Cement dust and grime weathering Part 2: ‘OO’ gauge models
It is the turn of ‘OO’ gauge cement tank wagon models to be treated to dust and grime weathering. The big brother to the Realtrack model, the Accurascale PCA along with an older cement tank, the PC009 PCA vee-tank wagon are the subjects for this stint at the workbench.
WEATHERING ‘N’ gauge cement tanks required a degree of restraint to achieve a convincing effect, even for wagons where cement dust build-up covered most of the wagon barrel. Acrylic paints were relied upon for achieving the cement dust encrustation, stippled in place in several layers and with subtle colour variations to emulate cement dust build-up.
In larger scales including ‘OO’ gauge models, more techniques and materials can come into play, including weathering powders and pigments. This article concludes the two-part feature on cement tank wagon weathering and this time, a lot of dusty stuff is flung about, albeit in a (hopefully) controlled manner, including the ‘dump’ method.
Setting up the workspace
Pigment and talcum power weathering can be quite messy depending on style. Wall lining paper makes an excellent temporary workbench cover and may be rolled up with mess contained within when projects are completed. Being clean, unlike newspaper print, it won’t mark your carefully applied paint finishes and weathering!
A large tray to contain powders is a must and of course you will need some mixing dishes such as the lids from single use food containers, suitably cleaned for paint and powder mixing. Paint brushes should include those intended for stippling, together with less than perfect ones. Have lolly and cocktail sticks on hand and a good supply of kitchen towel too.
Materials
In addition to the same acrylic paints used to weather the ‘N’ gauge models, light grey and white pigment powders used for weathering are useful. Fine talcum powder is also a very handy material for dusty weathering. All of these have a knack for working into places where they are not wanted, so remove models from the immediate area around the work bench other than those to be treated.
Matt varnish is also an essential material and acrylic-based varnish will work well. In fact acrylic paints with their fast drying times are very valuable for weathering, both for durability and speeding up the process through their short drying times. Be sure to have enough thinner to hand for the paint type you plan to use and always choose matt finish paints.
AK Interactive weathering pencils also have a role to play in
the application of trace amounts of weathering colour in a more controlled manner than is possible with powdered pigments.
General techniques
As always, the assumption is made that the models have already been detailed, renumbered and fitted with the desired wheelsets and couplings. Be sure the models run smoothly without the brake shoes rubbing against the wheels and without excess sideways slop in the axle boxes. Couplings must be fully working and at the correct operating height. Making adjustments and repairs along with the excessive handling that can result may damage carefully applied weathering.
The models were cleaned of dust and immediately dispatched to the paint shop for underframe weathering: frame dirt, brake dust and rust. Underframe weathering is best applied