New Haven 1937 AAR Box Car completed build

 

A three-quarter portrait of New Haven 1937 AAR box car NH 31297.

When I left off on the New Haven 1937 AAR build, I was preparing to blast the model for painting. With that step done, I added rivets in places where they might be blown off during blasting. You can see them in the photos above and below at the side sill support tabs, the grabs on the ends, the ladder mounting brackets, the sill steps, the door handles, and on the door tracks, where I simulated the flat rivets using 0.5 mm discs punched with the RPToolz punch and die and 0.005" styrene. One thing I forgot (and did not go back and add once I started painting) were the three rivets per side sheathing panel used to attach side nailing post clips! Oh well...

I airbrushed the car body with Polly Scale Light Freight Car Red thinned with Liquitex Airbrush Medium. The doors, trucks, and couplers were airbrushed with Tamiya flat black. Everything was given a coat of Quick Shine Floor Finish, again with the airbrush, to create a glossy surface for decaling. I used Speedwitch (now National Scale Car) New Haven box car decals as well as chalkmarks. The photo above illustrates the model after the basic decals had been applied and areas that would not be weathered as part of the first steps were masked.

In the first step in weathering, I added a light wash of burnt umber along the bottom of the car, using odorless mineral spirits to dilute the oil paint. This was "crept" up the side a little, as illustrated in the photo above. It's a subtle effect.

Next, I added some weathering effects to the upper portion of the car. I created streaks using a blend of Payne's Grey and Titanium White artists' oils. I dabbed small amounts of the paint on to spots on the side and then diffused and drew them down the car side to create streaks. 

I also made the decision to simulate some paint failure on several of the galvanized metal roof panels. This was done by applying a mix of Payne's Grey, Titanium White, and Cerulean (Blue) in several places. They appear stark in the photo above, but I did "integrate" them into the overall look of the model as the weathering process progressed.

I added some powders to create an overall effect as well as blend the previous steps. On the sides, I added Bragdon's Grimy Grey powder, which is fairly muted once under a flat coat. I also augmented this with some targeted application of Pan Pastels Payne's Grey. The photo above shows these after they were sealed under a flat coat.

I also added the same two powders to the roof, but in greater strength to add grime as well as mute and blend the paint failure patches.

I removed the masking tape from the capacity and reweigh location and added those decals, as shown, reflecting a reweigh at the New Haven's Cedar Hill facility in March, 1949. 

At the same time, added some "fresh" paint failure again using the mix of Payne's Grey, Titanium White, and Cerulean (Blue) to arrive at a satisfactory color. 

I applied another dilute wash of Payne's Grey thinned heavily with odorless mineral spirits and added the repack and brake test stencils, as well. The photo above illustrates the completed right side of the car.

The B end of the completed model...

I applied one more "coat" of powders to the roof to mute the areas exhibiting simulated paint failure. I am mostly satisfied with this effort, although I still think I can improve upon it. I will post some further thoughts about this in the next couple weeks as part of a separate post about paint failure.

The completed left side of the model... I am quite pleased with the overall end result. The New Haven script scheme is one of the iconic box cars of the era. Having a good representation of it will add plenty of context and character to the fleet.