Rehash

I am going to rehash something that I posted on before. That post, unfortunately has been deleted. So, I will go over it again. One of my hobbies is model trains. I model in HO scale, which is 1/87th the size of the real thing. I started model railroading in my teens, with a train set that I got for Christmas. I added cars and engines to that since. I now have over 100 cars and engines. I have also gone from the inexpensive type to a more advanced and better built train. I still have the "cheaper" cars and engines and plan to use them on my layout when I get one built.

But, all of the cars and engines that I have were all shiny and new looking. As I have progressed in this hobby, I came to the conclusion that I wanted a more realistic looking fleet of trains. I mean, surely you have noticed real trains going down the tracks right? How many train cars do you see that look like they are brand new? Practically none right?

So, that is where I am now. Getting my trains to look more real. It's called "weathering" to model railroaders. There are various methods to get the same result. Currently I am using artists pastel chalks that have been ground from a stick of whatever color I have and applied with a brush. Then I spray it with hairspray to hold it in place. It sometimes takes several applications of this "powder" to get the look I want. When I am happy with the way it looks, I finish it off with a coat of Testors Dull Coat. It's a lacquer that is sprayed onto the train and it stays dull to make it look real, but also to make it so the affect that I have applied doesn't come off while I handle the train cars.

So, I hope I didn't make this too long of a post. But, I did want to give those who haven't followed my blog from the start to have a better idea about why I do what I do to my model trains. Till next time BYE!!