Paint Job Update
Preparing for the next show
In a few weeks we will be heading to the Springfield Train show, and the CNJ Bronx layout will be set up there. Having been distracted with some house renos for the last few weeks I have not done much on the layout. Today I thought I had better focus on it a bit to get it ready.
Naturally I won’t have as much done on it as I would like. I was hoping to be further along with more finished pieces of trackwork.
One thing that has really been bothering me about the layout is the faux rust fascia. While it looks great sitting in my layout room, when it is set up at a show I have not been very happy with the appearance of the rust. The light in my layout room is a bit on the dull side, with all warm white florescent bulbs. When the layout is in a bright space, with typically cool white bulbs the rust starts to look very blotchy. This effect is significantly multiplied under flash photography.
I have found that when I photograph the layout with a flash on, the results are crap. Without the flash, the results are very close to what the layout actually looks like. Unfortunately most people who will photograph the layout will be using a flash, and the results make the layout look awful.
Reworking the faux rust to make it flash friendly
Today I thought it was time to rework the layout to make it more flash friendly.
Here are a few shots that really show the effect of using a flash on the layout…
As you can see, some don’t look too bad, others are craptacular. I was looking for something that was rusty, but under certain light it looks more like the inside of a sewer pipe.
Here is a the same shot taken with and without a flash…
The flash version adds just enough contrast to the paint to take away from the effect.
This isn’t the effect I was looking for.
I used two techniques to create the rust, one, a paint effect, the other was a product called “Sophisticated Finishes”, which is actually a paint with iron in it. It is painted on and an oxidizer is added to cause it to rust. I used this along the bottom of the layout and immediately was not happy with it. It would look good for certain applications, but it didn’t work when added to the already painted rust effect. At first it was not too noticeable, it was just a black colour and didn’t look too bad, but over time the oxidizer kept working and the rust got brighter. The rust was a very bright orange, and clashed with the dark red colour I was going for.
In addition to the creeping rust, I was not happy with both the black along the bottom of the layout (above the crate) or the brown top.
The top of the layout was quickly painted last year to cover up all the marks I had made on it. It defiantly isn’t how the layout will be finished, this area will all be scenicked. But for now, I wanted to give it a reasonable appearance, so I painted it with whatever paint I had on hand. Using the reddish brown colour I did makes the layout even harder to photograph well. All that red messes up the cameras software, so I decided it had to be changed.
But first the fascia. Using the same wash I used initally I repainted the rust area and sponged it off. This helps tone down the blotchyness and covers up most of the bright orange rust. It is still a bit visiable, but looks much better. It photographs better, both with and without a flash.
Using a flash still alters the photo a bit, but it is better. The non-flash pictures are what the layout actually looks like.
Taken with flash on (above)
Taken with no flash.
This is very close to what the layout actually looks like, no flash distortion in colour and tone. Not using a flash reduced the blotchyness in the rust as well.
I have also repainted the black benchwork, much better than before.
Next, getting rid of the brown top. This already looks better.
There. All cleaned up and de-blotched. Ready for a road trip.
As time permits I will finish off as much trackwork as possible in the next couple of weeks. If you stop by at the show, be sure to say hi.
Oh, and turn off your camera flash.
-T.
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About the Author:
I'm your host, Tim Warris, a product developer in Port Dover, Ontario. Since March of 2007 I have been documenting the construction of the former CNJ Bronx Terminal in HO scale. For my day job, I design track building tools for Fast Tracks, a small company I own and operate. Fast Tracks makes it fast and easy to hand lay your own trackwork. Stop by our website to learn more!
Posted by: Tim | 01-11-2009 | 08:01 PM
Posted in: Benchwork Construction | Latest Posts | Comments (4)
