How to Realistically Weather an HO Scale Boxcar

Now this is a weird looking StuG III........
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DISCLAIMER: I am not paid to promote any specific products or brands; I just use the products I find work best for me through my experiences. There is no reason for me to promote a bad product, as then I would not enjoy using it, not like the result on my model, and not be proud of publicizing it in a video. There's also no point in me doing this to keep up relations with a company if the only benefit would be getting more of the same products that I didn't like. I have not used every product out there, but from what I have used, I keep using the products I like, and that's why I use them in my videos. You can use whatever other products you would like to and you can feel that they are better - that is your opinion, and is perfectly fine by me, thus I hope that feeling is reciprocated.

[@Panzermeister36]

Don't worry guys! I haven't switched to model railroading. I've always been into both this and tanks...and my channel will still be 99% tanks. I am just looking for more interesting weathering opportunities. I even bought a MiG 21 recently too... Next few weeks will be back to the T-40 light amphibious tank :)

[@vasili1207]

What the 😃 choo choo meister has arrived at platform 1

[@Yourlocaltankgirl8375]

I say do what you want. It's your hobby

[@pabassfisherman]

Dude, We've been waiting for you to do a model rr weathering "how to" forever. Great and informative video! Please do one every so often if you can. Look forward to the next one! Great work man!

[@25mfd]

you did a EXCELLENT job of weathering... (i'm into model RR only) so if you switched wouldn't bother me ONE BIT lol

[@reconmodelsvaughn469]

I been doing both for over 45 years and now I am retired from the railroad get to do it fulltime never ever gets old

[@jerryvolpini7987]

Many of the heavy weathering techniques for armour came from model railroaders so, this video is a perfect crossover! Great job 👍

[@Panzermeister36]

I agree!

[@SouthDown]

ExactRail makes some excellent models. Another fantastic tutorial, fabulously edited, great lighting, and you have a fantastic voice to go along with. Here is for more weathering trains videos!

[@pabassfisherman]

Man, awesome work! Doesn't hurt to change things up a bit and we actually look forward to you weathering model railroad Freight cars or locomotives. We've been waiting a long time for this and are so happy to see it. Thanks for sharing your techniques and is always a great job. Can't wait for the next one!

[@douglasalan5783]

Fantastic weathering. You are an artist of the highest order.

[@williambryant5946]

I really like your modeling. I am a model railroader and apply some of your techniques to my needs. I'd enjoy seeing more train related modeling showing your techniques directly applied to help me visualize and learn your skills better. Thanks! Great video! 👍

[@Panzermeister36]

Hello William. I actually got into models through model trains long ago. They've been calling me back a little bit lately, so I will likely make a few more videos on this eventually. They're very fun to weather :)

[@laredawg99]

This is one of my favorite Model RR weathering videos. Not only the technique, but the explanation as well. Hope to see what you do with the MIG-21 sometime. NICE JOB!

[@ruebenglab4939]

This was a beauty. Such a change to a simple boxcar!

[@carlperkins1812]

Flat base is not actually meant to be sprayed as a flat clear. It is for adding to gloss paint to flat it down. This is why you got that white chalky effect

[@brucethemodelnoob]

Exactly. I accidentally bought a bottle of Flat Base, thinking it was a flat clear cote... then the owner of my LHS told me what it actually was used for.

[@Panzermeister36]

Well at least I've found a use for it in the long run :) Thank you guys!

[@dtwdtw2830]

About time, someone that knows what the heck they are doing and it looks fantastic. Also thank you for showing the percentages of fluids used as well as the sealing coat. Look forward to a Railroad Tank Car. That would be fantastic.

[@Panzermeister36]

Hello! Thank you. I have a few tank cars and I will film the weathering of one of them for a video.

[@jonfoisy1237]

Great choice of subject. I've also been thinking of weathering some freight cars for the exact same reason as you. It's just something different from armour. Quick, fun and easy. No assembly or painting really required. Just straight up fun weathering. And the best part is... The weathering techniques are the same for both topics so no special changes necessary. Also. I have family in Maine so love your choice of Bangor&Aroostook. I swear I've seen that car on a siding up there! Lol. Good job. Would like to see more

[@brucethemodelnoob]

Looks great. Very nice end result. Nice change of pace in terms of the subject.

[@BrailleScale]

Love it!! The roof turned out super cool, what a neat accident with the varnish

[@herbertw.jr.carrier6122]

Awesome job on your weathering job, especially the roof and sides of the box car. Hoping you will do more model railroad cars and locomotives in the future.

[@hamiltonfixedrider]

Great video for new guys into weathering. Thanks 👍

[@davidr6585]

This is one of the THE BEST roof weathering specimens out there.

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you!

[@PoorBoyPennyShow]

very good job ,,you said you was worried about the ends of the boxcar ,,,,a little trick i found ,is to use cinnamon and diluted elmers glue,,,brush on the glue and then sprinkle cinnamon ,,,works good on old car dioramas too

[@TheyMakeItLikeThat]

Your attention to detail is fantastic! I love your roof technique

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you!

[@IGotufold]

This is the best I have seen so far thanx

[@dennisbrowder6316]

Very nice work on the freight car

[@israelcid1695]

A nice change, it doesn't matter what kind of vehicle you watering, the trains played a important role in war too so keep doing it. Nice work by the way.

[@michaelsmodelrailroading7665]

Your weathering techniques produce very realistic-looking results. Thanks for making the video and sharing them with us. I particularly appreciate your going into detail about the specific products you used. That's very helpful info. Once you have a few weathered cars on your layout, the unweathered ones just don't look right.

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@newgravityfilms]

Excellent job!!

[@tracksidemike]

Awesome weathering of the boxcar great video all the way through. Great tips and how too enjoyed the video great stuff here 👍🏻🚂TSM

[@bobsandone3108]

Very nice. Sometimes people go overboard with the rusting effect, but all cars get dirty without being old enough to begin severe rusting all over. You displayed just enough rust to show that the car had some scraping and mild rust build up where the door opened and closed. Sometimes less is more !!

[@reggiea.stroud8707]

Very nice job!!

[@gilbertmoreno992]

Superb work!

[@turbo1438]

Looks so real!!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Just wanted to mention one thing I see on prototype boxcar ends. Many times there is two vertical streaks of mud and dirt thrown up by the opposing cars wheels. I rarely see this modeled. They are wheel spaced, a foot or so wide and extend about half way up the end wall. Heavy in the middle and fade out and up.

[@Panzermeister36]

+turbo 14 thank you! That is a good point...I've added them to some cars but I did not this one for some reason. I'll add it later.

[@matthewcragg3607]

I'm both a military modeler and a model railroader so have at either. I love it.

[@daveolliemetalhead]

Nice work thank you for sharing

[@starpawsy]

Excellent work. I dont have an airbrush, but I'll give it a go.

[@Raven.flight]

I like the idea of this. I started to think that some of the 'pre-assembled' models may be the way to go for getting used weathering etc, but this works really well and there are trains of all different shapes and sizes. I think I might go get me one of them.

[@larrysteen482]

nice cant wait to try this

[@Snoozie09]

Super cool and helpful.. thanks man!

[@Syclone0044]

The PS 5344 is one of my all time favorite boxcars! I identify it by its unique curved roof edges at both ends.

[@chrissi911]

really great work!!!

[@splitrock323]

Well done. I am glad you did a train so this showed up in my feed. Us model railroaders learn so much from the military modelers in the painting and weathering departments. I will check out your other videos and learn some new techniques. Rust is a favorite subject of mine.

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you! I plan to cover some more model railroad stuff in the future. I have some tank cars that need rust :)

[@splitrock323]

Panzermeister36 I’ll look for those. Q: Have you ever used Transparent Iron Oxide oils for rust effects?

[@Panzermeister36]

I have not. I usually just use dark red and burnt sienna oils. But I'll take a look at what you mentioned.

[@edporter8009]

REALLY detailed. Thank you for sharing.

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you!

[@benjavr6]

What a great job bro, thanks for share. I'm suscribed now

[@Panzermeister36]

Awesome, thank you!

[@HamilkarBarkasScaleModelling]

Now that was cool and a nice change of subjet! I thought you might have weatherd a train car, which has some StuGs loaded on it, but no, you went fully civilian on this :)

[@AmAm-gn2nb]

Awesome Sir.... Thanks

[@simonmichaelis1]

Doesn't need to be a tank.. :) . the tips and chipping ideas were great! Thank-you.

[@erickirwan8703]

That looks so cool.

[@NYandAtlantic]

Excellent video btw

[@timothybogans3905]

Great video the weathering on the roof is very impressive weathering on model railroad equipment has to be built up, for me oils and enamels are the way to go, good work, thank you for sharing.

[@danw210]

Great technique! Very helpful video. Thank you!

[@Panzermeister36]

Glad it was helpful!

[@paulkirkmanMYTRAINS]

Wow. Absolutely fantastic. Looks like a million dollars !!!!

[@jhoodfysh]

Great detail and your narration was excellent. Thank you (N-scale model railroader 😁😉)

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you very much!

[@WillJamesRailways]

Outstanding!

[@robertschmidt6383]

Love the way you weather your cars. Maybe someday day for me.

[@jre617]

Very nice. I wish you were 99% trains. I really like your brush oriented techniques. I don't have an airbrush or booth, no place to set that up, so I'm looking for techniques sans-airbrush. I think I can simulate the lower airbrush part with a large blush brush. Thanks !

[@Panzermeister36]

I hope to have a few more videos on railroad subjects soon. But I only run these st the local modular club which obviously hasn't met in a number of months thanks to covid... I do have some older tutorials that include more brush techniques.

[@Duececoupe]

Awesome! Even an Bangor & Aroostook! Looking forward to seeing a Milwaukee Road one next! 😉😆😂

[@Panzermeister36]

Hello Jan! I do also have a Bangor and Aroostook boxcar with the earlier "red white and blue"/"state of Maine" colour scheme which I love. Maybe I will weather than soon too...

[@Duececoupe]

@@Panzermeister36 Greetings fellow earthling! 🤜🏻🤛🏻 Cool! Keep them boxcars etc., coming! What locomotives do you have?

[@RobinvanderSande]

Very nice vid Evan - I was surprised to see you use Tamiya Flat Base as a varnish, as my understanding is this is to be added to gloss paints to give them a satin or flat finish, and not as a clear on its own. This might explain why it dried with the unexpected whitish finish.

[@w.rustylane5650]

When weathering the box car ends, you have to take into consideration that the wheels kick up a darker streak on each side of the end so should make just a little darker like streaks. Cheers from eastern TN

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you for the advice. I do model those kick up streaks on my current projects. I have some more recent videos on my channel showing this :)

[@chrisroeben1085]

Great video. For the ends of the car apply two vertical stripes heavier at the bottom and progressively lighter going about 3/4th of the way up. Do this with your same color as you used on the underside. These stripes should be in line with the wheels. It simulates the rail splatter from wet rail and wheels sprayed up the end. Need help understanding it? Ride your bicycle without fenders in a rain storm while wearing a white t-shirt. Be sure to hit a couple good mud holes. And then look at the stripe up your back from the spray.

[@MottysMilitaryModels]

Hi Ev, wow cracking video mate. I do like looking at model railways. I'm going try thta Flat Base like you have. I do use that in my arsenal of paints etc but only ever used it as a " flattener" which I've always only ever seen chaps using it for. I'm defo going try you way. Well done mate and it's refreshing to see someone like myself who loves trying new things. Hope the family's OK buddy and uni etc is going well, I'm always thinking and wondering how you are.? Remember if you ever need anything just ask. Oh it's Telford soon for us and I know it's a busy period for the world really as its Christmas coming along but just remember if you can find your flights etc you can stay at mine, food free, everything else etc so it will help you save plus alton towers is literally in our next village, 3 miles away as a little summit else plus the Reginald Mitchell, the spitfire designer chap is from Stoke on trent and Hanley museum we have his original fully restored spitfire to see and touch etc. I know it has wings but never mind. Plus if your into your sport we have two football or soccer to you guys clubs that are in our national footy leagues, professional football teams I should of said. Anyway you know the offers there plus there's my stash, cave to look through and I'll take you to Emodels to.... Wwwoooooooo shall I book the flights!!!!!!! 😝😝😝😂😂 Stay safe my friend

[@johnkuykendall4308]

First time I've seen someone use a pinwash on a railroad model. Well done.

[@bnsfmodeler]

This is the best how to weathering video out there if you could do a tank car that would be great

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you! I will look into that in the future

[@PGNogueira]

Excellent!

[@ET44AC]

Gleis 501. Mein Lieblingsplatz als ich letztes Jahr zigfach dienstlich in A war

[@visi4671]

Nice One plus Cheers

[@beeble2003]

Silly billy, tanks are the round ones for carrying oil! 😉 Nice weathering job.

[@Panzermeister36]

Lol thank you :)

[@ratled1]

WOW back to trains! I'm more than good with that

[@Panzermeister36]

I haven't switched back to trains. Rather I've gotten back into that area after a little while. This channel will still be mostly tanks...but railcars do give fun weathering opportunities, and most of it is interchangeable with what I've been doing before on tanks: wash, grease, dust, chipping...

[@pabassfisherman]

I agree, very happy with it!

[@aaron2709]

Excellent.

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you!

[@shawnpowell5876]

Awesome job with weathering the boxcar! The process you did w the roof worked out perfect! I think I'm going to have to get an airbrush to spray the bottom and underside like you did. The final result was unbelievable and I totally like it! Thanks again for sharing your videos and wondering if you've done covered hoppers or tank cars.

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you for the comment! On my channel I have two videos on weathering modern covered hoppers, and I've also made a video on weathering a gondola that I'll upload this weekend. Hope you enjoy!

[@shawnpowell5876]

@@Panzermeister36 I just recently bought an airbrush and panpastel powders to start doing my own weathering and hand painting my own graffiti. The results so far have been very good and have done a few for other model railroaders. Thanks again for sharing your videos and I'm viewing them from Delmar, Delaware.

[@Panzermeister36]

Sounds great. You'll like my video on the gondola! Lots of graffiti work on it, and some basic chipping and fading techniques. I used a little bit of powders and airbrush work too.

[@philray8297]

Nice. Have you thought about doing a miniart 1/35 train? Perhaps a flatcar with a tank on it? I'd love to see how you weather tracks....

[@midwestrails8317]

Very, very nice! I came across a couple of your HO weathering videos trying to look at techniques and what types of paints and such to buy cause I wanna get started on weathering a BNSF grain train that I have. Thanks for the help! And I hope to see more! What type of airbrush are you using?

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you! I use a badger 105 patriot airbrush for most of my work. I have a couple more HO scale projects that will be in videos eventually :)

[@konamanstudio2447]

The Tamiya flat base is make gloss paint splat it's not designed is a clear coat but if it works for you and give you the effects you wanted more power to you and cheers with a beer🍺🍻🍺🍻🍺🍻🍺🍻

[@hotgun96]

Nice work! What type of airbrush are you using?

[@splitrock323]

Great job. Couple of questions Why do you use laquer thinner with acrylic paint? Also what Windsor Newton colors would match those oil colors by Abeteilung 502 ?

[@SmallSoldier]

Good one Evan. How's the T-34/122 coming along?

[@thomream1888]

This video is the PERFECT answer when some old guy pipes up with "But I don't model trains. I only model XXX (pick whatever)". The whole idea behind making videos like this is to challenge OUR imagination, to get us to see things differently! If you only build motorcycle hubcaps, that's ALL you'll learn how to do! TRY another genre, a different scale, use a spray can instead of an airbrush, make Jeep instead of a P-51, TRY IT! there's NOTHING wrong with getting good at something, but don't just stay in that rut. Here is a GREAT video that has NOTHING to do with tanks... or does it? You are not weird if you only want to build "XYZ", but you are limiting yourself if that's ALL you do. Next time you're at the Local Hobby Shop, look thru the discount bin and see if you can find something else to make besides the same ol' thing. This is a PRIMO video, P-Man! And your skills are not limited to just tanks (or motorcycle hubcaps!). Great job on the video. You have given us a great example of 'outside-the-box' modeling. Keep it up!

[@Panzermeister36]

Thank you so much! :)

[@thomream1888]

@@Panzermeister36 Hey, YOU are the one doing all the work! These videos don't make themselves, and if anyone has tried, they know how much extra work there is instead of just building something. So Thanks to you, man!!!

[@aj3751]

I've been watching a lot of DIY videos for weathering and this, by far, is the best one. Now I'm a novice when it comes to weathering and painting in general so I wanted to do this with dry pastel (a suggestion from another KZbin channel) just in case I don't like the results. Do you think it can have a similar result?

[@rickmai2261]

Nice video. Did you apply any clear coat (Gloss, Dullcoat, etc.) before you began the process or only the finish flatboat.

[@Panzermeister36]

I'll usually apply a satin finish beforehand, unless the paint is already pretty satin.

[@guitarstevie2]

Very nice! I'm new too weathering. Why did you thin the Tamiya acrylic with lacquer thinner and not water?

[@Panzermeister36]

Tamiya acrylics are not water based acrylics like traditional ones. Instead they are alcohol based so using alcohol/lacquer thinner gives much smoother spray results.

[@gatblau1]

The Tamiya flat base was meant to be added to a clear to make the clear flat. That may be the reason why you got an unexpected effect. At least it was a happy accident.

[@OhioCentralModeler]

I very rarely spend anything close to that $30 on a freight car, unless it's something specific to my obscure short line or has some other unique emotional value attached to it. If you have a small model railroad, I can understand it, and it's probably the way to go, but if you're aspiring to something on a grand scale, you need to pick an acceptable minimum level of detail and then roll with that for the most part. There's a lot of cheap tricks you can use to vastly improve inexpensive rolling stock without having to sell a kidney. It's a quantity vs. quality issue, small railroad = go ham on the details, big railroad = decide what's acceptable, and fill out that fleet. You can always go back and add more detail later, as well. There's no such thing as a "finished" model railroad!

[@Panzermeister36]

+Jacob Butler I have a small railroad and I prefer highly detailed and accurate equipment. Plus I love patched equipment. $30CAD is nothing considering what a locomotive costs these days.

[@daniellabra4186]

In the roof part, I like your 2014 technique better... Both are great but the older one is, say, more dramatic.

[@bobsandone3108]

After you paint the wheels the brown rusty color, would it pay to paint a real light cover of the first color you applied along the bottom horizontal edge of the car, or even apply the varnish mixture you painted at the end ?

[@shawnpowell5876]

Where can you find the best prices on the pigment powders for weathering rolling stock?

[@w.rustylane5650]

I can get the same effects with acrylic paints. I never use oils as they take too long to dry. For rust I use my REAL rust that I make from 0000 fine steel wool.

[@Panzermeister36]

Thin your oils down lots and build them up in layers as you're supposed to with any paint. Then oils will dry very quickly if handled this way. Acrylics and real rust will give you out-of-scale blobs in the paint which don't look that great or realistic. That would make more sense with 1/16 scale or such.

[@NYandAtlantic]

How would you do this without the air brush

[@XxBloggs]

Why did you use lacquer thinner instead of acrylic thinner when making the grimey grey?

[@Panzermeister36]

Lacquer thinner makes acrylics spray more smoothly and dry more durably. However you can also use acrylic thinner too.

[@charlesbard2331]

The car itself is a Railbox class it's just under a different railroad company name....

[@DidacBN]

Hello! Maybe you have already answered this, but is the first step of all doing a clear coat or varnish? Or you just paint directly on the model? Thank you!

[@Panzermeister36]

I just apply it onto the model usually. Sometimes I use a satin varnish beforehand.

[@DidacBN]

@@Panzermeister36 Thank you!

[@NightShiftScaleModels]

I like trains

[@stan5250]

When I paint 50% acrylic and 50% water, the colour coagulates. What am I doing wrong?

[@Panzermeister36]

+Stan water has high surface tension. Use acylic thinner.

[@stan5250]

Thank you! I'm gonna try out this way.

[@marionsarre4934]

I'm looking for a weathered black oil car

[@Panzermeister36]

I have a black covered hopper to weather in my next video.

[@mdstmouse7]

dont use laquer thinner in ur airbrush. use 91% isopropyl alcohol. it thins tamiya and its cheaper

[@Panzermeister36]

+mdstmouse7 Lacquer thinner is chemically different. If I were using X-20A thinner by Tamiya, then iso alcohol would be a good cheap substitute as X-20A is pretty much the same thing.

[@mdstmouse7]

@@Panzermeister36 its horrible for the O rings. unless you need to dilute the paint to a ratio below 1 paint 2 parts thinner there is no need to use laquer thinner in my opinion. I'm sure you are sponsored/making enough money to repair parts but laquer thinner did a number on my airbrush.

[@carlperkins1812]

Guys, using lacquer thinners with Tamiya paints (and most others to be fair) is a known trick when airbrushing paints. It really helps lay down a smooth coat. Even better is Mr Hobby Self Levelling Thinners. Try it, youmight like it. Also, packing seals these days are resistant to solvents, so that worry doesnt apply these days. As for O rings in the cup and the nozzle cap, if these do get affected they are easily and cheaply replaced. But they rarely are.

[@Panzermeister36]

@@mdstmouse7 lol, I wish I was sponsored or making a profit on this KZbin channel....what little I make is off of KZbin ads and even that is nothing compared to what I spend on new kits and products to show in videos. I'm not using Lacquer Thinner because I'm being paid to or getting it for free. Tamiya doesn't care about me. I buy this stuff from my local brick and mortar hobby shop.

[@dcarey315]

What you do with the car

[@Panzermeister36]

I put it on my model railroad.

[@dcarey315]

@@Panzermeister36 you have a layout!? Have you posted it I’m new to your channel

[@Panzermeister36]

I have not posted it yet. It isn't much at the moment. I will show more when I progress.

[@gregoryschleitwiler9601]

I'm going to practice on a cheap car before I ruin a good one. Wish me luck