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| Troy Simpkins Weathers a Pennsy Express Reefer |
| To the Weathering Doctor, Thanks for your compliments! Here's how I weathered that PRR Express Reefer. Would be honored if you wanted to share it with your readers! My weathering techniques are pretty simple really. I use hairspray, earthtones chalk, a small art paint brush and a wet paper towel. I use a small file to scrape off a little pile of chalk dust from the chalk stick in the color I want (for this reefer it was a mix of black and light grey for the sides and light grey and sand for the roof). I then soak the paint brush in hairspray and rub the brush through the pile of chalk dust. Then I start on the roof, using a downward motion, following the direction you think water would run off the car. It will pretty much completely wet the entire area of the car you are working on, and you can get about two inches down the model before the hair spray starts to dry out. Then, using a downward motion, I paint the sides of the car with the chalky hairspray mix. Keep repeating this pattern all the way down the sides of the car. The hairspray will dry on the model farly quickly. After you get down one side, use the wet paper towel to wipe gently down the side of the car, always in adownward motion. This removes the heavy chalk look from all except the seams, rivet details etc. You can sorta gauge how much of the weathered look you want and wipe off as much or as little as you feel you need to. Then I file off a little pile of light sand color chalk and mix it with the light gray. I do not use hairspray but just the dry brush. I brush the mixture onto the truck sideframes and a little on the lower portion of the car body also. The just blow off the extra. I also used a little rust colored chalk on the trucks--just a tad though. Then I sprayed the couplers with hairspray until they were soaked and rubbed them down with dark rust colored chalk. The hairspray will seal the rust color in. It might also make your couplers stick a little at first when the hair spray dries. I've found that if you just open and close them a couple of times with your fingers, and maybe apply a small drop of lubricating oil, they'll work just fine. Happy Modeling! Troy Simpkins--Nashville, TN |
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