First of all, some of you may be reading this wondering what model train erosion is, so I’ll start with an explanation. Weathering is basically the process of making something look old and used and is a technique applied to model trains to make them look more realistic. In the real world, nothing stays shiny and new for long. Trains will collect dust and dirt as they travel, the paint will scratch, the metal framework will rust over time, and many model train builders will want to recreate these appearances on their models.
Of course this is not for everyone and there are those who would not dream of damaging or devaluing their prized locomotives in any way. For years, model trains have been collector’s items and some are incredibly valuable. However, other people see value in a different way and ask what is value on a personal level. Not in terms of money, but the value it will give you in satisfaction. Now, that may sound like a massive cliché, but value means different things to different people.
For some people, creating a perfectly realistic miniature railway scene will be of much greater value than seeing their shiny locomotives circling the track, so you have to ask yourself which group you are in. The good thing is that now, it is possible to pick up model railway trains at a fairly low price on eBay now, and you can use them for your worn out carriages and keep the collectibles separate. This way, you can have the best of both worlds if you want to.
If you’ve decided that you want to age your model trains (and it doesn’t have to be just the trains, this technique can be applied to anything to add a level of realism to it), then there are a number of ways to do this and plenty of guides available for you. help you with this. There are also many specialized products on the market. However, you can also use many things that you already have for your railway set, or that you would find around the house.
A couple of things I want to mention here are that if you are new to the outdoors, always practice on a cheap train first. This way, if it doesn’t go as planned, you won’t have ruined your favorite trains! Also, instead of trying to get it right the first time, build your erosion in layers. This means you can figure out what works and what doesn’t, and it’s also more realistic. In the world, a train car doesn’t just go from clean to dirty immediately, but dirt and grime builds up over a period of time. Therefore, applying many layers will help to better create this effect.
Finally, one important thing to remember when aging your trains is to make sure that you are doing it for the environment that your model trains will be running in. For example, if you’ve built a recreation of the 1950s, then your train won’t have modern graffiti tags on the sides, whereas if you’ve built a downtown New York City scene, the trains might just work. Another example would be a modern passenger train which will be less dirty than a freight car since they are cleaned more frequently.
A great tip I picked up to help get this right is to collect photographs of the particular scene or time the model trains are supposed to be set up and then base your weathering on this research. As with anything to do with your model railway and as I always say, the more research you do, the better.
I hope you now have a greater understanding of model train weathering. For more model train tips, visit my website by clicking the link below.
