Weathered Locos & Stock

[Podartist79]

I suppose what I'm asking, Neil, is - given that your work comes to life in natural light, do you create the effects in natural light, or is perhaps 'daylight effect' artificial light an acceptable option?

I paint under a daylight artificial angle-poise lamp, and my room is also lit by a strip LED ‘daylight’ unit.
My shed (work room) has north facing skylights as well, so I never work in-under direct sunlight.
I do tend to turn off the electric light(s) on occasion to check the models under ‘normal layout lighting conditions’ but often, as mentioned, under those conditions, a lot of the nuance and detail does get quite lost.

 

[J_F_S]

Just to mention that there is a serious pitfall with LED light sources. We all remember from our 'O' level physics that white light is composed of a continuous spectrum of colours from the red to the blue. The problem with LEDs is that they only emit a few individual wavelengths - in other words, their spectrum is composed of a few bright colour 'peaks' with darker gaps between. (this is one reason why their 'brightness' never seems to match up to their Lumen rating) Thus, although the overall colour temperature equates to "daylight", individual colours viewed under LED lighting will look very different from how they look under real daylight - in particular certain colours can looked washed-out (being within a black band), whilst others look very prominent. For those of us working for ourselves it does not matter provided we work under the same lights we use on our layouts. For professionals serving the whole planet, it is not so easy and my only suggestion would be to use as much indirect daylight as possible plus a mixture of LEDs and incandescent lighting so that the overal output is as representative as possible.

Funnily enough, Podartist79 seems to have already gone that route and, given his level of skill and expertise and the superb results, that is probably no coincidence at all!!

 

[simond]

and that is why they look quite different to an incandescent bulb, which can be a reasonable representation of an oil lamp

an extract from https://www.researchgate.net/figure...ndescent-tungsten-light-bulb-b_fig1_312320039 shows that there is very much more red than blue in an incandescent source - these graphs can be a bit confusing as the colour temperature decreases to the right ( the wavelength increases, as above)



Table 1 here Spectral Identification of Lighting Type and Character - PMC gives some more data, but I have not found an image of an oil lamp spectrum

nonetheless, it is obvious that oil lamps have a colour temperature under 2000K, incandescents are 2-3000 whereas LEDs tend to be above 5000, which presumably explains why an underrun filament is a passable impression of an oil lamp.

 

[J_F_S]

and that is why they look quite different to an incandescent bulb, which can be a reasonable representation of an oil lamp

Very true - however the discussion mentioned "daylight" incandescents which have a blue-tinted glass to filter down the excess red (And make them a bit dim in the process!) and I assume they are the only things anyone would even consider in this context as they produce a much more uniform spectrum. Even these days they are still available and they are still probably the best artificial source.

Luxram Standard GLS Daylight B22 40W Incandescent/T • 055022040

Good quality components and materials are used in the manufactures of all Luxram lamps. Established since 1951 and specified throughout the world ensures that the consumer can have every confidence when purchasing a Luxram lamp.The Product Code Is - 055022040• Collection Name - GLS Daylight•...

superiorlighting.co.uk

Unfortunately, at 40W you needs a fair few!

One problem with LEDs which all these graphs show is that both high-end reds and low-end blues are entirely absent, and this, coupled with the black hole in the blue-green makes them a dangerous trap for the unwary (yes, my layout is lit with them and yes, it suffers in consequence!).
That said, they are about 1000% better than flourescents - and your graphs show very well why that is - yet they were the go-to 30 years ago for many people!!

 

[Sheffield]

But none of them are bulbs, they are all lamps. Bulbs go in the garden.

 

[J_F_S]

But none of them are bulbs, they are all lamps. Bulbs go in the garden.

Difference between a bulb and a lamp: you can change the bulb in a lamp .... but you can't change the lamp in a bulb.

 

[magmouse]

If you need to use LEDs, look for types with a CRI (colour rendering index) of 90 or above. Harder to find and more expensive, but worth it for colour critical work - though still not perfect.

LED lights used in theatre now mix up to eight different colours to produce white, as a way to fill in the gaps in the typical 'white' LED spectrum. See, for example, Source Four LED Series 3 Features

Nick.

 

[simond]

Cor, they’re a bit posher than the Strand Pattern lights we used when I did stage lights at school and the PAR38’s for bands at University…

 

[Pencarrow]

Brilliant piece of work Neil. Will look superb sitting on Pencarrow.

And speak of the devil...

 

[Podartist79]

A weathering job, ‘hot off the bench’ literally.
In many ways it could hardly be called a weathering job, as it’s been almost solely studying the few photos I have of the period and toning down this original beautiful Lee Marsh Models SECR D Class.
The bright work was a particular challenge, but it’s that I’m most happy with along with the wood on the cab floor.

 

[Podartist79]

And speak of the devil...

View attachment 243231

Your layout-diorama is superb Chris.
Hopefully the model looks the part sat in amongst it.

 

[James]

A weathering job, ‘hot off the bench’ literally.
In many ways it could hardly be called a weathering job, as it’s been almost solely studying the few photos I have of the period and toning down this original beautiful Lee Marsh Models SECR D Class.
The bright work was a particular challenge, but it’s that I’m most happy with along with the wood on the cab floor.View attachment 243280View attachment 243281View attachment 243282View attachment 243283View attachment 243284View attachment 243285View attachment 243286View attachment 243287

You're not bad at this weathering lark Neil

Beautiful work

 

[Ressaldar]

Excellent work on my favorite steam locomotive.

regards

Mike

 

[cmax]

From D Class to Deltic, delicious.

Gary

 

[Podartist79]

You're not bad at this weathering lark Neil

Beautiful work

Thank you James.

Excellent work on my favorite steam locomotive.

regards

Mike

Thank you Mike.
It really is a handsome steam loco - especially in this livery.

 

[steve50]

Another work of art, as said that is a handsome looking loco, what did you do to it? The effects are very subtle and that cab interior is very nice

 

[Podartist79]

From D Class to Deltic, delicious.

Gary

Thank you Gary.

 

[Podartist79]

Another work of art, as said that is a handsome looking loco, what did you do to it? The effects are very subtle and that cab interior is very nice

As mentioned Steve, it was really a toning down exercise.
That meant applying my now standard oil paints and washes around anywhere that could collect dirt-grime, but would be difficult for the cleaners to fully get to - at least with any regularity.
Also, a lot of the brightwork is plated on these models, so out with the oils once more, applying them to those surfaces. Then most of that was worked back off again, initially gently wiping before buffing them with very soft brushes, giving a very subtle tone down and taking the ‘bling’ type finish away.
If it had of been mine, I would’ve toned the main body areas of the loco down further, but that wasn’t what the client was after.
Hope that’s useful.

Neil.

 

[LarryG]

Pre-grouping was always a challenge to weather, 'cos we weren't there. Having been a cleaner, I knew which parts to avoid because it was obvious that cleaners before me had avoided them. Over time, it became impossible to remove some of the muck. In pre-Groupling days, it is unlikely locos were allowed to get too filthy, at least before WW1.

The BR Std. 3 2-6-2T at Pencarrow looks great. It's one of those loco that looks better in model form than in real life IMO.

 

[Osgood]

SECR D Class:
Very first time I've looked at a passenger locomotive and been taken in by its attractive design - it seems to be visually perfectly balanced.
What makes it really 'pop' for me is the way the splasher top seamlessly blends into the cab front, I can't think of another example.



It would be interesting to compare before and after views to appreciate the subtle difference the treatment has made.

Looking at all the images in this thread it strikes me that in each case the weathering process, whilst enhancing certain features of each design, seems to soften the whole - it doesn't eliminate any (strictly subjective) ugliness of a particular subject, but it makes you consider the whole rather than be distracted by specific design features.