Weathered by Philden Showcase #33

Showcase #33 kicks off with some N scale weathering that I completed last week. I love the size advantage that N scale offers in every aspect except for one... weathering! For something that looks like it should be simpler to weather than its larger counterpart, it is decidedly tricky to get it right. I guess that's why many shy from ruining the factory-fresh bright colours that make the scale a fan favourite. It takes several layers to get an N scale freight car looking as good as the Micro-Trains Northern Pacific box car shown above. Washes, drybrushing, spot rusting and finally a blend coat with the airbrush usually work for me. So here are some box cars of various scales for you to compare. All are now available on my eBay store, links at the bottom of the post.

Another N scale Micro-Trains freight car, this time a 50'-foot Norfolk and Western box car.

And another, this time a rusty-looking Rock Island survivor. I wonder how many miles it has travelled.

By comparison, this HO scale modern box car shows how the larger scale holds more weathering detail.

The HO scale models truly allow the panel seams to hold the rust streaks without being overpowering the model.

While this OO scale model being that little bit bigger makes the little details like the replaced timber planking on the side of this box van jump out at you. I didn't really want to overdo this model...

...while the white roof on this gunpowder van is now almost unrecognizable. Honestly, how many wagon roofs stayed clean and white in the steam era?

Anyway, that gets my eBay store stocked back up with some weathered models for the time being. Depending on how my time management goes with all the other projects I am juggling, I may have some more to bring you in the New Year. Until then, there's always my book Model Railway Weathered Wonders that is available to purchase should you wish to crack-on and do some yourself!

Click on the banner to view all of my model railway items that I have for sale.

I've now signed over 300 of these thank you certificates to accompany each model that I've weathered.

For my own record...

Models sold 271/310