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As a follow-up to Cody Grivno’s initial video on adding realistic weathering effects to an out-of-the-box HO scale model, he now shows you how to apply additional effects to specific components of a hardworking diesel locomotive. Of course, the techniques Cody demonstrates here can also be applied to diesel units modeled in all other scales.
a weathered diesel is what is common on the rails. Good job Cody.
Thanks Cody for the Great Video on Weathering. You have a good eye for detail!
Ron Polityka
Reading RR
Looks great. I am hoping that you will have some videos of work you are doing on the Canadian Canyons project.
Great job Cody. When are we going to get to see you do a full weathering job on a steam locomotive?
Well done and very informative. Excellent video coverage!
great job cody
Not all of us know how to get access to the engineer’s cab. It would be nice if you would demonstrate the steps to do that.
Excellent video. I am interested in finding other opportunities for using colored pencils for weathering techniques. I may give that a try on a structure I am building
Nice job. Cody. Wondering why you didn’t use the “shadow” rust technique on the other side of the plow.
I would disagree with Bill Decker on the use of the grays. Yes, there are differences in the shades, and SP did use the Dark Lark for the base paint. But in order to show a repaint on a certain part, the use of Lettering Gray is very acceptable, Hey, it was painted somewhere away from the Sacramento shops.
I have seen over the years, different shades of gray on SP engines from an almost black to a very light shade. This is due to exposure to the elements. Sometimes, in modelling, it is easier to use a lighter shade to simulate this.
Terrific video – takes weathering from generic effects to specifics in easy steps. I don’t have any more excuses for not making models look this good. By the way, you can buy Post-It tape. It’s 3M item 658, and very useful.
A final plea – please don’t use Floquil or Polly S products that we cannot buy anymore. One of the big problems many of us are struggling with is converting to the available brands of paint after decades of Floquil. You are using a variety of materials in the video, which is great, but those of us who do not have a stash of Floquil products cannot do as you do. Thanks!
Cody, that was a good overview of several techniques to enhance the detailed weathering (and crewing) of a locomotive. That said, there remain a couple of points.
1. First, it is important to view photos of the actual class of loco one is weathering. This is critical for a large railroad like the Southern Pacific which served a wide range of climates and services around the “Golden Empire” from Oregon to New Orleans. I realize your GP38-2 project was aimed at your Kaiser Ore scene layout (Southern California desert) versus the Northern California haunt of many/most GP38-2 on the SP. Nonetheless, an excellent resource you missed was Richard Percy’s outstanding website devoted to SP’s loco fleet: http://espee.railfan.net/diesel_loco_index.html One can research a particular class of SP locos very easily on this site, capturing the specific look of that class due to its primary service.
2. A related issue is that of time. One really should aim weathering project at a particular time in service. Those GP38-2s you used for demonstration arrived on the SP in 1980. One should aim at a particular year thereafter and study photos from immediately around the target year–not the broad mix of photo years you used as illustrations. For example, your unit still has classic SP “Roman” lettering, yet you used illustrations from late-SP (“Speed Lettering”) and even UP (the yellow door) years. When boring down into specific details, it is very important to catch the weathering age (and region).
3. Final minor point. You mis-spoke on the color applied to the airbrake compartment door below the cab, calling it “SP Lettering Gray.” You obviously used “SP Lark Gray” (the correct color) and correctly identified it when weathering the snow plow. Minor quibble.
Good work, but the regional and service issues of weathering as well as weathering age deserved highlighting.
Bill Decker
McMinnville, OR
Cody makes it look so easy. I am not worthy.
Well done Cody… I’ll have to use these techniques to weather my recently acquired IC GP-10s as they were in pretty bad shape for my modeling era.
Great tips as usual Cody. Looking forward to using these techniques on some of the patch outs I soon will be working on.
Great video Cody. Like the way you work that plow!!
The right hand corner of the plow was probably repaired from an accident, sometimes welded or just banged out to recover it’s shape.
If it is a 2 man crew, the conductor usually sits in the second seat and folds down the front seat. If it is 3 man crew, such as on a Local, the brakeman usually occupies the front seat. Great weathering techniques.
A wealth of knowledge, Cody! Very well done! Thank you.