Wombats N Scale Structure Builds


Do you use chalks? I use to use them when I wanted to tone something down, or dirty something up. Afterwards I might spray with a matt clear sealer.
 
wombat457 said:
Thanks guys. I'll give the "wash method described a go and see how it does go. Worse comes to worse I can "wash it off" and try again. I'll also take the advice and NOT use white paint as the wash. That could be part of the problem I'm having getting it to look right.
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Right. Easy to redo and try again. Also just one method may not be the answer. Combining normal paint with washes and dry brushing is usually what I end up doing.

Sometimes I'll do one wash right side up and another upside down. That is wash light grey letting the wash settle more toward the bottom, then when that dries, wash with a dark grey and let it settle more toward the top giving a "shadow" look. Having said that, I've never tried this with N-scale. The "mortar" might be too small. After doing a wash sometimes I dry brush to give the final effect I'm looking for. If I don't like it I try again. One building took 6-8 washes before I got it to look like I wanted it to.
 
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Thanks Horseman, sooner or later I will get it. I know I had the same issue with HO structures and think I only ever got one of them to look decent. You think I can remember how I did it though ... nope :rolleyes:
 
What works well for one person may not work so well for someone else. But with acrylic washes it is easy to wash it off and try again. You'll find something you like.
 
Just don' rush Tony , it will come. Just this year my buddy who is a very seasoned modeler egged me on enough to start using a color wheel, Tint Tone and Shade and using only the basic colors to create what I need. Always nice to learn something new.
 
Lynn,

Rushing is not in my vocabulary for this layout. Had I been doing this 12 months ago, the bench work and track would have been laid ages ago. This one is being done "right" and with a great deal of thought and planning before I do anything at all.
 
Trackside Transfer Station

This is the third structure of 14 that I currently have, the DPM Trackside Transfer Station. This building will sit in the top right hand corner of the layout.

I have to admit I was surprised how big it was measuring 8.5" (L) X 4.5" (D). A little larger than I was expecting but very easy to assemble.

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This where the 1-2-3 Blocks come in very handy as can be seen in the pictures.
 
So your liking the 1-2-3 blocks? I was considering getting some but wasn't sold in them yet.
 
Lynn,

So far I do like them. They are small but heavy and work very well for squaring kits up. For $13 (I think they were) they were a good investment for me.
 
Trackside Transfer Station Update

Have done a little more to the Transfer Station as follows:

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The "Office" is painted with "Tru Color Brush On Flat Brick Red" and has had a wash of Indian Ink/Water (1:10 ratio) which was rubbed off. The main section will most likely be sprayed just to make it a bit quicker, although doing so will will give the paint an even finish, something the hand painting doesn't do and why there are a variety of "shades" through out the wall.
 
Looks Good Tony, I'm wondering if you need to deal with things like filling in mortar lines different than what us in the HO scale need to do , seeing as all dimensions are much smaller.
 
Thanks gents.

I think applying the same techniques for mortar lines will remain the same for both HO and N scale, although as you pointed out more care needs to be applied for N Scale for the reason you stated.

One thing I noticed about the Tru Color paint I used was if I put it on the wall from top to bottom (or visa versa) it tended to sit on top of the "bricks" rather than flowing down between them. Most likely because I put the paint on fairly sparingly. If that becomes the trend or the constant then I could give the wall a wash of "Mortar Color" before applying the brick color.

If the above works then I will have to hand paint everything to get the mortar look and that is going to be very time consuming but (possibly) worth the time and effort. If it doesn't work or I just fluked the result then I don't think I am going to worry too much about getting a mortar appearance.
 
The way I would try Tony is lay the build flat and flood the wall a concrete colored wash , leave it dry and using your thumb wife the color off the top of the brick, if mortar color is left on the brick simply drybrush over the surface. I've seen also where the wall as actually primed in the grey primer color and the brick surface drybrushed the final cover, bit extra work but as long as your just dusting the tops of the bricks you should get nice results.
 
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Hi Tony -

I think the paint job on your brick building is excellent!

The downtown area of the small city where I live is full of old brick buildings. While the fronts of the buildings are nicely maintained, the sides and rear of the buildings have multi-color brickwork that looks almost EXACTLY like red brick building in your post #52 above. The various shades of red on the same building are very realistic, based on the old brick buildings I see every day in my town.

Airbrushing might make them look TOO uniform, though as you say, it would be a lot faster.

- Jeff
 
When I got into modeling about 40 years ago, a gentleman showed me his technique for mortar lines which was to paint everything either concrete color or off-white, and then go back the next day and drybrush the brick color on. I tried that on a single structure back then and haven't tried it since. It worked and I don't really know why I haven't tried it again.

Willie
 
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