Train Roof Weathering

February 15, 2011

If you study real trains you’ll see the cars all have a different colored roof. This is due to natural wear and tear. The cars will be of different ages and have been on different trains, in different locations, and different weather conditions during their lifetime in service. Some will be covered in dirt, brake dust and even rust stains.

I line all my cars up and then add a little dark gray paint to a saucer (that’s what I use to mix my paints on). I then paint the roof of the first car. After that I add a dab of another color (maybe gun metal) to the gray paint and paint a second roof. I then add a dab of another color (maybe rust brown) to the mixture and paint a third roof. I continue this process until finished. I end up with the base color of each roof being different to the one next to it. I then do some additional weathering on some of them. This way all my cars look different.

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