Water Tower and Storage Shed

Bill · October 2015

Looks like you're moving right along and making nice progress. The parts you've added look good color-wise and appear to belong in the scene.

Here's the reason to go easy on the crooked rungs: one or two conveys the idea that there's neglect, wear, or general aging. Add too many and it suggests to the viewer sloppy or amateurish modeling skills. The only reason I mention this is because I think the same sort of "restraint" can be applied to other modeling elements, too: sagging or crooked shingles, broken/missing panes of glass, sagging doors, broken fence pickets, nail holes, knot holes, etc. etc. Less is almost always more.
Let the viewer discover all these subtle little elements rather than having them jump out and make a statement.

Keep up the good work and keep posting pictures. Lots of them. That's where MORE is always better!

KCSTrains · October 2015

Brett and Bill, Thanks for your advice. Lesson learned. I believe I have fixed the ladders and am moving on. I'm now at the casting stage which you know will take some time. I'll post as I progress. Phil

KCSTrains · October 2015

Guys, I'm stuck. I'm trying to weather the big black tank and I want to give it a real rusty look. I tried the methods in the instructions (or at least I think I did), but didn't like the results. It may be that the flat black base I used is the problem. Can you give me your recipe for painting industrial tanks that are really rusty. Thanks in advance. Phil

brownbr · November 2015

Try weathering powders set with mineral spirits on the tank. Start with either the black base, or brown if you want it totally rusted. Dab on your powders. Start with dark rust, then med rust, and light rust around where you think "fresh" rust should be. Work it in a little with a dry brush. Then dip a brush in mineral spirits and touch it to the tank. Capillary action will make it spread out over the tank. Repeat until the entire tank is wet.

KCSTrains · November 2015

Thanks Bryan. I'll give it a try when I get back home. On the road again. Phil

Ojaste · November 2015

Phil, go looking for a prototype photograph and post it here. Then it would be easier to help achieve that look.

KCSTrains · November 2015

Marty and all,

See below. This is the look that I'm after.

Phil

Ojaste · November 2015

Phil,

Take a look at photos and captions starting here,

https://www.facebook.com/MKRailway/photos/a.1660494114175715.1073741879.1406375389587590/1661709400720853/?type=3&theater

It might help.

KCSTrains · November 2015

Thanks Marty. That helps a lot. I've come to a realization that you have to have Windsor and Newton's water soluble oil when rusting. I have some on order. Thanks again. Phil

KCSTrains · November 2015

Ok, I finally came to a resolution on rusting an industrial tank and I want to share hit with you. I happened upon it by accident. Scrape off 3 -4 of the rust family chalks and mix together. Apply to the tank very thinly and dry. Take an old hair spray bottle and fill it with alcohol and finely mist the alcohol over the tank. Don't over saturate. The result is pretty cool and mottled. If you want to do more, repeat the process.

See my tank below.

I also finished the compressor. I really like the tarp over the compressor and went with more of a burlap look.

Thanks all for your help in solving my rusting problem. Phil

brownbr · November 2015

I like the rust effect you got. Very crusty and flakey as would be expected. I like the idea of a tarp over the compressor, but the burlap is a bit out of scale. The material for model ship sails might give you the woven look you are going for and be better in scale.

KKarns · November 2015

Nice job Phil. The rust effect looks great as does your subtile oil seepage. This is often overdone but your's looks just right to my eye. Platform deck weathering matches the tank age and use. The material covering the compressor may be slightly out of scale but certainly plausible with normal viewing. I used the same stuff on my Water Tank & Storage Shed build and liked the results. The only thing I would suggest is trim the ragged end thats over the top of the compressor as this accentuates the coarse weave. If you look at the portion that runs down the back and side, the weave looks tight and more to scale. However...once tucked nicely into the Storage Shed with all the wonderful castings and such, it will look fantastic regardless!...Ken

admin · November 2015

Tank looks fantastic. Texture and color are just right. Try a little of the oil colors we were talking about to get a some gunky oil buildup around the fill spout on top - like you have on the front of the frame. Ken is right on target with the compressor tarp too. Excellent work!

KCSTrains · November 2015

Thanks for your kind comments. I may try to trim the tarp a bit to get rid of the out of scale ends. This is tough however. You need very small scissors.

Now, on to the rest of the castings.

Phil

KCSTrains · December 2015

I've been working on the castings. Below are some examples

Phil

MitchN · December 2015

Phil,

The coloring looks realistic to me. I particularly like the rust on the 55 gallon drums in the first picture. What was your technique?

Best regards,

Mitch

admin · December 2015

Excellent job Phil. Those are complex castings and you have nailed them!

KCSTrains · December 2015

Thanks Mitch and Brett.

Mitch, after painting the barrel, I start with putting a mixture of rust power on the top of each drum and mist it with alcohol. I accidently found out this gives a great look. Mist with a pump sprayer. I then dust the barrel with a brown powder. I use Winsor and Newton water soluble oil, burn sienna, and with a tooth pick apply this rust to the appropriate spots. This really gives you some depth. I then very light dab the rust spots with a round brush and the rust powder mixture. Phil

KKarns · December 2015

Nice work Phil. The detailing of the castings is an area that can make or break an otherwise good structure model. You have done well to get this technique down and to your liking. Look forward to more...Ken

SteveF · December 2015

I just caught up with this thread. Great modeling. You nailed the rust treatment on the tank. When you said "pump sprayer", is that the trigger type similar to what is used on home cleaners like Fantastic?
Steve F

KCSTrains · December 2015

Thanks Ken and Steve. Steve, by "pump sprayer" I mean a normal hair spray pump bottle. Nothing special so long as it provides a fine mist. Merry Christmas all. Phil

KCSTrains · January 2016

Expo is only about 60 days away, so I needed to get busy. As you know, I've been busy with the castings, but I'm ready now to proceed ahead. The first thing I did was build a retaining wall with railroad ties. I also laid ties for the track and weathered them using Brett's newest methodology.

I then ballasted the track with a rock I kept from my Spokane, Washington days. I put it through a small screen to get the smallest particles. I then laid the rails and put in some weathering.

I then started working on my stream by painting the foam and adding a bit of sand that I will use as the base of my stream. I also worked on some erosion on the hill side where the water would have run down to the stream from the water tower.

Finally, I started to put castings inside the shed.

Next, I'll start on the roofs. Thanks for viewing. Phil

KKarns · January 2016

Great work Phil. I particularly like the weathering you gave to the track, ties and ballast. A detail that's often overlooked. Casting work looks terrific as does the general "feel" of things. Nothing standing out, things well positioned and blended together. Treatment of the water tank is very well done...Ken

brownbr · January 2016

I agree with Ken. The coloring blends together like the entire scene has been in place and gathering dust/dirt for decades. Very nice.

Karl.A · January 2016

terrific colouring of the structures and the details are dead right, everything blends and fits together so very well.
Love the colouring of the ties also and the track is nicely weathered.

Karl.A

nextceo · January 2016

I agree with Karl...the colors blend together very nicely.

Alan

KCSTrains · February 2016

Thanks all. I'm finally getting it because of all the help I have received from the members of this forum. Karl, I still open up your tutorial when I paint castings as a reminder of what to do. My question to you all, should I apply the track nails? Phil

Karl.A · February 2016

I didn't even notice they weren't there.
Ken came up with a fantastic way to do this in HO in his loco shop thread, check it out.

Karl.A

brownbr · February 2016

Yes, spike the rail

KCSTrains · February 2016

I can't find Ken's early thread on the loco shop. Ken, can you point me in the right direction? Phil

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Water Tower and Storage Shed

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