The Erie Railroad boxcars 4 -
STEP 16: Assembly and Further Details
Continued ...
prefer light weathering, although I have seen very
heavily weathered cars that look fantastic.
When I weather cars, I do only one or two at a
time. I have done more at once in the past, but
discovered that all of them looked almost the same.
My tools are a Paasche double-action airbrush. I
prefer to use Polly Scale or Floquil paints thinned
with approximately 80% thinner. I also only use a
small color cup at a time.
I place my models on homemade stands. The
stands serve two functions. They give me two
places to handle the car without touching the body,
and I can set the car down without damaging the
body or details. The stands are 2-56 threaded rod
cemented into the threaded brass channel.
One advantage I find in using such thinned paint is
that it covers lightly. If you want a little more, make
another pass or two. Another advantage is that the
solvent evaporates quickly and you can see in a
matter of moments what you have.
I begin by using a color slightly lighter than the
body color. This is lightly airbrushed over the body.
It gives the effect of a car that is slightly faded.
Next I spray Engine Black, again diluted with
approximately 80% thinner. I spray this on the
underbodies, ends, roofs (if they are black), and a
little around the doorways. From this point, I work
with continually-lighter colors, ending with the
MRH-Jul 2013
