Weathering HO Scale BLMA Covered Hopper

Here are some weathering techniques I use for weathering my rolling stock. Feel free to ask any questions. Enjoy

[@JoeyBPhotography]

About to weather some covered hoppers, and remembered you put this video out a while ago. I'll be using it as reference! Thanks for sharing your work, always looks great!

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks Joey! Let me know if you have any questions. I’ve adopted a few more techniques since this.

[@kyleschessiecumberlanddivi5581]

WOW, very impressive work. Thanks for sharing and showing your progress on how you did everything. -Kyle

[@yrunaked4]

you are very humble because that is a very fine weathering job and as far as hand painting, Eric Brooman of Utah Belt fame does some with colored markers, its less tedious than painting. Great how too and the streaking method is tops. Cheers, Rob

[@JoeyBPhotography]

I was hoping I'd find a video where you show how you weather your cars, so glad I found one! I'll definitely become braver and start weathering my rolling stock now lol. Thanks for sharing your techniques, I definitely feel like I can accomplish something decent just by watching this.

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks Joey! Yes the best way is to just start and see what works for you.

[@realtundratrash]

Shout out from a guy who's spend a couple years working around those exact cars at the North Dakota State Mill! That's exactly what they look like! down the to the scrapes and rust on the side!

[@RailserveJohn]

Awesome! That’s cool to hear!

[@modelrailroader5619]

Oh man, that was so much fun watching you weather that car. Superb results! Thanks.

[@RailserveJohn]

Thank you Andrew!

[@RailserveJohn]

Thank you Andrew!

[@UnionCentralSystem]

Very nice weathering. looks very realistic . - Paul

[@kevinb9327]

Nice job! 👍

[@SouthDown]

Fantastic tutorial, well shot, good illumation, nicely edited. The subtle detail highlighting with a pencil was a good trick. Thank you for sharing.

[@RailserveJohn]

Thank you!

[@ThomasKlimoski]

Hi John, Great video and thanks for indicating what products you used for your weathering. The weathered covered hopper car looks fantastic! The scratch marks with the rust streaks came out really nice.-Tom

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks Tom!

[@rcdfo]

Nice weathering.

[@AlongtheRiverLife]

That is a wonderful job! Great video showing your techniques.

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks! Glad to hear you enjoyed it

[@Timrathmore]

Absolutely love those trinity thrall cars!! You do great work!!

[@RailserveJohn]

Thank you! The BLMA ones are hard to find now

[@hypersturm]

Triple A. A fantastic result. Another good new product of oilpaints are the oilbrushers from MIG. greetings from Europe.

[@Crookedriverandeasternrr]

Love the weathering. Ive really been getting into it more lately. However I have a ways to go before mine look as nice as yours. But I did get a couple ideas from you. Thanks for sharing. David

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks David. You would be surprised how much of a drastic difference some Dullcoat and powders do! But it is addicting when you see the results. Let me know if you have any questions.

[@Crookedriverandeasternrr]

John2618 thank you John I appreciate that. I wish I could send you some photos of a few I’ve done just to get your opinion. I have no clue how to do that on here tho. I’ve been getting into oils mainly. I have an air brush but I really need a lot of practice on it.

[@RailserveJohn]

My email is [e-mail]. I really like using Vallejo paints in my airbrush. The Model Air line is great to directly spray out of the bottle. But there other lines are awesome too using Vallejo Airbrush thinner. Tamiya acrylic paints are great as well. They flow really nice using Tamiya acrylic thinner.

[@Crookedriverandeasternrr]

John2618 thank you John.

[@joedelusso3004]

great job john, I have a "rule of thumb" that I would like to share with you if you don't mind,when I do decaling and weathering my rolling stock I wait at lease 24 hrs after the decaling process and let the decals fully dry then inspect the work and do touch ups if needed,especially on cars like outside braced boxcars,certain covered hoppers {like the one you did above} but again great job...

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks Joe. Yes I try to do the same. In fact I think it sat a could days before continuing weathering. These graffiti decals are a little think so I think the tight bend didn’t bond completely.

[@joedelusso3004]

@@RailserveJohn also I left out a part,i use testors dull coat before applying decals and after to seal them,as well before I start weathering too..if your on facebook I have a page called "railfan 67" you can send a request to join and you can see all my projects that I've been doing on my 4th shelf layout that I built this past spring.

[@Crookedriverandeasternrr]

Very nice. Love the multiple techniques you used.

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks Dave!

[@michaelrogalla9620]

Nice job John. I worked the mill switch off and on for many years in Grand Forks No.Dak. The mill has quite a fleet of cars

[@RailserveJohn]

Cool! Yes I would like to get a bunch more of these cars.

[@andrewpalm2103]

Nice work, and very informative. Thanks!

[@CraftyFoxe]

That's pretty cool looking. I didn't know you could just get a graffiti decaled on instead of hand painting it

[@RailserveJohn]

They for sure are becoming more available. They can be tricky on some cars but on most they turn out pretty good. Thanks for watching!

[@ScottTaipaleRail]

Beautiful work! The best I've seen this week.

[@RailserveJohn]

Thank you very much!

[@laredawg99]

Nice job John... got to give that a try on a hopper!

[@RailserveJohn]

Thank You!

[@ericrausch5122]

One Word.....Skills ! Thank you and greetings from The Philippines.

[@RailserveJohn]

Thank you very much! Very much appreciate the compliment. All the best, John

[@prrsd4046]

Excellent weathering. My weakness is weathering so I collect a lot of trains from different people for variety. Have weathered a dozen or so cars. Each one gets better with technique. Use a lot of the same products and have gotten away from the airbrush. Recently purchased weathering pencils but have yet to try. The armed vehicle guys use them. Their techniques are way beyond model railroaders.

[@RailserveJohn]

Thank you! I have been wanting to try the weathering pencils. I see some amazing work from the military modelers using those.

[@jimtedesco]

Very informative and it looks realistic

[@robhindley3366]

Great video, combining different techniques.

[@andrewshafer4838]

Great video, this is some awesome content. Keep it up, please!

[@JeanPierre-jb5ln]

Thanks John, good techniques well demonstrated

[@RailserveJohn]

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it, John

[@louiscano6566]

Heck yah glad I just subscribed to your channel,I'm working on some stuff as well,I'll keep in touch

[@RailserveJohn]

Awesome thanks for the Sub. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

[@christopherbarth9237]

Great weathering job buddy

[@shad6644]

Thanks for: 1) the weathering techniques and bonus 2) turning me onto Jinchang Zhang and BERTYSOLO!

[@barnfulloftrains]

Very Good

[@SilverCreekSub]

Much appreciated!!!!

[@louiscano6566]

Really bitchin stuff bro,guess I'll give it a try too,and on your tanker,truck stop hobbies has some awesome stuff check'em out

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks man! I love Truck Stop Hobbies. I order from them all of the time and yes they carry awesome detail parts.

[@warrenmaker798]

Very nice work, and not over-done. You have given me the confidence to try this my self, Thank you. PS: May I ask, where did you get that chrome tanker truck you have on your layout from, I am admiring it greatly. Thanks again.

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks! It’s actually just a cheap trailer I found on eBay and applied ADM decals to it. If you search “food grade trailer” on eBay HO scale you will see them. I believe I paid less than $20 for it.

[@CobraChamp]

That looks great!

[@205004gs]

Outstanding!

[@sparky107107]

that is the big thing,, just try it and see how it goes .

[@TheTrainFan]

When you used the oils to streak the rust down, you could use just a watered down brush and get pretty much the same effect couldn’t you?

[@RailserveJohn]

I have found the oils to come out much better. The watered down acrylic paints don’t dissolve as much as the oils do.

[@davebnsfnscale4433]

Very nice!!!

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks Dave!

[@davebnsfnscale4433]

Rust side is cool

[@shawnpowell5876]

Great video of your weathering techniques! What color(s) did you use on the bottom side of the hopper? And did you buy a set of the pan pastels or individually? Thanks for sharing this video and I'm viewing it from Delmar, Delaware.

[@RailserveJohn]

Cool I was in Newark! I used rail tie brown by Model Master. I believe I got a pack of the pan pastels as well as a few individual ones. Michael’s may still have them online. Thanks for watching!

[@TolgaEastCoast]

Nice video. I really like that Gamsol technique - is there an alternative for acrylic paint/weathering chalks? I still have yet to own an airbrush but I like your uses of it.

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks for watching! There are definitely alternate ways to get around not having an airbrush. Vallejo and Tamiya make rattle can versions of their paint which could work if sprayed light enough. AIM weathering powders or Pan Pastels are worth investing in if you plan on getting deep into weathering. AIM sells some sample packs which are great and cheap. All the best, John

[@modeltraintherapy5376]

Very nice. I use some similar techniques. Question: what are you dabbing your brush in when you drag your rust streaks down? Would water work? Ive been stroking down with a dry brush and it can be a little tough to get the results i want on the first pass.

[@RailserveJohn]

Thanks. If using oil based paints like I am in this video you could use turpentine or terpenoid. It thins the paint and creates this streaking. As long as you aren't rubbing the thinner hard against the car body you shouldn't have any issue with this effecting the factory paint. - John

[@thecincinnatikid6227]

Good video on your weathering technique with this car, but the music is a little distracting...:( what did you use to dust the sides of the hopper bays, pan pastels?

[@RailserveJohn]

Yes the car was dusted with a thinned rail tie brown and I used pan pastels to highlight the rust and dust the underside.

[@bdrastal]

If that decal comes off mask around it and just paint a shade of gray railroads tend to patch cars alot now

[@RailserveJohn]

What a great idea! Thanks.

[@bdrastal]

Anytime man love the videos keep them up

[@nicholmansgarage3501]

I think I am going to start weathering some of my older trains. Also, what kind of cars do you use? They are very realistic and I want to get some.

[@RailserveJohn]

I have a variety of car brands. Great thing about weathering is it makes even less detailed cars look awesome! This hopper is a BLMA and is a bit pricey.

[@nicholmansgarage3501]

@@RailserveJohn oh, okay. This video actually really inspired me and I just tried weathering for the first time. I used one of my favorite engines (an old athearn U-23B) and I'm pretty happy with it. Also, thanks for the info on the car you used here. Have a nice evening/night, and stay safe. Edit: I see what you mean about those cars being pricey.

[@whisper31999]

I have a 4-bay covered hopper I would like you to do. No graffiti. would you be interested? You do good work. can you do detail upgrades to?

[@RailserveJohn]

Sorry bud. As much as I would love to weather peoples cars I just don’t have much free time anymore.

[@whisper31999]

@@RailserveJohn Ok fair enough. Thanks for getting back to me.

[@RMLH109]

Where did you find the decals?

[@RailserveJohn]

The graffiti was from Microscale and the reflectors from Smokebox Graphics.

[@TheyMakeItLikeThat]

Have you ever considered hand painted graffiti?

[@RailserveJohn]

I have been wanting to try some.

[@TheyMakeItLikeThat]

@@RailserveJohn it’s honestly so much more fun!

[@154Colin]

You're definitely selling yourself short by saying your weathering is "pretty good." More like damn good!

[@RailserveJohn]

Well thank you!