Model Train Weathering

A train brand new right out of the box will often not really seem like a real locomotive.  They just look like toy locomotives.  Trains in the real world just don’t really look that nice.  I know that often when I look at a beginner’s model train layout, I will often look at the trains puffing through what is meant to be a dusty southwestern town or an old stone quarry and think, those locomotives look awful clean for trains that are meant to be fully operational in an environment like this.  Often all that is needed is to add the kind of detail that suggests that these locomotives have really endured a beating.  So you have to distress them yourself. Here’s how:

Start by putting together a toy train weathering toolbox:

There are three completely necessary tools for weathering.  Paintbrushes, tiny sponges and a square of cloth are a good start.  As you get better at model locomotive weathering you may find other tools that will aid you in this practice, but these will get you off to a strong start.

Add crafts materials that are specific to the toy train weathering look that you are trying to get across:  

You can find the sort of craft’s material that will achieve the look that you want for your locomotive.  Sometimes it’s easy achieving the effect you want.  But often this will involve picking a group of other materials that are not so obvious.  For example, you might find some printable decals on the web that you can use to add authenticity to your train.  Or you might add a layer of chalk or fine dust or powder to your train to make it seem as if it really has spent years drudging through that limestone quarry. You can find a host of articles on line on how to apply these different materials for the goal that you want.  Most issues of the two major toy railroading magazines will commonly include at least one article on detailing.  In the end, you will just have to feel around for the effect you are looking for.

A trip to the library or online can really help you picture the look you’re going for:  

A good thing to do is to stay vigilant for pictures of actual trains from a period and place that matches the one that you have created.  Photos from such books will help you picture your locomotive “in your mind’s eye”.  They will answer the type of questions you will have as you begin detailing:  How exactly does rust look in a wet environment?  What effect does the dry climate have on a paint coating of a train that goes through desert heat day after day? Etc.

Finally, remember that weathering isn’t just for locomotives: 

As model train hobbyist it is only natural to focus on the locomotives first.  But our trains are only as impressive as the worlds they travel through.  The figures and topography in the world too should be appropriately detailed.  Your locomotive will look much more realistic if the whistle stop that it goes by also looks similarly weathered.  That sort of eye for detail is one of the things that so captures our imagination in model locomotiveing.

Weathering takes an artistic touch.  Nows the time to recruit that miniature household Picasso to help with your model train cause.  Someone with a real skill for colors and details can really bring such a design to life.  If your daughter has the ability to apply makeup while riding in a bumping car she can certainly detail your Santa Fe locomotive.  If your son likes to make up cartoon characters to draw on his notebooks he can help touch up the figures in your fictional world.  Call them to help you.  Aren’t these the types of memories you have from when you were a kid?

Here is more information on Model Railroad Track Plans. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.