James River Branch: Reading Caboose

Reading Caboose, Part 2 of 2: Finishing

Using reference photos, I masked off the roof areas and sprayed them with Floquil Roof Brown. I then brushed Testors flat yellow onto the grab irons with a #10/0 Taklon brush. I did not paint the ladders; I felt they would look even bulkier than they do in brown, and I also found that the ladders were (thankfully!) not always painted yellow.

It's hard to describe the steps I took when weathering this model; most of my weathering jobs are haphazard and often fraught with happy accidents and near disasters. It began simply enough with an India ink wash. This was followed by various washes of Doctor Ben's Weathered Rust, Rustall, Floquil Rust paint, oversprays of Krylon primer, even some Sophisticated Finishes iron paint (to simulate bare patches of galvanized metal on the roof).

After a while, it all started looking excessive, as if the model was pulled from a garbage disposal. While scrubbing everything off with alcohol, it started to achieve a satisfactory balance, so I quick hit it with Dull Cote and called it a day.

The trucks, wheels and couplers were painted with Doctor Ben's Weathered Rust, and the couplers received an extra dash of Rustall. Still to come is the window glazing. I'm also thinking about replacing the brakewheels. We'll see...

Painting begins with brown sprayed on the roof and frame.

This is one of many reference photos used for painting and detailing.

Here is the finished caboose prior to weathering.

Natural sunlight brings out the rich colors of the weathered model.