A few additions to my locomotive roster and a rebuild

[Steamtrains]

Superb..!!

[ocalicreek]

Great work! That 'Warm Black' sure looks nice to my eyes. I'm guessing it's not a true black, but has some sort of added hue. Does True-line say how it differs from true black?

Galen

[TrainNut]

Four words.

Beee - U - T - Ful!

[Wayne R]

Galen

The True Line Trains warm black when sprayed looks like a black but it has a warm look that seems to let the details stand out. It may have a little boxcar brown in it but I am not sure. I have heard of a warm black mix that uses black, boxcar brown and a little white. The warm black is not considered a real black but more of a black for models that will be viewed under indoor lighting.I find it is a very nice black for steam locomotives. Not too dark that it makes the locomotive look like a huge shadow but not too much of a gray either.
When I add my clear coat ( a mix of Testor gloss and dullcoat. 70% dullcoat & 30% glosscoat thinned 50% with lacquer thinner . ) it also changes the color of the black some. It takes on a very slight gray look which is most likely caused by the dullcoat. So far I have found the TLT acrylic paint to be very nice paint to spray. It is airbrush ready right out of the bottle. It goes on real well and gives a nice smooth finish. There is no need to thin it but I do add some Badger Modelflex retarder to slow down the drying time as I have found the airflow in my spray booth can sometimes cause the paint to try before it settles out. Besided the TLT warm black I have test sprayed some TLT CNR olive green ( green #11 ) on a old passenger car and the green went on smooth as well. I was testing the olive green before I spray my brass CNR bullet nose mountain steam locomotive.

I will also be spraying some TLT mineral brown ( CN red #11 ) on a caboose and a boxcar later this week. I had two TLT CNR cabooses with the same road number so I stripped the paint from one and will be repainting it all mineral brown. Once I get them painted and decaled I will be posting some pictures.

The lights I use for photo taking and the cameras flash also change the look a bit. I have been experimenting with different camera settings and light sources to try and get more true to life pictures. The last photos I posted are closer to how the locomotive looks in person.


Wayne Reid

[ocalicreek]

Thanks for the thorough response! I may just have to try some next time I paint an engine...hopefully sooner than later, but we'll see.

I've always been an advocate for using black paint when painting a model that is actually black, or based on a prototype that was actually black. Black is black. Let weathering show the detail (dry brushing grime, etc.). I really don't care for the extreme weathering on locos such as John Pryke's engines, or another example might be Jack Burgess' Yosemite Valley RR. Way too gray for my taste. But I recognize it really is a personal preference, and if your engines never leave the layout room, or your lighting will never change, then I suppose it works.

On the other hand, I love the look of John Allen's steam fleet, and it's almost caricaturish in style. Go figure. I think he used a red or brown in his black.

This TLT warm black is the first 'off black' shade I've seen that I really like, at least the way your photos show. I'll have to get some and try it out.

Galen