India ink

[TrainNut]

India ink. What's up with this stuff? I've heard a lot of modelers refer to it but as of yet, I've never used it and so am unfamiliar with it. I'm nearly finished with three structures for my layout and I'm at the point where I'm starting to think about how best to weather them. Let's hear your opinion and see some examples of your work using it!

[MasonJar]

I use a couple drops in 50% isopropyl alcohol (form the dollar store) as the first step in weathering. It gets into the cracks and crevices and makes them appear deeper than they sometimes are. It also knocks the shine off new plastic. I try not to put too much on, as the ink is very black and large areas of it can look "wrong".

Here's a picture of a weathered boxcar that started with a "inkahol" wash:

[albumimg]1066[/albumimg]

As you can see, the ink is no longer really visible, but it does darken the grain in the "wood" siding of the car, and creates a shadow for the end ladder. The rest of the weathering is done with dollar store acrylic craft paints - combinations of burnt sienna, burnt umber, black, antique white, and a mix of red and green that makes an "off-boxcar red".

One caveat: be careful when weathering with ink - it does NOT wash out...!

Andrew

[Herc Driver]

I like it too! It's great for roadways, engine and car detailing, even brick buildings. But it stains everything it touches. I like mixing it with some water for weathering, and I use it straight for roadways.

[TrainNut]

Mason, that boxcar looks great.
Herc, so you ink your roads straight black? Are you modeling asphalt by doing that? That got me to thinking about the many different colors of roads and what eras they can be found in. I went to Wikipedia and typed in "the color of a road." Did you know there is a road coloring theorem? Unfortuanately, it has to do with wayfinding, not coloring.

[UP SD40-2]

I've been using India ink mixed with 70% strength isopropyl alcohol for years, GREAT STUFF!

You can even use it on your figures too, it makes their clothes not look so shiny and like plastic, and it really makes their facial features stick out much better, TONS of uses, DEFINATLY WORTH USING!

[Trucklover]

Deano had a great tutorial on his weathering method using India Ink. Its what got me started in weathering LOL. Deano, did you get a chance to transfer that awesome tutorial over here on the new site?

[UP SD40-2]

Deano had a great tutorial on his weathering method using India Ink. Its what got me started in weathering LOL. Deano, did you get a chance to transfer that awesome tutorial over here on the new site?

I never considered that tutorial to be "great" :oops: , but THANKS Josh! :mrgreen:

I done that tutorial way back when Peter first took over, it was buried in one of my infamous seemingly never ending threads , sadly when Peter changed the forum to Zealot the pics were lost, and i never kept backups of them :cry: . That tutorial is long gone my friend, but i am so Glad you was able to catch it