Notes on Designing, Building, and Operating Model Railroads
A hobby adventure
Several freight cars recently went through the weathering factory and each of them had some masking tape applied to protect part of the original paint coat or lettering. Model railroaders typically use masking tape in the process of applying large stripes or fancy paint schemes to locomotives or rolling stock. For these recent freight cars, the tape was applied to hint at changes made to the car. The tape became another tool in the weathering arsenal.
A recent weathering blog post generated questions about the washes used in the processes. Let’s take a look at the materials and the steps I use in applying weathering washes to freight cars.
Seven box cars were sent through the weathering factory recently. The effects of man and nature add to the appearance of the models and the Wheeling Freight Terminal layout. I enjoy working weathering into several different layers. Everyone seems to enjoy reading about the weathering processes, so let’s take a look at each of these models.
A couple more completed freight cars have been discovered among the boxes of hobby kits and supplies. Each of these two flat car kits were built several years ago and even painted. The black car with fish belly side sills is a Funaro & Camerlengo kit for a Baltimore & Ohio P-11 class flat car. The other car is a Tichy Train Group kit that I may have built 20 years ago. The model is pretty close to representing several prototypes that fit my 1926 era. I have a few flat cars in service but none are proper for my era so these two newly found models were given the fast track to completion.
Many model railroaders have projects that have been set aside long ago for one reason or another. I’m no different. You saw in the last post how six USRA box cars were finally completed, five years after the initial start of construction. I took some ribbing about those, especially since they were plastic kits. I expected those comments but long term projects are part of the hobby. I just finished up two more HO scale freight cars that go back a few more years.