Kentucky Northern Caboose

[Geoff Ringle]

Great job, so far. 
Back when I was in design school I would bring in a "finished" rendering and watch as the instructor would add just a few shadow lines, gradations and highlights that brought the rendering to life.  So little made so much of a difference.
Here are a few thoughts:
When working with wood the weathering can subtractive as well as additive. You can sand individual boards to achieve variation in paint condition.  Also, you can scrape to bare wood.  I think that the baggage door area would show more abuse and scraping from loading cargo.  Also, the edges of the platform steps might show more wear.
You are right, the car would benefit from some road grime on the lower sides. Also some wheel splash streaking on the ends from adjacent cars.
Find the softest lead pencil you can get your hands on (I use a 9B) and use it to create the burnished look on handrails and stirrups in the spots where everyone would grab or step.  The very slight reflectivity of the effect is one of those things that brings a model to life.
Geoff

[Chuck Doan]

I'm not sure what to do if anything. I think it is very close. Be careful!

[EZnKY]

Good advice from everyone - I really appreciate it.
I'm going to take a step away from the caboose for a little while so I don't rush anything.
Maybe do some finish tests on some scrap material.

Geoff - I experienced the same thing in architecture school.  Most people can tell when something is missing, but it takes a well developed eye to identify what's missing, and an experienced hand to make the corrections. 

Chuck - That's one of the things you do so well.  I look at your work and it's all there. 

[EZnKY]

I've used some scrap pieces from the reefer to test a black pin wash on the scribed siding and need some feedback.

The sample on the left has a black oil wash on the bottom half applied over the Floquil Caboose Red base coat.  (The wash stops at the bottom edge of the square opening.)  This is state of the caboose in the most recent photos - simply painted wood.  The biggest issue I see with this sample is the way the wash has absorbed unevenly.  The matt surface in the grooves also didn't allow the wash to spread very easily, requiring a lot more "touches" with the end of the brush.

The middle sample has two brush-applied coats of Future applied over the Floquil base coat.  The surface was lightly sanded with 600 grit after the Future dried.  The oil wash spread very easily, in fact I could touch the brush at the end of the groove and the wash wicked all the way to the square opening.  The wash also dried fairly uniformly.

The right hand sample has one airbrushed coat of Dullcote applied over the base coat.  I also sanded this sample with 600 grit.  The wash performed about the same as the Future sample.

My thought is to apply Dullcote and then apply the pin wash.  My concern with Future is creating a slick surface that will be hard to get rid of in later steps, but I see lots or amour modelers using glosscoats under their washes and filters.  I suppose I could spray Dullcote over the Future before applying pigments. 

Thoughts? 

[Chuck Doan]

I'm not sure about advice on the methods, but I wonder if you might want to do a larger test once you do narrow down a choice.

Sort of a paint swatch thing where it looks so different on a whole wall.

[finescalerr]

I have no idea what you ultimately may show us but, at least at this point, all three samples appear overstated. The blacks are too pronounced, both the boards and the joints. If you apoly another coat of red it might tone them down and produce a good result. I suppose none of us will know until you complete the experiment. But your desire to keep trying is admirable; forge on. -- Russ

[EZnKY]

I agree with you Russ, to a point.  I've seen models, including my own, where the final result was "flat" because later steps hid the contrast and color intensity of the base coats.  I've noticed a number of the really skilled AFV modelers start with fairly intense colors, knowing the effect will be diminished in later stages.  But since I've already finished some of the later steps on the caboose, I'm planning on making the pin wash fairly dilute. 

I'm also going to follow Chuck's advice and do a larger sample before attacking the caboose.  I'm going to try using some water color paint instead of the oils to see how it works.

We'll see what happens. 

[finescalerr]

Yeah. It all depends on how heavy the next coat of paint is. But, no matter how the samples turn out, please post the results. We'll all learn something. -- Russ