Articles & Blogs
|
Adding Panel Lines to ACF Hoppers |
 |
Here's a cheap and easy way to add those panel lines to your ACF Hoppers. Take a PrismaColor pencil and lightly trace the panel lines on the sides of the car. The box makes a great cradle for the car. Use the plastic box edges to help align your straight edge while you draw the panel lines. Done!
Adding panel lines to ACF Hoppers how to was written by Bill Mock in January 2010. This article has been assembled in order by the following links. Simply cut and paste the following links into your web browser to follow up on any additional comments, suggestions, or to view the larger images.
http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2569&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178
| Hopper Weathering Clinic II By Bill Mock December 2009 |
 |
So here's how those BN Hoppers turned out after the surface rust dried. Not bad. I'll see if they need another wash. Maybe I'll just chalk them. But I now need to add some spots of rust; some random and some at the ladder, etc.
OK, it's after working hours, time to add some surface rust. So I start off by wetting the entire surface with "blue" windshield washing fluid. Then I mix a very diluted wash of Raw Umber acrylic paint and more blue windshield washing fluid. I wash this on to the surface and let it pool in the edges and build up. Then, walk away. Check back to make sure that the wet surface is drying evenly. If the wash dries unevenly and edges start to form, dab your brush in a little plain blue washing fluid. Dry the brush on a paper towel. Then with the now damp brush, lightly brush over the unwanted paint edge. If caught early, it should dissolve this "edge" and leave a nice even wash again. This method is very similar to watercolour painting techniques. Check back tomorrow for photos of the Hoppers when they are dry.
Hopper Weathering Clinic II how to was written by Bill Mock in December 2009. This article has been assembled in order by the following links. Simply cut and paste the following links into your web browser to follow up on any additional comments, suggestions, or to view the larger images.
http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2460&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178
http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2461&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178
http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2458&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178
http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2459&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178
| Hopper Weathering Clinic By Bill Mock December 2009 |
 |
Here is the first stages of weathering of my new BN Open Hoppers and UP PS2 Hopper. The trucks and wheels were removed and painted with a wash of Poly Scale Oily Black and Rust. The car bodies were airbrushed with a 10:1 wash of Poly Scale Reefer White and Earth to fade them. Then the bottoms were airbrushed with a 10:1 wash of Poly Scale Oily Black. I use plain old "blue" windshield washing fluid as an airbrush thinner for faster paint drying. The next step for these cars is a brushed on "surface rust" wash of a Raw Umber acrylic paint.
Hopper Weathering Clinic how to was written by Bill Mock in December 2009. This article has been assembled in order by the following links. Simply cut and paste the following links into your web browser to follow up on any additional comments, suggestions, or to view the larger images.
http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2455&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178
http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2456&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178
http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2457&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178
| Hopper Weathering Clinic III By Bill Mock January 2010 |
 |
OK, I gave the inside of these hoppers a wash of Engine Black below the coal line. They look pretty good. At least they no longer look like raw plastic. Why am I weathering the inside of these hoppers? I don't know. You can see some of this surface above the Hay Brothers Coal Load. So that good. But who knows? Some day I may try to add some cross bracing and attempt to run these hoppers empty. May be it's just a Z-Scale - Zen thing. 
OK, time to go inside those hoppers! They get the same treatment, an acrylic rust wash. But this time, it's a wash of Grimy Black, Rust and a hint of Flat Aluminium. I used a cotton swab and "blue windshield washing fluid" to really scrub the inside of the plastic shell; to make sure that the paint-wash covers evenly. It looks awful to have the wash "bead up" around a bit of residual casting release oil. So scrub it down and then wash on the paint - all sides at once. Then let it dry, sitting on it's wheels. The paint wash gently washes down the side walls in a very realistic pattern. Let the first coat dry and then come back later to see if any additional paint washes are necessary. I'll probably add a wash of "Engine Black" below the line where the loaded coal sits and grinds into the side walls.
Hopper Weathering Clinic III how to was written by Bill Mock in January 2010. This article has been assembled in order by the following links. Simply cut and paste the following links into your web browser to follow up on any additional comments, suggestions, or to view the larger images.
http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2475&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178
http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2471&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178
http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2470&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178
