With
the build of the two Northern Pacific (NP) gondolas complete (Part One), George
and I moved them to paint shop for finishing to receive paint, lettering and
weathering. Just as there were differences in the built, there were differences
in the finishing methods.
George
first sprayed his resin floor with Polyscale Mud prior to install. The floor
metal boards were painted with Vallejo Black 70.950. George made a simple
styrene mask that had a top and bottom stop that allowed the mask to slide and
keep everything square; that is, straight lines when painting the alternating
metal planks.
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Painted floor before install. George
(click on this of any image to enlarge) |
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| Paint mask (jig). George |
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| Painted floor installed. George |
I
just installed the resin cast floor without painting it prior to install.
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Cast resin floor installed. Lester
|
If
you read Part One of this build you already know George and I both had
airbrushed the gondolas with Vallejo Surface Primer prior to moving to paint
shop for final color. George used Vallejo Ghost Grey 73.615. I used Vallejo
Grey 70.601. After Vallejo Surface Primer was dry both gondolas were sprayed in
preparation for applying Archer retaining clips ( tie downs). George used
Vallejo Mecha Gloss Varnish 36.701. I used Tamiya TS-79 Semi-Gloss applied with
rattle can. After application of Archer retaining clips (tie downs) both
gondolas were ready for finish paint.
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| Gondola ready for paint. Lester |
Now
I hand painted the interior bolster floor plates Vallejo Model Color Natural
Steel 70.864. The rest of the floor was hand painted Vallejo/MicroMark Model
Air Depot Buff #29027X2. The Depot Buff was mixed by Vallejo for MicroMark to
match the no longer available Floquil Depot Buff.
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| Hand painted floor. Lester |
Once
dry, I taped off the bolsters and the interior was airbrushed with thinned
Vallejo Model Color Black Grey 70.862. George airbrushed the interior Vallejo
Model Air Black 71.057. I am sorry that both George and I both did not take
photos of our progress at this point; however, below you will find interior photos
once weathered.
After
airbrushing the interior George airbrushed the underbody as the interior
Vallejo Model Air Black 71.057. I airbrushed the underbody Vallejo/MicroMark
Model Air Tarnished Black #29022X2.
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| Underbody airbrushed. George |
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| Underbody airbrushed. Lester |
Now
the car body was airbrushed. Again George used Vallejo Model Air Black 71.057.
I used Vallejo Model Color Black 70.950.
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| Car airbrushed. Lester |
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| Car airbrushed. Lester |
After
the black was dry both gondolas were airbrushed with two types of Vallejo gloss
to prepare the car body for decals. George used Vallejo Mecha Gloss Varnish
26.701 and I used Vallejo Gloss Medium 70.470. When dry, we both applied the
ordered Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association (NPRHA) #N3210 Gondola
“From Scratch” Decals set. I did state ordered as the decal sets are not in the
kit and need to be ordered separately. While waiting for the decals to arrive,
it was suggested in Part One you download the instructions from the NPHRA
website to assemble the kit. One additional suggested download is the lettering
decal chart showing the decal sheet and where decals should be applied on the
NP gondola.
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| Decal location aid. Courtesy of NPRHA |
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| Decals applied. George |
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Decals applied. Lester
|
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| Decals applied. George |
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Decals applied. Lester
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With
decals applied and dry, another gloss coat of Vallejo gloss to better hide
decal edges. As before, George used Vallejo Mecha Gloss Varnish 26.701 and I
used Vallejo Gloss Varnish 70.510. After drying, both George and I airbrushed
the gondolas with Model Master Flat Clear Acryl #4636. The Flat Clear Acrylic
provided an excellent base for weathering we both chose to apply.
George
for this build used the airbrush with smaller tip (.3mm) and dusted
some Pollyscale Mud and Dust on the sides, ends, interior and bottom. He
followed up with Pan Pastels using soft paint and cosmetic brushes of various
sizes to apply them. He also used Microfiber Brushes he finds come in handy to
apply controlled small amounts.
On
the sides George applied Pan Pastel Burnt Sienna, 740.5 to the vertical posts
and also to the interior. He also used some Red Iron Oxide Shade, 380.3 to
vary the shades. Burnt Sienna Shade, 740.3 was also applied to blend all
colors together. He also used Black, 800.5 to darken the floor and tie all the
colors together. Burnt Sienna Tint 740.8 was used to add some highlights as
well. The underbody was treated in a similar matter; however, he tried to use
lighter shades to bring out the details.
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| Car weathered. George |
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Car weathered. George
|
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Car weathered. George
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I
started weathering my gondola with the interior, I used Prismacolor Cool Grey, PC1061 and Prismacolor Light Umber, PC941 lightly on the wood boards. Pan Pastel
Paynes Grey Extra Dark, 840.1 was
used applied with sponge to darken floor area of bolsters, one quite dark. A
makeup brush was used to apply the Paynes Grey Extra Dark lightly to the rest
of the interior. To show a medium rusting Pan Pastel Burnt Sienna Shade, 740.3
was applied with a small paint brush. A cotton swab followed the application of
the Paynes Grey Extra Dark with a makeup brush to blend everything together.
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Gondola interior weathered. Lester
|
The gondola body exterior as the interior was
weathered with Pan Pastels. Again a makeup brush was used to apply Pan Pastel
Paynes Grey Extra Dark 840.1. And, again with a small paint brush Pan Pastel
Burnt Sienna Shade 740.3 was applied to the ribs to show a light medium looking
rust.
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Car weathered. Lester
|
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| Car weathered. Lester |
Neither George or I apply a coat to seal Pan Pastel weathering after applied. All freight cars I build, as this
NP gondola 59204, go into service on my Minneapolis & Northland Railroad where
I have found no problem with not doing so.
Both George’s and my Northern
Pacific (NP) gondola 59204 were now ready for service. Currently, George does
not have a railroad so his NP gondola 59204 went into his display case. My NP
gondola 59204
was put into service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company,
“Serving today, Shaping tomorrow.” A car card was made for NP 59204 , the final
step to put the cars in service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad
Company Railroad. As on the Northern Pacific my NP gondola 59204 will deliver lumber and scarp.
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Lumber load spotted at Team Track
in Randolph, Minn. |
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Lumber load spotted at Team Track
in Randolph, Minn.
|
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Scrap load at Leone Foundry in
Eureka Center, Minn. |
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Scrap load at Leone Foundry in
Eureka Center, Minn. |
I
want to say, “Thank You” to Dean O’Neill for providing background information
on this build and upgrade. And, for permission to use Northern Pacific Railway
Historical Association “Gondola Lettering Decal Instructions/Guidance” which
can be found on the NPRHA website. Definitely, appreciated as without this aid
the lettering of these builds would have been more difficult to accomplish.
Thank
You for taking time to read my blog. You can share a comment in the section
below if you choose to do so. Please sign your comment with your name if you
choose to leave one. Please share the blog link with other model railroaders.
Lester
Breuer
.
.
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