Dirty & Smelly

Ahhhh weathering, lovely weathering. The difference between plastic toy and the world in miniture.
While I will go into more detail at some point, and add pics here at some point I have a basic technique I would like to share.

Preparation & Materials

 

Firstly it is much easier if one can take the glazing out of an RTR. Some fall out at the slighest pressure, some do not or end up damaged if you try. We have found they will generally come out of actual locos but fully glazed models (such as an EPB, CEP, VEP) they do not, or at least not very easily without causing damage.

I find there is no need to pre-treat them, other than a brush off of dust. Perhaps if it is one you have had for a while it may need to be cleaned of fingermarks and the like, but given I only ever weather with enamels this will act as degreaser anyway so probably very little need. On that note....

The Best Thing About Acrylics Is They Dry Quickly,The Worst Thing About Acrylics Is They Dry Too Quickly....

Use what you will but this is my experience, no matter what potion is added to an acrylic mix (i.e. a retarder). Enamels stay in a workable state to allow the effects I am about to describe, they also behave differently in wash form. Given that an acrylic wash is mainly water i find it will just sit on the surface, and not always go into the recesses of thing and that's mostly the point of washes...but as I say horses for courses. I will normally be talking about Humbrol tinlets in terms of colour, unless stated otherwise.

The Loco Body - Stage One 

 

I used to apply a black/brown (62 leather + black to a mix of what looks like sludge) wash to the body and work it but now I find a light misting from an airbrush is actually much more effective. Applied over the roof and sides this is left to become visually dry, it will only take a few minutes. A flat brush moistened in thinners is then drawn down the sides, cleaning most of it off. This is to simulate dirt and crap that has been washed down from the roof and body and this needs to be as vertical as one can muster, as skew whiff streaks will look odd. The brush needs to be cleaned every so often but its continued until both sides have been complete. It's hard to explain until you do it but drawing down the dry, dusty applied dirt colour will reactivate it and streak in a very convincing way. For the roof most of it needs to be simply wiped with thinners moist kitchen paper, dirt/paint will stay in the areas most likely to be dirty.

The mix is then altered to be more brown/less black and the same mist applied to the rear and the front (all of our locos have yellow ends, but the technique is the same either way). While some of it is removed from the back I find very little needs doing. as this the area that would connect to another unit it would usually be missed when cleaned and would remain grimy. The front however is a different story. Generally I have found even the dirtiest machines would have the yellow ends kept reasonably clean, for safety reasons. Having said that, Google your prototype and you will undoubtedly find pictures to the contrary, it will depend on what level of filth you are after.

Class 42 Warship - in our timeframe on its last legs so nose is deliberately dirtier than i would normally do.

Either way this mist is wiped off with kitchen towel, again moistened in thinners. Most of will come off but grime will stay in areas where the towel doesn't reach, simulating where the cleaners didn't get to. That's it...this all needs to be left to dry (8 hours or even better overnight). Same treatment as before with the roof, wiping off the relevant amount of paint.

The Coach Body - DEMU-EMU type 

 

Initial technique is slightly different to an actual engine. Again Google your prototype and you should find these are generally cleaner, I suppose because actual passengers got in them and the fact they don't as much to generate filth and dirt (like vents). The first stage is the same applied colour as before but rather than drawing it down it is simply wiped of with kitchen paper. This will retain the dirt between panel lines, doors, handles. Back and front same as above.

Bachmann MLV - less dirty than an engine.

 Stage 2

Check your model, if you are happy that the general body sides are convincing they are fine, if not or you want a real dirty boy stage one can be repeated. You will find an odd look to the finish where matt paint has streaked a semi-matt factory finish, worry not dear reader this will be sorted at the end.

If you are happy it's dirty enough for a general use loco we can move on - more of the same really, but we will now being showing where more dirt has built up. Again another pass of the airbrush, but this mix will be more black, less brown. Let is visually dry. Now look at your loco and see the vent and protrusions where dirt would cling to, and more to the point where fuel would dribble from. Take the same flat brush and again draw down all the areas where you don't think this would occur, you should now being seeing an pattern with the previously streaky bits are intersected with blocks of the still sprayed colour lining up with the vents and bits. Again let it dry for a bit to allow the "cleaned areas" settle and even out. Now draw the brush down on these areas but with lighter pressure. You should firstly see these areas reactivate then start to streak. Keep pulling down, applying slightly more pressure as you near the bottom of the loco and it will cause the streaking to fade very convincingly.

Warship - pissing oil!

 Look at the back again, it might need another pass it might not. Look at the front, it might need another pass it might not. Either way with the front I apply the same wash as before in strategic areas, around the front pipes, around the windows, under the hood if its that type or anywhere that you think dirt might collect.. This then blended/faded out with a moistened brush. Let it all dry.

206 - note shading/dirt under roof, above windows, near pipes above the bufferbeam.

The Coach Body - DEMU-EMU type 

 

Same thing, apply the mist, let it dry drawn it down. But remove much more of it than you would for an engine. As we said they are generally cleaner but you will often seem streaking. Back and front same as above. Roof as above but remove less paint. A look at your prototype should show you that roofs are often so dirty they almost look black. Once this has dried it would also be the time to add a mist of pure black around any roof vents/exhausts. I say mist but if you do not own an airbrush drybrushing also works, but try to use a puffy brush and a vertical stippling motion in the area, side to side like you would normally do will not work.

Coach Style Roof 

 

Unless there are a lot of conduits etc on the roof I find a few passes with the same airbrush dirt is usually enough. I have tried washes but find that have a habit of drying in odd patterns with little benefit. If there is lots of conduit it will benefit from a light drybrushing of a grey lighter than that of the roof, just to bring out the details. I would strongly advise against drybrushing the actual surface of the roof itself, dry brushing flat surfaces does not work under normal circumstances and you will end up with roof that passes well for stone if you try it!

206 roof - conduit highlighted with subtle drybrushing.

Stage 3 - Applies to Both Types

Limescale - often seen this is less is more kind of deal. Caused by water (obviously) dripping down the roof a very pale grey (white is too white) is thinned and drawn down in a thin line where you think a streak may be likely. This then dispersed with a moistened brush to make it more subtle and to add a grainy texture, and then drawn down at the sides to define the streak. You will probably find as it dries there is white where you don't want it to be in the area. using clean spirit to kind of chase this back into the streak itself and it will leave that area clean. Lastly the vents and bits we took the darker streaking down from are likely to be themselves too clean, a thin black wash simply needs to be placed into these areas.

Warship - limescale and filth.

Finish

A matter of some debate but I prefer a totally matt finish. No they are not totally matt in real life but most objects that have a sheen, when viewed from any sort of distance do not appear to have any sheen (don't believe me - look at the cars in a car park from distance, its hard to see them shine unless the light is hitting them at just the right way). We have tried many finishes but find that testors Dullcote is the most reliable. Having said that  - do not spray on wet days or in sheds or anywhere there might be moisture in the air. You might find  the dreaded white bloom (caused by moisture being trapped underneath the medium). After this has dry you can re-fit the glazing, or replace with flush type if you are that way inclined.

206 - dirty bogies are better than black plastic ones! Note frame dirt.

Underframe and Bogies

Treating these is easy and these are the most plasticky looking parts on mosts RTR (most likely on account as they are made of plastic - black, shiny plastic!). Stage one is wash of the same 62/black but more on the 62...it will look like dirty rust. Apply it over everything, let it dry. Stage 2 - drybrush the entire thing with a lighter rust colour, I usually use 62 with a touch of white. Let it dry - stage 3 apply a dark brown wash to even out the drybrushing. For this I personally use Model Mates oil brown. A relatively new product it's an alcohol based medium that i think is very convincing for...oil. If you dont have this a dark brown paint will do also. Let it dry. I would now seal this, again with Testors. Once that has dry you might want apply more special effects such as seeping oil and the like. AK Interactive has some greet stuff to simulate this, and the product stays slightly glossy and remains wet looking. This should be applied to bogie springs and anywhere oil might be.

Marry the two back together and you are nearly there. The last stage is Phoenix Precision frame dirt, applied at very low pressure to the bogies and the very lowest part of the body sides.

That's it, in its basic form. you should now have a loco that looks much more real than it did.

 Go on...have a go.....you know you want to.