http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/5/5/1/7551.1076042340.jpg Hi all I am trying to weather one of my GP7 ATSF in zebra stripes paint scheme according to the above pic or close I noticed that there is a light cover of white dust present from the bogies to the cabin and the body and the lower sides but not so much at the front and end or at least looks quite less I am puzzled about the top of the locomotive as I cannot see from the picture very well Do you think there is a lot of dust or almost nothing on that roof ? I have weathered the GP 7 very lightly e according to pic simulating only a white superficial dust but I don't know if I should do the roof as well or since the weathering is so light just leave it natural I would love to have a bit of an advice by the most experienced members thanks for your guidance
You might be able to see some examples of natures weathering on the 1 X 1 foot scale. See: [video=youtube;6zLL3-w2-iE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zLL3-w2-iE[/video] The dust you see is a talcum powder put on by the model railroaders of San Bernardino, California. They needed a prototype for the models. Well...ok that's stretching it a bit. The desert has a very fine dust that is almost the consistency of talcum powder. You guessed it that's what you are looking at. Topside you could find black oil mixed with the powder to create some unusual patterns on top of the GP's or any other locomotive. Never mind what exhaust can do. The music on Bob's video's leaves much to be desired. Perhaps dubbed in because the movie camera that captured these scenes wasn't able to record sound. I hope that helps.
thank Rick very nice material what do you think I should do with the roof of my model if I should imitate the gp 7 in the pic?
looking at this model is also very lightly dusted but it does not seem to have any weathering at all on the roof what do you think ? http://www.brasstrains.com/Classic/...ntal-ATSF-Santa-Fe-EMD-GP7-Diesel-2650-CUSTOM
Stefano Have your image plus two others. They all have a rusty brown color around the vents & same color on the side sill below short hood. Probably dirt coming from trucks which are also coated w/ same rusty brown. None of mine show the roof but good guess behind the stacks is a coating of black diesel smoke color.
I'm not the weathering guru around here. I'd gladly turn that job over to someone else of authority on the subject. I've played around with the idea of using a grimy flat black to paint the vents and the same around the smoke stack or exhaust hatch. Since the locomotive pictured is a fairly new unit I wouldn't use rust colors so much as I'd want it to keep some of the newness. Your weathering chalks are washable and can be removed allowing you to experiment with various weathering conditions. Once you find the combination that appeals to you, you can hit it with a dullcoat or matte medium finish. Keeping in mind your pretty much stuck with the job. I keep old shells around to practice with and once I have the combination I want....look out.
I don't have my zebra-striped ATSF Geep picture with me but here's another Santa Fe Geep I weathered. First, after masking off the glazing, I gave it several light coats of Dul-Cote which gives it the "faded" look plus gives the weathering powders some "tooth" to grip on. Referencing prototype photos to get a "feel" (but not copying exactly) I weathered this using powdered chalks, giving it a light coat of Dul-Cote at each step of the way, until I was satisfied (it's very easy to overdo it!!!), then a couple of coats of Dul-Cote to wrap it up. Topside I used black weathering chalk, concentrating it around the exhausts. It's amazing how much difference weathering can do, such as the ATSF boxcar here....a good friend of mine at first thought it was the real McCoy! John
Rick Wasn't saying to use a "rust" color for weathering but a "rusty brown" looking color. At least that's what it looks like to me on my 3 pix.
Josta thanks very much for the advice and the lovely pics Cajon Rick thanks very much for the advice especially of the one of not overdo the locomotive as it will not be possible to remove the weathering I have decided to weather the zebra stripes GP7 atsf in a very light way I want to give an idea of a locomotive still in a fresh paint scheme ,just lightly used and just covered in a light dust I have taken this pic as guidance http://www.brasstrains.com/Classic/...ntal-ATSF-Santa-Fe-EMD-GP7-Diesel-2650-CUSTOM I have treated the roof with a very faint puff of white dust here and there and not added any other colour or weathering I would like to know in your opinion and judjing from the pic plus my description if you think that a fresh paint scheme GP7 zebra stripes ATSF locomotive can look representative and realistic this way ? thanks very much for your guidance
Stefano, From this Rick, incidentally Josta and Cajon are both good friends of mine. I just need to get the two of them together at an operations night. If you are ever in the neighborhood, be sure to arrange to see Josta's, Gulf & Pacific Railroad. We've given you some sound advice and you can use weathering chalks and other media to weather your locomotive. I like the plans you have indicated above, for weathering your locomotive. Use whatever colors appeal to you. Rusty brown is one of my favorites, to age a locomotive. Do post pictures here so we can critic your work....uhh...err...just so we can see it. Grin! Josta sent me a picture of his GP7 and the box car and I wondered at first glance if he'd been down to Santa Fe's Barstow Yard at some point in the past. The building in the background gave it away. That's Josta's other office. Says, he likes to hang out there a lot. LOL Ok Stefano, sounds like we got you headed in the right direction.
thanks Rick I would love the invitation but I live a ......bit far from you guys [I am Italian but living in South Africa] I would like to ask a stupid question how do the GP 7 get dirty on theyr roof ? a part the weather elements [rain mud etc.] and the obvious diesel combustion fumes deposit of the exausts etc. what I ask is is there a pattern ? an aerodinamical factor ? is it lifted up from the boogies ? from other locomotives ? or from dirty tracks ? but especially is there a gradual pattern of more down [boogies lower side sill] and less up [roof cabin] ? thanks for your reply
found this http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=69297 I see les weathering on roof and more at bottom
http://www.brasstrains.com/Classic/...ntal-ATSF-Santa-Fe-EMD-GP7-Diesel-2650-CUSTOM have a look at this
would you agree from this pic that the brasstrains gp 7 has the same degree of fresh/slight dusty weathering of the on in this pic ? http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr0604/sfe702.jpg let me have your thoughts
Stefano, Keep in mind the Locomotives went forward and backwards so the aero dynamic's or residual from the smoke stack would go either way. I wish I could remember the procedure or natural phenomena... but the result would be oil all over the top of the locomotives. Also, Santa Fe did a fair job of keeping the locomotives clean. I don't remember the actual procedure but after so many times being serviced they'd would be sent down to the wash rack to be scrubbed. I don't think there is any need to simulate that. Not seeing it in person or up close I'd say, Yes, I would agree the model has been weathered up to a point. .Looks awesome. Is that the one you purchased?
A torpedo Geep! Love the model. I've got the kit for the conversion of mine but haven't gotten around to it. Yes, that is ONE way (of a gazillion different ways) to weather a locomotive. No two are alike. So, Rick, should I send my Geep to the wash rack to meet Santa Fe's requirements? lol John
thanks guys this is not the model I have but just an example of how I wanted to weather the gp 7 of the atsf Its very important to me that I finally got an agreement from you experienced members on how I think my gp 7 needs to be weathered as slightly as this in the pic Rick is infact fashinating your description of the way Santa Fe' strived to keep this unit as clean as possible and it actually shows in various pics I found around that some of this zebra stripes looks indeed quite clean overall if compared with the same units of other railroads anyway thanks very much for helping my doubts on this matter as your opinion is an important way to get to grow in my hobby and in my passion for the ATSF
Of course it doesn't matter about weathering but you were calling them GP7s when they are GP9s. Someone else not knowing the difference might think they're also GP7s.
