Killing time at the craft store

[P5se Camelback]

... 6) various inks and paints - and silkscreen ink. I never knew what variety of inks and paints were on the market or that the inks come in such a wide variety of color. ...

Wow, Kevin ... what a timely discovery! When I read that my first thought was, "Oh, yeah, Kev ... not all ink is black and watery. Silkscreen ink is actually quite viscous and 'gooie!'" But then the tree-way bulb clicked up two light levels! (It was first thing in the morning ... I was "on" but "dull.")

Hey, Ralph! Get a roller from the art/crafts store called a "brayer" and some white silkscreen ink. (also get some turps ... I think I remember that's what you use to clean up ... better check on that first -- my memory of a process that I used and knew well 35+ years ago is not always reliable any more.) Squeeze a small amount of silk screen ink out on a piece of glass and, using the brayer, spread some of it out in a thin sheet. Now, using what is on the brayer, spread some on your rubber stamp and apply that to a test surface ... how does that look to you. As long as you didn't apply it too thick to the rubber stamp, it should look pretty good ... that is the "pad printing process" that is used in industry for applying graphics to product. It works in industry and it should work just as well for model railroaders! (I just wish I could remember the liquid that we used to clean things up ... I'm pretty sure it was turpentine ... or wait ... no ... maybe it was mineral spirits ... yeah, the more I think about it I think it is mineral spirits.)

... 7) Some kind of rub on pigment used to give things a metallic patina. It comes in various colors, but all are intended to be somewhat metallic. I could see a few areas where it could make an interesting weathering medium. ...

I remember that pigment ... a paste in a small white tube with red lettering -- we stocked it when I was the manager the Allied Hobbies store in the mall. I used the green metallic on a cheap 1/87th scale Civil War soldier on a rearing horse ... it is the statue on the big concrete base in the Town Square (a cast bronze statue that had developed a patina over the years). I let the pigment dry thoroughly (a couple of days, just to be sure,) gave it a shot of Dull Coat, and then hit it with a dry brush with some very dark green and then just a little bit of black in the crevasses. Finally, a few spots of white on the hat and shoulders of both the man and the horse, plus a couple of spots of white on the top of the concrete base and topped it off with a few scale pidgeons (Campbell products, if I recall correctly.)

Voila! A Town Square Monument!