Musket Miniature's N-Scale Rustic Rails -- A Painting thread

RBrodzinsky Feb 14, 2011

  1. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    When I posted pictures (see the JACALAR thread) last week of the Rustic Rails cowboys that I had placed on my layout, a couple folks asked how I went about painting them. So, since the weather looks to be rainy for this next week, I decided to start the prep work for some more of the items I purchased from Musket Miniatures, and create this how-to show and tell. It will progress as I build the kits below

    The Rustic Rails kits are highly detailed pewter castings, that one needs to prepare and paint before placing on the layout, unless, of course, you have silver space aliens landing who have dressed as if they are out of a 1950s/60s TV western. Here is a picture of the two wagon kits I am going to be working on, still in the package

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    And, here are the pieces of the Open Wagon kit, ready for cleaning

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  2. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    Since these kits are cast pewter, before doing anything, one must wash the mold release off. A warm soapy water solution is fine, I use my ultrasonic cleaner to truly ensure they are clean.

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    You also need to clean up any mold flashing left over. On the picture above, you can clearly see flashing around the horse, and elsewhere. Here's a closer view of the horse

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    You can see the unsightly flashing along the belly, and in the area between the neck and the reins. Using a fine round diamond file, I clean up each part. Here's the horse ready for primer

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  3. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    Painting this many small and fine pieces can be very messy. Musket Miniatures recommends creating a holder for the parts, using roofing nails and an adhesive. Here, you can see my array of nails placed in a board (holes are drilled, so nails are loose). When one wants to paint the part, you pick up from the nail and hold, never touching the part being worked on.

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    To stick the parts to the nail heads, I use double-sided tape. Here's my nail array, ready for the cleaned and prepped parts

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  4. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    After each part has been washed, dried and deflashed, I stick them onto a nail head.

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  5. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    The next step is to prime the metal. I use a standard white model spray primer, although one can use darker colors, depending on how you want the colors to look when finished. Don't over spray, as you want the fine details of the castings to not be filled with paint. Here are the parts primed, and they are now drying overnight, waiting for the next installment of this thread....

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  6. Tom Schilling

    Tom Schilling TrainBoard Member

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    This is a great thread. I'm looking forward to the next installment. ....Tom
     
  7. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    Painting and construction

    I started the painting today - was tired of work, and rainy outside, so stayed in.

    Here are the supplies for painting:Magnifying third hand, brushes, craft acrylics, paint tray and a head lamp.

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    For today's painting (which initially was going to be all the horses, except I wasn't really holding up well, so I moved to the wagons) I'm using mostly browns. These are the cheap craft paints (approx $0.50/bottle) from Michaels or other craft supply store

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    And, don't be afraid to mix the paints to create your own shades.

    My collection of fine tipped brushes

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    and, very important, a good light. I've started using this camping LED headlamp, it is perfect to shine bright light on whatever I am working on (either on the layout or when doing the models)

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    (I didn't even realize I would be showing the obituary pages from the SF Chronicle until I was about half way through.... )
     
  8. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    Painting a horse

    I started out with one of the horses. The first part I did was to start with the tack, it being a dark color and "fine" detail. I used raw umber

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    Once I did the tack, I moved to the mane and tail. I used burnt umber for them. I then used a mixture of tan and golden brown, but not well mixed, for the body

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    For the horse, the key on the body is to NOT use the same uniform color. With small amounts of paint in your tray, dip the brush into one, paint a bit, then dip into the similar but next shade, and work that in. You can see that the color is not uniform anywhere, and that is what gives it a more realistic look. After the first round, I randomly added a couple of darker splotches, and painted the hooves raw umber

    The close up picture actually highlights the different colors more than when seen from further away. Here, we see the horse (with the completed wagons) in a wider shot, and the colors now blend better for the eye.

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  9. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    Wagons

    The wagons in these kits are very simple and easy to put together. There are mating pins on the parts, so everything fits where it belongs. The hardest item is to figure out which way the front axle attaches (the mating hole goes all the way through).

    I decided to just make the wagons "working" ones, no special colors. I started with the burnt umber, then added a second coat/wash of raw umber, to highlight the wood grain which is part of the casting

    Here are a couple shots of the flat bed

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    The only "color" added to the wagons is on the wheels. The spokes I did in yellow, with the flat bed having dark green rims, and the buckboard having red.

    One critical supply that I didn't show in the starting pictures can be seen here:

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    I still have three horses, two wagon drivers and the load to paint. Those will be in the next segment....
     
  10. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    These are looking excellent Rick!

    Your tutorial makes me want to pick up a bulk lot of those cheap figures on eBay to re-paint. :)
     
  11. Arizona Shortline

    Arizona Shortline TrainBoard Member

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    Excellent how-to, looking forward to more. Thanks!
     
  12. Tom Schilling

    Tom Schilling TrainBoard Member

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    Great stuff, Rick. Keep em coming! ...Tom
     
  13. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    Wagon drivers

    The wagon drivers ended being very easy, since there isn't too much detail here. The key is to let the detail in the mold take control.

    Here, you can see one of the drivers. I gave each a different color hat and shirt, but they both have blue jeans on. I used the "blue jeans" colored craft acrylic. (I do apologize, have no macro lens for my DSLR)

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    You can already see facial details. For the flesh, lightly painted a "Suede" color, followed by an even lighter "golden brown". Did nothing special for the face, but you can already see the shadows and details that were in the mold. (yes, in N-scale, the detail isn't much)

    This photo is after I applied a gray wash. The wash is blue windshield washer fluid, with about 10% of grimy black added. It is the same wash I use on buildings for weathering bricks. Here, it is used to take the "shine" off, and also to help highlight the shadows created by the casting details.

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    Here, you can see the wagon which I completed last week, immediately following applying the wash (note the puddling along the tack, and the seam in the wagon). Those dry away within minutes

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    You can compare the horse with the post just a couple above, and see how there is now more detail in the face and neck area showing, plus the added blending of the body colorings. No special tricks to applying the wash, just wet the brush and touch the figure. If too much liquid pools in an area you don't want dark, take a dry brush and wick it away.
     
  14. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    Finished wagons

    Here are the completed figures and wagons. I'm letting the CA glue dry, and will hit both with some DullCoat later today, which will protect the paint job as well as mute any residual shiny spots from the underlaying pewter. Final step will be placing them on the JACALAR, probably tomorrow.

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    Each horse has a small hole in the side, which allows it to mount to the wagon's hitch.
     
  15. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    The final result

    Here's the two completed wagons, now in the town of Laurel Gulch on the JACALAR

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    The two horses with riders are also Rustic Rails. The SP depot is to the left
     
  16. HOexplorer

    HOexplorer TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thanks very much for the tutorial. Much appreciated. Jim
     

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