The paint is applied randomly and I gradually built the layers up.


    I painted the odd plank on the outside of the wagon to imitate a replaced plank.

    Allow this to dry thoroughly, or do what I had done, use a hair dryer to speed up the process.

    Mixing 70% crimson red and 30% brown earth and thinning down with water, apply the paint in several applications right across the wagon including the steel corner sections, allowing each application to dry between coats. The idea here is to have some variation between the individual planks and four sides of the wagon. Where a replaced plank was painted on the top row, make sure to paint the top of that plank the same colour.


    Allow this to dry thoroughly.

    Next up I mixed 60% Mr Hobby Tire Black (no.77) with 40% earth brown. This was thinned down enough to paint all the chassis, brake rigging, buffers and also the steel corner ends of the wagon. You will notice that the pre painted red corner supports will show through slightly, giving a semi rusted look.

    Once this had thoroughly dried, a wash of black was applied over the red painted areas and the inside of the wagon. The outside dries fairly quickly whereas the inside you will find the excess wash will build up along all the corners along the floor. To overcome this, drag a paint brush through to spread the excess along the floor boards. This may have to be done at least 2 or 3 times to allow the wash to dissipate into the floor boards grooves.

    Do not use a hair dryer on this process as you want the wash to find all the grooves and between the planks. keep the wagon upright at all times.

    Once completely dry, powders were used to high light the steel parts of the wagon. Mixing red rust and black together gives a good weathered rust look. This can be applied over the brake rigging, around the axle boxes and also on the steel corner supports. The straps on the wagon sides, ends and chains (wagon sides) can be painted with the same mix with a little isopropyl alcohol added. This can be applied with a fine tip paint brush. Apply a small amount to the chassis rails where bolts are present to high light these.

    Apply sparingly as it does not look like a lot, but once the isopropyl evaporates, the colour will come through, as shown below.



    Last of all, a light dusting of black weathering powder inside the wagon is required to give the floor planks a well worn look. Concentrate this in the middle of the wagon between the doors and also along the lower planks and corners. A light application of tan (dirt) weathering powders can also be applied inside the wagon to soften the washes.



    Now it is up to you to decide if you wish to seal the model with dull cote or similar product.

    Job done.

    Cheers, Gary.
     
    Craig5908, clive_t, Chatty and 8 others like this.
  2. bobcom52

    bobcom52 Full Member

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    That looks quite nice Gary.
    The Jo Sonja's range I have made use of for many years too. A step up in quality from the student variety found in Newsagents, etc.
    cheers
    Bob
     
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  3. Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    Nice result Gary. The replacement planks look the part as well. Good thread for the reference pages. :thumbs:
     
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  4. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Thank you Bob and yes, the Jo Sonja's ain't a bad paint as the colour is consistent and rich. Highly recommended indeed.

    Cheers, Gary.
     
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  5. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Thanks Toto.

    I watched a youtube video from the US that shows how you can make plastic look like wood. I can say the technique used here is one step up from that of Kathy Millatt as I tried her technique and was not really impressed. Considering this is my first real go at capturing some decent weathering effects on my O gauge stock, I'm pretty happy with my first attempt.

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  6. hartleymartin

    hartleymartin Full Member

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    Nice work, Gary! You may also want to glue some car wheel weights under the floor to help them with staying on track.
     
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  7. hartleymartin

    hartleymartin Full Member

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    The more I look at the photos the more I am impressed with your work. I might have to start sending you commission work.
     
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  8. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Thanks Martin, much appreciated. I think I could take possibly offer you that service. The bigger the batch, the quicker they get done ! ;)

    Cheers, Gary.
     
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  9. SMR CHRIS

    SMR CHRIS Staff Member Moderator

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    A 1/2 CHG Guards van coming your way by the sound of it Gary, Martins been saying all it needs is paint for a few years. :thumbs:
     
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  10. hartleymartin

    hartleymartin Full Member

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    The primer I used was Tamiya light grey spray in a rattle can. I find that it gives a good, light coverage and sticks well to all surfaces. I have also tried out the other primers in white, pink and red oxide. I find that in this order they go from lighter to thicker: White, Grey/Pink, Red Oxide. The grey and pink are almost the same consistency. I find that some colours are slightly translucent and that you get a better top colour if you use a different primer colour.

    I have also found that a coat of primer tends to show up any blemishes which may need correcting whether by sanding or filling, so most of my models get at least two or three light coats of primer and then two to three light coats of the colour. Dark colours tend to work well with only one or two coats and the lighter colours tend to need three (spraying, that is). I have not brush-painted a model for a long time, perhaps it is time to go back to it.
     
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  11. hartleymartin

    hartleymartin Full Member

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    A few more details before the painting then there is the glazing to do as well. Brake rigging, a figurine inside and a few odds and ends. I've found my box of miscellaneous wagon and brake parts, so that might happen soon. I've been doing a bit of work on carriages and an Atlas 0-6-0 diesel conversion. The big work has been converting it to an 0-4-0. Just got to find the keeper plate and screws then not a lot more to do.
     
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  12. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Lucky for me that I can get lead from our stone masons at work. I normally weigh the lead on scales and apply it where it can fit between the chassis rails.

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  13. Kimbo

    Kimbo Staff Member Moderator

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    Well Gary, thanks to your Facebook post on brushes from spotlight, I’ve now got a few fine brushes for painting my figures. :thumbs:

    Plenty of sizes available suitable for Gary’s weathering technique and at $2.80 each a bargain.....:thumbup:

     
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  14. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Using the same methods as I outlined above, I painted and weathered the other 7 plank wagon. The grey is closer to that of the GWR, to which this 7 plank belongs to.

    The outside of the wagon looks good, but more subtle weathering is needed on the undercarriage.


    The inside of the wagon looks as it has carried a coal load...


    The two wagons together...


    Cheers, Gary.
     
  15. hartleymartin

    hartleymartin Full Member

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    Is the last link on the couplings steel or brass? I have a large collection of both and I can never remember which ones I put in. I find that a steel final link and a piece of 3mm steel rod, magnetised and held in a pin-vice makes the best coupling tool.
     
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  16. Kimbo

    Kimbo Staff Member Moderator

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    So here’s my attempt using Gary’s method. Picture shows before and after, same model from Dapol.



    Kim
     
  17. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Nice work Kimbo !

    Love the chalk markings on the wagon side, nice touch. :thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  18. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Since my last post, I have added some more weathering to the undercarriage.


    York Paul has recommended not going so heavy on the oxidizing of the undercarriage, to which I can change with a touch up of black weathering powders to tone the rust look. Paul also mentioned about adding some oil/grease to the lower part of the axle boxes..., to which I had !


    Thanks for the tips Paul, much appreciated ! :tophat:

    Cheers, Gary.
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2019
  19. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    I just check for you Martin, using a magnet and yes, they have a steel link on the very ends. :thumbs:

    Cheers, Gary.
     
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  20. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    I have completed two more wagons. These two were already painted and needed to be brought up to the same standard as shown above.


    This side is missing the brake lever, to which I do have...


    inside...




    All the weathered wagons together...



    Cheers, Gary.
     

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