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Miniatures Adventure => Railway Wargaming => Topic started by: Heisler on July 20, 2014, 03:43:52 PM

Title: C&S #22 - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on July 20, 2014, 03:43:52 PM
I decided it was time for a little work on my train for my western town of Calmity. The town is served by the Colorado & Northwestern RR which interchanges with the D&RGW and the C&S (and any other Colorado RR that I can find decals for). I grabbed four of my freight cars (kind of at random) and decided to do a little weathering work. You can follow the process on my blog at:
http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-little-freight-car-weathering.html (http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-little-freight-car-weathering.html)
Here is the finished project if you don't want to see the start to finish progression:
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gPMfj5BZr2Y/U8r7dkIDIuI/AAAAAAAAQ2s/vynJIToGzZg/s1152/On30.Weathering%2520Session.17.b.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-VZ8DJFLmgqg/U8r7nXHyvmI/AAAAAAAAQ3M/-nR7nc23MoM/s576/On30.Weathering%2520Session.18.c.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UXsBRK_rrPc/U8r71MJPeJI/AAAAAAAAQ3s/h9rQIvBr1to/s1024/On30.Weathering%2520Session.19.jpg)
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: OSHIROmodels on July 20, 2014, 03:50:35 PM
Splendid work  :-* :-* :-*

cheers

James
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: FramFramson on July 20, 2014, 04:23:56 PM
Aces! Those look great!
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Michi on July 20, 2014, 04:27:32 PM
Excellent waethering! I will have to do similar in the close future.
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: juergen c. olk on July 30, 2014, 08:30:02 PM
That is very realistic looking wow! Thanx for the tutorial.
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Mason on July 30, 2014, 08:43:12 PM
That is a gorgeous example of weathering work.
 :-* :-*

Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on July 31, 2014, 11:55:20 PM
Thanks guys. I have been moving towards getting another batch of cars done but I need decals for them first. I spent a week trying to make my own. Not a great success for the first batch but I'll continue down the path since its the only way I can get the custom decals I need, well short of actually finding someone to do it.
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Mr. Peabody on August 01, 2014, 12:45:48 AM
Spent a several very enjoyable hours browsing your blog this morning. GREAT stuff. Love the effective, no-nonsense approach you have to weathering your rolling stock.  :-* :-* :-*

Hope you have success with your decals! I keep finding more and more great stuff to do with Inkscape.
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on August 01, 2014, 01:47:25 PM
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed browsing through the blog. Inkscape is a neat program, very capable with a relatively short learning curve to get started.
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Ramirez Noname on August 08, 2014, 11:20:17 AM
Great job on the freight cars, Sir.

RMZ
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: matthais-mouse on August 08, 2014, 12:04:12 PM
Sorry if I missed this elsewhere but have you tried the woodland scenics decals? They are quite good.

Very nice looking rolling stock too, when next at a PC ill look at the blog too :)
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on August 10, 2014, 02:21:17 AM
Sorry if I missed this elsewhere but have you tried the woodland scenics decals? They are quite good.

Very nice looking rolling stock too, when next at a PC ill look at the blog too :)

I have checked out the Woodland Scenics decals, although they are actually dry rub transfers rather than water slide decals. The fonts for letters and numbers available from Woodland Scenics is pretty limited and while my railroad is what we refer to as proto-freelanced I'm anal enough about it to want something closer to the actual font style used by the C&N RY.

The Woodland Scenic sets are an excellent resource though for those that just want something that looks like it belongs in the old west period.
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: CPBelt on August 10, 2014, 04:05:40 AM
Always nice work! Always have liked the blog.
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: matthais-mouse on August 10, 2014, 12:32:49 PM
I have checked out the Woodland Scenics decals, although they are actually dry rub transfers rather than water slide decals. The fonts for letters and numbers available from Woodland Scenics is pretty limited and while my railroad is what we refer to as proto-freelanced I'm anal enough about it to want something closer to the actual font style used by the C&N RY.

The Woodland Scenic sets are an excellent resource though for those that just want something that looks like it belongs in the old west period.

Ahhh I see, well as long as you knew they were available thats the main thing :)
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on August 11, 2014, 01:40:04 PM
Ahhh I see, well as long as you knew they were available thats the main thing :)
Its always good to point stuff like that out. You never know when that kind of information will be useful to someone.
Title: Re: A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: matthais-mouse on August 11, 2014, 01:44:46 PM
Its always good to point stuff like that out. You never know when that kind of information will be useful to someone.

True, They were supposed to be expanding their range of dry decals but not sure if that came about as not working in amodel railway shop anymore haha.

Well heres hoping it helps someone else out there :)
Title: Re: More Weathered Freight Cars - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on August 21, 2014, 02:56:09 AM
Finished off a couple of Boxcars for Calamity
First up: Denver, South Park & Pacific
Where it started
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XbRgbOd5_7A/U9X9x4_Xr1I/AAAAAAAARUQ/ZNeCsGFUsa4/s1024/Boxcar.1.jpg)
And finished
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5NzoI4dL4yI/U_VJRxSGVEI/AAAAAAAASHU/xrJlxLsfzzQ/s1152/DSP%2526P.Finished.1.jpg)
Where it started
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3OgOuI-IPiQ/U-2cpc-Td2I/AAAAAAAAR2o/wjx7SVwHcvU/s1024/Boxcar.2.jpg)
And finished
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Fp9-CTF27-0/U_VJQRSFsKI/AAAAAAAASGk/P_Cgdcsd4LE/s1024/CC.Finished.2.jpg)

Not terribly happy with the streaking effect I tried, but I think the next set will be better. I did just need to call these done though. Here is the steps I went through.
http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/08/boxcars-for-calamity-c-ry-borrows-some.html (http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/08/boxcars-for-calamity-c-ry-borrows-some.html)
[url]http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/08/boxcars-for-calamity-c-ry-borrows-some_14.html[/url
Title: Re: More Weathered Freight Cars - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Golgotha on October 30, 2014, 04:33:08 PM
These are fantastic some really inspirational rolling stock.
Title: Re: A Weathered Reefer - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on December 01, 2014, 03:24:57 PM
And finally something new to add to the roll, a private named Refrigerator (Reefer) Car. Here are the beauty shots, more pictures of the process can be found on my blog: http://www.wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-reefer-for-c-and-calamity.html (http://www.wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-reefer-for-c-and-calamity.html)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NoJFriYVXZc/VHwG2xnXkvI/AAAAAAAAWg0/t5i5OJinaQY/w1043-h435-no/Reefer.Howard.12.jpg)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YbO8tFYJXQY/VHwG3DTGSxI/AAAAAAAAWg4/ot3UCpMs30o/w1044-h463-no/Reefer.Howard.13.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yP_t0ilWJRk/VHwG3S65v-I/AAAAAAAAWhI/ziYB944hsF4/w616-h553-no/Reefer.Howard.14.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FDWZ4AyrU5U/VHwG3peUyjI/AAAAAAAAWhM/nGtILw7c-_o/w695-h553-no/Reefer.Howard.15.jpg)
Definitely not my best work, but it gets the job done.
Title: Re: Adding a Weathered Reefer - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: OSHIROmodels on December 01, 2014, 03:46:48 PM
Might not be your best but it certainly looks rather bloody good  :-* :-*

cheers

James
Title: Re: Adding a Weathered Reefer - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Michi on December 02, 2014, 06:44:01 AM
That is a nice refrigerated boxcar. Your fleet is growing rapidly, isnīt it? Your weathering is much more subtle than mine, but I believe the cream livery wouldnīt allow too much soot and rust.

(http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll111/wamasaka/Mini%202010/MiniaturenfotosOriginale620.jpg)

(http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll111/wamasaka/Mini%202010/MiniaturenfotosOriginale619.jpg)

(http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll111/wamasaka/Mini%202010/MiniaturenfotosOriginale618.jpg)

(http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll111/wamasaka/Mini%202010/MiniaturenfotosOriginale960.jpg)

(http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll111/wamasaka/Mini%202010/MiniaturenfotosOriginale959.jpg)
Title: Re: Adding a Weathered Reefer - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on December 02, 2014, 02:49:55 PM
Yes, the fleet is growing rapidly, faster than I can keep up with at the moment. We definitely have two different weathering styles! I do like your heavier weathering, but I think your right, the cream livery would have just about disappeared on that one. Right now I'm working on replacing those ladders with grab irons. The first set I tried were white metal and bend to much. I have a set of brass ones coming, hopefully those will be sturdier.
Title: Re: Adding a Weathered Reefer - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on December 03, 2014, 02:46:51 PM
And since all my weathering stuff was out I finally finished off this caboose conversion. It started life as your more standard eight wheel caboose and now its a 4 wheel "bobber" caboose, complete with my custom decals. The weathering looks a little splotchy in the photographs, it doesn't look like that under the worklights though. I will have to go in and see if I can smooth that out a bit.

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-doepiSD-oKA/VH6u4oilSaI/AAAAAAAAWo0/A_urZeP9CGQ/w1078-h691-no/C%26N.Caboose.10.jpg)

More step by step images on my blog: http://www.wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/12/tail-end-of-train-c-adds-caboose.html (http://www.wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/12/tail-end-of-train-c-adds-caboose.html)
Title: Re: Adding a Weathered Reefer & Caboose! - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on December 23, 2014, 06:14:22 AM
Adding another boxcar to the fleet. This is a Rio Grande Southern boxcar. I modified this one a bit by removing the ladders from the sides and replacing those with grab irons. Otherwise its straight out of the box.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MgDOPxzxHiQ/VJkDKOHgZGI/AAAAAAAAXC0/rHDyxFGrIYU/w1043-h453-no/RGS.Weathering.7.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8B0XA3utWfE/VJkDKXBGlUI/AAAAAAAAXC4/bZffvI-5RQ8/w763-h553-no/RGS.Weathering.9.jpg)

And here are the blog posts that go along with this car.
http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/12/another-round-of-boxcars-prepping.html (http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/12/another-round-of-boxcars-prepping.html)
http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/12/another-round-of-boxcars-painting.html (http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/12/another-round-of-boxcars-painting.html)
http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/12/another-round-of-boxcars-dry-transfers.html (http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/12/another-round-of-boxcars-dry-transfers.html)
http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/12/another-round-of-boxcars-weathering-and.html (http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/12/another-round-of-boxcars-weathering-and.html)
Title: Re: An RGS Boxcar for the Fleet - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: OSHIROmodels on December 23, 2014, 07:50:57 AM
Lovely  :-* :-*

cheers

James
Title: Re: An RGS Boxcar for the Fleet - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Michi on December 23, 2014, 08:40:39 AM
Thatīs a nice little conversion. It really makes a difference.
Title: Re: An RGS Boxcar for the Fleet - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on December 23, 2014, 04:33:27 PM
Adding the grab irons makes a bigger impact than I thought it would. The C&N boxcars will all get grab irons, at least when I get to them. I was working on one C&N boxcar and messed up the dry transfers so I have to start again on that one. I think I have convinced myself to go with custom decals instead, a bit on the pricey side but I think they are worth the cost in the long run.
Title: Re: An RGS Boxcar for the Fleet - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Michi on December 23, 2014, 11:14:21 PM
Adding the grab irons makes a bigger impact than I thought it would. The C&N boxcars will all get grab irons, at least when I get to them. I was working on one C&N boxcar and messed up the dry transfers so I have to start again on that one. I think I have convinced myself to go with custom decals instead, a bit on the pricey side but I think they are worth the cost in the long run.

I got a 1991 copy of "Slim Gauge Cars" by Carstens Publications today. Itīs a collection of drawings and photos from Model Railroad Craftsman magazine limited to narrow gauge stock. Very interesting and very much to the subject youīre into right now. They write that several shoppings could have made a wagon look completely different over the years and decades of its use.
Title: Re: An RGS Boxcar for the Fleet - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on December 24, 2014, 04:17:01 AM
I have that book as well. Its quite the dog eared copy too! It has been re-printed within the last couple of years so I was able to get a fresh copy of it. However, Carsten Publications has closed. The magazines have been picked up and will continue in circulation but I don't know about the books so if you see it, buy it!
 (
Another excellent publication for seeing how the freight fleet evolves is "Up Clear Creek on the Narrow Gauge" vol 1 and vol 2 by Harry Brunk and published by Benchmark Publications. These are the collected articles that appeared in the Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette and while its a model railroad publication it has a lot of interesting tidbits about the C&S locomotives and freight cars (My Colorado Central boxcar is one of the railroad lines that would become part of the Colorado & Southern system).
Title: Re: C&S #22 - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on November 27, 2015, 10:11:44 PM
I have finished several projects and I needed to work on something else. So I overcame my fears and pulled one of my On30 engines down for a little weathering work. There is a bit more information on my blog: http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2015/11/weathering-c-22.html (http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2015/11/weathering-c-22.html)

Where it started:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rO9g0GDSqXI/Uhbqn5iQzYI/AAAAAAAAJDM/HBGkzCRS_gE/s1152-Ic42/CnN.2-6-0.jpg)

How it looks now:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fAoBQXFafW0/VljSYyK2pwI/AAAAAAAAapA/WJMoOca2Zk0/s1152-Ic42/C%252526S22.3.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5iLfFyk2Y7c/VljSZFucxRI/AAAAAAAAapI/JYPajEl8-Iw/s1152-Ic42/C%252526S22.4.jpg)
Title: Re: C&S #22 - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Michi on November 28, 2015, 08:44:09 PM
Very good work on that Mogul. Iīve weathered four of them and a Consolidated in the D.&R.G.W. bumble bee livery plus two black ones, but none of mine is that decent. Your shop personnel does a thorough cleaning on the engine frequently, although it looks like a proper workhorse. I like that very much!
Title: Re: C&S #22 - A Little Freight Car Weathering
Post by: Heisler on November 29, 2015, 08:21:24 PM
Thanks Michi,
I do prefer that workhorse look for my engines and rolling stock in general. But I do like your work as well, that heavy weathering really adds a lot of character to all of your work. I wish I could get my hands on some of the Bachmann 2-8-0, they have become rarer than hens' teeth. I keep hoping that they will do a re-release soon, I need three of them.