Freight car graffiti, Part 19: more examples

 In the previous post in this series, I described the application of graffiti to relatively modern 60-foot box cars, for a layout set in 1996. (You can find that post, if you wish, at this link: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2020/12/freight-car-graffiti-part-17-60-foot.html .) Previous posts on this topic can be found by using “freight car graffiti” as the search term, in the search box at right. 

For the present post, I chose two quite different car types, to illustrate a few points. One of them was this Union Pacific “waffle side” double-door car:

I decided that the yellow color would lend itself to showing some rust streaking, and I wanted to try two ways of portraying this. One way is with Weathering Solutions rust-streak decals, and I applied those on one side of the car. On the other side I used acrylic paint, mostly Burnt Umber, and brush-streaked the car. I also added rust patches on the roof and especially at roof edges, place I have noticed rust development on prototype cars. 

The left side of the car shows my efforts with paint only (and a small decal from Microscale set 87-1523). I was not entirely happy with this, though it certainly captures some prototypical examples I have seen. The car also has an overall application of grime, from washes of acrylic tube paints.

 For the other side, I used the Weathering Solutions rust streaks, along with a small graffiti piece from Microscale 1534, and some added rust from the Burnt Umber paint, and grime overall. In both photos of the finished car, you can see the rust patches on the roof.

Another car I explored techniques with was a pressure-differential covered hopper, the model shown below. These cars can carry a variety of powdered or granular materials, using air pressure as an aid in unloading for cargoes that tend to pack tightly in transit. 

The approach here was a little different than with the UP box car, in that I didn’t want to suggest as much rust, but more of an overall dirty finish. In addition, a light-colored model like this is an excellent substrate for Dave’s Decals (their site is at: https://www.davart.net/?cat=46&v=7516fd43adaa ), which are somewhat transparent and thus will tend to take on the color of the underlying car side. I have discussed the pros and cons of these and other decals in a prior post (see it at: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2020/06/freight-car-graffiti-part-17-decals.html ).

In the photo below of the left side of this car, the large decal is from Dave’s set 6028, and the smaller one from T2 decals (you can view their offerings here: T2Decals.ecrater.com ). There are also a variety of smaller tags.

On the other side of the car, I just used a Dave’s decal, and as I did on the other side of the car, some spillage from the roof hatch area. Here again, tags have been added.

These two cars ave been interesting challenges to get certain effects, without going too far beyond my previous experience, both with graffiti application and weathering, and they have done just that. I want to do more with rust patches, since these are often seen on freight cars of the last 30 years, and I have some additional challenging model car bodies to experiment with. Those will be treated in future posts.

Tony Thompson