Independence Day Weathering

[TMo]

I was contemplating what I wanted to do for the next two days prior to leaving for Texas.  Tomorrow is Independence Day.  I model the summer of 1976, and last year I bought a pair of CNW 40-ft trailers to place on my 96-ft flat cars to simulate TOFC trains.  They are Walters units decorated for the Bicentennial and they are absolutely PRISTINE!  

   

It made me think.  Were these trailers brand new in 1976, or were the trailers just repainted?  Personally, I'm trying to weather most of my rolling stock to reflect the era - 1976 was NOT a good time for railroads, and I model early Conrail when stuff was held together with bubble gum and a prayer. I really wanted to find some grimy trailer examples.  Time for a web search...  Found this one....

   

So, the one on the trailer looks like the bicentennial paint was applied after years of trailer use, which was really what I was hoping for.  The prototype also has corrugated sides versus the flat sides on the Walters version.  I think I'll just ignore that difference. I figure that I'll tape off the red, white and blue stripes and other markings and apply most of the weathering treatments to each trailer and then give the stripes a dusting...  More photos of the process coming.

[TMo]

So, let's get to some explanation and pictures.  I masked off the stripes, the CNW markings (they also looked new in the proto photo)....
   

Then I made up a gray acrylic wash.  A dab of white, a drop of black, and then I drizzled water into the container until I had a runny, milky mixture.  I removed the box from each trailer and applied the wash liberally to all surfaces.  On the top I went from front to back, everything else was from top to bottom.  Hit the trailer frame, wheels and tires at the same time.  Plastic has a shine that a wash takes right away.

   

Of course, I wasn't quite happy with the wash, but that's the beauty of acrylics.  I wet my thumb and adjusted the depth of the paint, pulling paint off the trailer in certain spots - to simulate how either stainless steel or aluminum panels oxidize - it gets filmy in spots, gray in others.  I then added some brown to my wash and hit the frames for the onset of rust.  Again, if I didn't like how it looked anywhere, a little water and pressure.  Hit the trailer frame and wheels with this too and then dabbed some black acrylic paint over the washes.

   

Then I got out my PanPastels and my makeup brushes.  Started with a small stiff brush and worked black into the crevices and panel edges and then got a big brush out to hit the top passenger side corner, which if you were a trucker in the 70's you knew you'd always have diesel exhaust hitting that corner of the trailer.

   

Then a stiff eyebrow brush to work rust into the same crevices.

   

It was time for the unveiling - took off the masked areas.

   

And then I had to put them on a flat car and check out the finished product. 

   

Happy 4th everybody!

[Charlie B]

Those look great and they are a great addition to your wonderful scenery. Have a good trip and we will look forward to more action from you.
Charlie

[ngauger]

They both look Great!!! Nice Work!!

[tompm]

Looking good

[ezdays]

Yup, just right. Thanks for the step-by-step too,

[TMo]

The problem with weathering - you stick these two on an unweathered flat car and you realize there's much more to do!

[Tyson Rayles]

Nice work!