Cornerstone has a building named "Brick Office Building" ( http://www.walthers.com/graphics/npc/2-2..._brick.jpg ). It is a nice one but I have no use for an office building. It fits fine into my warehouse district after some minor modifications. Glue and paint has to set over night before I can weather it tomorrow. There is a "black box" about 2" x 2" behind the open roller gate.

Reinhard,

Interesting use of watercolor paint... Painting and weathering brick in a realistic manner is extremely hard to master.

About weathering, I found out with time that I liked more my lightly weathered cars than my overdone ones, where mistakes are easier to discern. I think a good approach is to paint trucks and wheels, fade colors, apply a subtle dark wash and a some dirt on the lower part of the body. With that, done lightly, you can go wrong. Cars still look "new" but not toyish. Fading colors seem to be one of the most effective way to enhance a model. Honestly, in my whole life, I rarely saw rust bucket, except for long forgotten rolling stock rotting on abandonned sidings.

Matt

This is another idea how to use watercolor. I painted a black rectangle with very solid black watercolor. Only little water to prevent it from running through the gaps (didn't work perfect). When the paint was dry I used dry transfer letters (NUTS & BOLTS 1953). The dry transfer did not stick well on the wall as expected. A dump cotton swab was next used to remove some of the black watercolor and to move some of it over the white letters.
This is based on my observation that the black background disappears much more than the white letters on old brick walls.

The distance is graceful....


I think I must seal this section of the wall with dull coat before I start weathering the wall with watercolors and lots of water water. btw. that wall had a mortal wash too. It disappeared on the closeup photo but I see the mortal wash from 2 yards distance in my chair now. Colors and light appearance in real and on photos is somehow magic to me...

Matt, I am also very careful weathering cars and especially engines. My standard weathering is a black/brown mix applied at the black parts at the bottom like trucks, tank etc. The Conrail GP15 somewhat down in this thread got that standard weathering. It is usually only good enough to remove all shine and beauty from the black. I do also sometime add some highlights to the bottom part with light gray dry brushing and at the maximum a layer of dull coat over the entire shell. But that is an exception if the colors are to much like a toy.
In some absolute necessary cases do I use a black wash to tone the shell down (e.g. my green BN boxcars looked like a frog).

Reinhard:
"mortal wash" ???
do you mean "mortar wash"?

BR60103 Wrote:Reinhard:
"mortal wash" ???
do you mean "mortar wash"?

That's right but that's tricky for a German because "mortar" is "Moertel" in German and it sounds quite similar. I did simply keep the Grerman "L" at the end. It sounds so familiar
I think I did that spelling mistake not the first time.....

That is the final building after a black wash with daylight at the next day

The lettering survived the wash under a layer of dull coat

Do you notice how the washes (mortar and black) are visible on the top photo with the window light in the back and how they become invisible from the other angle.

Next topics will be a smaller industry office building and an overpass at the very right end based on RIX parts. Four elements arrived yesterday. More are on order to get a complete double overpass. The final position of the overpass is key to the location of the industry to be placed left to the overpass in the very foreground.

Love it, Reinhard. Very subtle. I especially like the 'ghost' sign; great idea

May I ask what colours you have used to paint the caramel/grey concrete base? A very good likeness, Reinhard.

Thanks,

jonte

I use an airbrush for painting and weathering buildings and rolling stock.
I apply a coat of Dull-Kote first and allow it to dry at least 8 hrs. This gives the paint something to "grab" onto other than a slick plastic surface. I then apply whatever color the brick is going to be, usually a dark reddish coat and allow that to dry thoroughly and then seal it with DK. Next I apply a coat of mortar color (light gray) with a brush, and immediately wipe off the brick faces with a slightly damp rag (I use water-soluble paint for the mortar) using diagonal strokes which minimizes the possibility of removing the paint in the mortar joints. I allow at least 12 hrs. for the mortar lines to dry, and then apply a final coat of DK to seal everything in.
It's time consuming, but gives excellent results.
Hope this helps...

Jonte, It is Heki #6600, concrete street paint. ebay UK has some Heki shrubs on sale. I assume therefor Heki is available in UK too.
sample photo: http://www.modellbahnshop-lippe.com/arti...1723_b.jpg
A very similar product is Faller "Roadway paint" #180507
sample photo: http://www.modellbahnshop-lippe.com/arti...7857_b.jpg

Steamtrain, that is about the same procedure I use. Except the first layer is a plastic primer from the rattle can, the brown is a rust primer from the rattle can and I put the mortal wash immediate on the brown rust primer. The above mentioned Heki 6600 is one of my favorite mortar wash.
The complicated parts starts after that to make that nice wall look like at least 75 years old. That is where I failed sometimes and ruined the kit and that is where I am today quite happy to use watercolors (e.g. black wash) to get a second and third and fourth chance. Something like this http://i0.wp.com/honeybrownblues.com/wp-...=567%2C318 and this http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/b...1b3ad2.jpg

The weathering on your buildings is looking very effective Reinhard Washes are a very versatile technique once you get the hang of them. I also love the 'ghosted' sign, you have captured it very well.

Cheers,

Kev

Lettering on the small wall went so well I wanted to try it at a more prominent place.
It is a gain an area painted with black water color, white dry transfer letters and a dump cotton swab to lightly damage the black area. The dry transfer letters worked so well today I had to severe damage them with s sharp knife.

Yes. I like it Reinhard.

Thanks also for the info re the paint

jonte

All main structures south of the railroad are completed and got their final location (except at the very west end). The next dominating elements are the roads. The overall dark gray tarmac surface makes it easy to define roads, yards etc. by adding sidewalks.

The background needs to be changed to reflect an in/outbound road here. The brick canyon at the left is a privat road and a track too.


The lead track is running in the road. The rear side of the road is a white line only (should it be a double line?).

Reinhard,

Looks great. Love the canyon effect.


Larry

I thought about the narrow road running along the layout and the truck traffic to serve the industries. That is a mismatch and the narrow road is not sufficient. I added two more short ends of streets between the industries leading to a main road one block south. Those main road and the roads between the warehouses are the truck routes. The narrow road is an interconnection between the back yards and still public road to serve the two small businesses (Nuts & Bolts and the former REA building).