Error message

Deprecated function: implode(): Passing glue string after array is deprecated. Swap the parameters in drupal_get_feeds() (line 394 of /home1/riptrack/public_html/dev/includes/common.inc).

paint

Modeler's Moment - Painting plastic people

N scale figures on their sprue.

When you get down to the smaller scales, it can become quite difficult to hold onto a figure and paint it at the same time. In N scale, especially, trying to hand-hold a figure while painting it will often end up with painted fingers instead of figures. The solution to this problem is a simple one. Paint the figures while they're still attached to the sprue; then after you cut them from the sprue, a quick drop of paint at the connection point finishes the project.

US Bicentennial rolling stock

HO scale model of MILW 156 in bicentennial livery

In the mid-1970s, America celebrated its bicentennial. The well known bicentennial year of 1976 saw a large number of items repainted into special commemorative red, white and blue liveries. The railroads of the time got into the act, with a great number of them participating. Trains magazine managed to get a photo of many of these bicentennial locomotives in one photograph when they were gathered in Chicago. I got to talking about them a little with a friend over the weekend, and we started wondering about the entire bicentennial roster. So, instead of guessing about it, I did a little research and came up with a mostly comprehensive list (there are probably a couple of locomotives still unlisted) for all US railroads that participated.

Modeler's Moment - Repaints and fallen flags

Double CNW logo on INRD 43429

When equipment is sold to another railroad, the buyer will often paint over the car with the new owner's official colors. Sometimes, the original owner's logo and paint shows through, giving us a clue as to the equipment's heritage. The same effects can be seen when a railroad upgrades its official paint scheme as can be seen here on this former Chicago and North Western Railway hopper. The old and larger CNW logo outline is clearly visible under the new and smaller logo, which thankfully has not been itself painted over yet. This car and another of CNW heritage were spotted behind the MG&E power plant in Madison, Wisconsin today.

Modeler's Moment - Check your white balance

Cascade green mainline action

This tip could go just as easily under lighting as it could under model photography. Be aware of what kind of lighting you're using on your layout. In the same way that incandescent bulbs can cast a yellowish glow, most of the fluorescent bulbs will have a green tint to the light that they give off. When you're painting your models, paint them under the same lighting conditions as your layout. If you're photographing models, check your camera's manual on how to set a custom white balance to compensate for it.

Modeler's Moment - A source for window tints

light gel samples

Are you building a model that includes tinted windows? If you know anyone who deals with professional lighting equipment (think about the people you know at the local performing arts theater), you may have a source for low cost window tints. This image shows a sample pack of light gels from Roscolux. A light gel is basically a colored filter on a thin sheet of plastic. When the light gels wear out or get damaged (like if there's a hole melted in the center), they need to be replaced. For model building purposes, the rest of the damaged gel still contains enough material to use for your window tints so ask your friends to hold on to the damaged gels for you.

Modeler's Moment - Paint the backdrop

Backdrop before and after

If you do nothing else to your backdrop, at a bare minimum, go down to the local paint store and buy a quart of mistint flat sky blue paint and a wide brush. The exact shade isn't important, just get something that looks like a sky blue. By looking through the mistint (the "rejects") shelf, you'll often get the paint for very little. Most skies that occur naturally don't have wood grain, so a simple step like this can immensely improve the appearance of a layout in its beginning stages. While you're at it, get a grass green, dirt brown and street grey for the rest of the plywood plains too.

Modeler's Moment - Paint simple backdrops

a simple backdrop

When you start your backdrop painting, remember that you don't always need photo realism for rural or mountainous scenery. Often just a rough shape of the mountain in an appropriate color palette will be sufficient. Closer mountains will have colors that appear similar to your layout's scenery. However, keep in mind that distant mountains on the prototype appear in progressively bluer shades until the mountain is just a "purple mountain majesty" in the distance, so you don't necessarily want to use the same colors as your foreground scenery.

Modeler's Moment - Ties to be replaced

old ties

When ties have reached the end of their usefulness, they are often marked with brightly colored paint. Using a bright orange or yellow marking, the maintenance of way crew can easily spot which ties to replace. This section of track, with three ties to be replaced, is along the Mississippi River in Wisconsin.

Modeler's Moment - Weathering covered hoppers

Weathered covered hoppers

Use a light-colored paint to recolor some of the roof hatches on your covered hoppers. This is an easy way to simulate a replacement roof hatch without actually replacing them. Would you believe that the photo shows N scale models?

Subscribe to RSS - paint