STEP 3 ROOF VENTS

Rusty vents – While the roof and vents of the cars were painted at the same time at the factory, the sheet metal vents tended to rust quickly due to condensation. I found this picture and others like it in the Morning Sun book NH Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment. Photos like these are important for good weathering work.

Test the fit – After making the cuts, I test fit the mask on the car. I found that the some of the vents with long curved backs needed to be extended beyond what I had cut, as the smooth back left no clear indent in the paper where it joined the car roof. As shown in the photo, I made one complete set of masks for each type of car.

Taking an impression – I masked the vents to paint them separately from the roof. Using a heavy-stock sticky note, I first pressed the paper over the vents on one end of a car. You need to press firmly, but not so hard that you risk damaging the model. When you look at the paper, you should have indentations outlining the vents.

Apply the rust – I found that the Vallejo 71.026 US Flat Brown I used for dirt under the car also worked well for rust if it is used at or near full strength. The roof vents on these cars are not solid rust and still have some paint left, so I applied the paint thinned at a 1:4 ratio and made two passes with the airbrush.

Cutting the mask – Using the hard edge of the dimples in the sticky note as a guide, I cut openings for the vents in the mask. I used a metal rule to keep the cuts in the mask straight. Many of the vents are wedgeshaped, so I was careful to note that as I worked.

Finished vents – This photo shows the vents after painting. Without any other roof weathering to blend things together, the vents stick out too much. If you were going to weather the vents but not the roof, a single pass of thinned US Flat Brown paint would blend them in with the existing roof color better.