Lubbock Model Railroad Association
Staying on Track - May 2005
Meetings are at the Highland Baptist Activity Center, Quaker Ave. and 34th St. - first Monday of each month at 7:30pm.
June 6: Jack Seay will show how to make pine trees with twine fibers.
Other events coming this year:
Undecided: Home layout tour
Mailing list: groups.yahoo.com/group/LMRA
Web page: railserve.com/lmra
Thanks to all those who helped at the Arts Festival layout setup: Curly Bunting, Shirley Bunting, Rip Maples, Randy Bittick, Al Fox, Jan Kutch, Terry Chancelor, Ron Warner, Andrew Burton, Raymond Mata, Javier Rosales, Ray Zipps, Homer Morrow, Shawn Zipps, Don Payne, Jack Seay, and Buddy Arnold.
Clovis train show - We 're also planning a train show July 16-17 with setup on the 15th. Please inform the general LMRA membership that they are welcome to come setup their HO/N modules. I'll need to know as soon after the business meeting that you can/cannot come up. We've got one HO club from Amarillo that is coming. We're also trying to get vendors to come to sell.
James Aldrich
I am sorry for getting the newsletter out at the last minute. I was so focused on making trees, that I forgot until the Friday before the meeting.
Jack Seay
Weathering tips from an expert: A two-step process for the "grungy" look.
by Dean Foster
I use a two-step technique for weathering rolling stock: acrylic washes followed by an airbrushed overspray to tie everything together. Airbrushing alone is usually too uniform in color and coverage. With acrylic washes I can obtain color variations, streaks, rust spots, and other realistic effects to better match the prototype.
I prefer acrylic to oil-base washes because the latter can leave an oily sheen. Also, if you're unhappy with some effect, acrylics can be washed away before they dry with warm, soapy water and gentle scrubbing with old toothbrush.
Acrylics can be mixed with each other to create the color you want or used as they come from the tube. Thin the paints with plenty of water to make a wash and apply with a soft brush. I use raw umber, burnt umber, raw sienna, and burnt sienna colors. Work the washes with the brush as the pigment dries to prevent splotches of color. Remember that it's easier to add more color, but harder to remove too much.
When the wash is dry, I lightly airbrush the model with Polly Scale Dirt. Other colors I frequently use are Railroad Tie Brown, Grimy Black, and Mud. For further variation, after the overspray coat is applied I remove some of the overspray with a wet cotton swab to create a streaking effect. I used this technique on the roofs of both of my Southern waffle-side boxcars, allowing some of the original galvanized color to show through.