The Last Train West (Rust Heavy Pics)

[KD47]

Hello again all, here with another art project write up.    "The Last Train West" is a euphemism from the Deathlands book series implying impending death.   Or you could make something similar like "The Last Train to Doomsday", which was an episode of Thundarr the Barbarian.  Or something from the now-classic computer games Metro 2033 and Metro Exodus, which heavily inspired these specific pieces.  At any rate, this one's about post-apocalyptic trains if you haven't guessed.

All of these are old Lionel O scale items purchased on eBay.   I looked for the cheapest, most beaten-up, non-collectible ones I could find.   Then I gave them the old rust-and-ruin treatment.    You can get some old track pieces for your game table and maybe build the Rail Nomad's camp from your favorite old computer game from back in the day.

The locomotive is an amalgam of an old locomotive and pieces from an old caboose. There are many bits and extra pipes added too, but you can see the Metro 2033 DNA shining through in the design of the beast.  For the base coat, I used a heavy overspray of Krylon camouflage dark brown, with a light overspray of orange on top of that.   That should give you a good foundation to work from.    Then I used a combination of dry-brushing, pastel chalks, the Vallejo rust and corrosion set,  the Dirty Down instant rust coating, and GW's Typhus Corrosion and Ryza Rust.

Some notes:
Pastel chalks:   I used dark rust, light rust for the larger sections, AK interactive Africa dust to grind in the occasional bit of dirt, and black for the dark recesses.   All worked like a charm.

Dirty Down instant rust - not bad, be sure to shake it up thoroughly and wash your brushes out well.    Add this over an already-existing metal paint job to rust it out.   Flat it when you're done because it can rub off if you don't.

Vallejo Rust and Corrosion paints - work well to dry-brush the brighter colors but also contain rusty washes for streaking and runny effects.   First rate.

GW Typhus Corrosion and Ryza rust technical paint and dry-paint - excellent.   You can pretty much paint over something with Typhus corrosion and have it look realistically trashed in and of itself.   Keep it thick for heavy nastiness or thin it down for a bit of grunge.   Then go over it with the old Ryza Rush for those bright orange fresh rust pieces.    Play around and add some chalks and Vallejo rust washes and you will have arrived at your destination.

If you're going to use grafitti decals, go for it but you may have to peel them and let them dry, paint the back white or light tan, then re-wet them, place and lacquer.   The way they're made, the background color shines through too much and that's usually not the effect you want if you have darker items.

That last one is a shack made from the "scrap" piece of the caboose that modded the locomotive.   Never let a disaster got to waste.

Pictures are below.   Enjoy.

[clanmac]

Wow, that is awesome. Wonderful job.

[KD47]

Thanks.   A real advantage is that it breaks down and can be assembled on-site, which is my preferable M.O.

[diehard]

Great idea wonderfully executed. Nice little write up on the methods used to achieve such great results also. Thanks for sharing.

And bonus points for mentioning Thundarr the Barbarian. Have the series on DVD, going to have to dig it out and watch it again soon. As a major Kirby fan probably my all time favorite cartoon.

[OSHIROmodels]

Love it 

[levied troop]

Excellent rust work and a very useful explanation.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Brilliant work!

[Spinal Tap]

Brilliant.

[syrinx0]

Great weathering.

[Kourtchatovium104]

Very inspirational 

[War Monkey]

Nice work, they do look like the last train heading west.

[James Mahdeep Bond V]

Interesting placement of the locomotive cab above the firebox.  Might get a tad warm up there. Dontchathink?

[KD47]

No, not at all.   Looks always trump reality, just like in real life!

[James Mahdeep Bond V]

Got to admit, that is a cool look, or a hot look.

[James Mahdeep Bond V]

The graffiti looks good. Looks like it takes practice. Tagged 'em like an artiste.