Westlake Publishing Forums

Humbrol or not, here comes some pictures of my recent weathering efforts.
Possible a bit overdone for a machine that should like it is a bit over 30yrs old but still in operation. I think I will have to tone down the rusty look with some pigments that suggest dust from using the machine rather thatn being left to itself for a century or so. But illoks kind of cool, though. Maybe I should model the workshop as abandoned...

Old Humbrol was great. The quality control on modern Humbrol can be a bit hit and miss, though.

Another installment.

Worth mentioning here is the development of the Ice Roads for moving logs. This method was popular in the New England states as well as the north central states where the winters were very long and cold with plenty of snow. Again the logs would be cut and cold decked during the Summer and wait for the Winter freeze to set in. Once the temperatures were cold enough and the snow deep enough the snow would be packed solid to create a roadway then sprinkled with water to create the Ice road.
Once the roads were ready the logs would be loaded on large sleds pulled by horse teams to the mill site.


How did they ever pile those logs so high?

I should also mention here the development of the Lombard and Phoenix log haulers for moving the log sleds over the ice roads. The Lombard and/or the Phoenix machines were basically a locomotive boiler mounted on Caterpillar tracks and skies to make it faster and safer to move the log sleds over the ice roads. As it developed they were neither of those things.

Can you imagine riding that steering seat in the front of that contraption with hundreds of tons of machine and logs pushing you from behind down an ice road!


All of the above methods of log movement could take up pages and pages of text and pictures to fully explain but we are more interested in wheels and primarily tracks for this project.

More to come.

I found them unimpressive and boring to (sold the two and the tank version on EBAY ) And yet Chuck / Marcel and a few others on this forum "were else " put things across much easer
Barney
"Humbrol rules "

That logging contraption thing looks interesting - nice colure to
Barney
I have several books of the upkeep of horses in the logging and mining industry if the owner was thoughtful and wise they had a good life because they helped the money coming in Just like looking after your Caterpillar it was an investment
Barney   

I feel sorry for the horses. I'm sure they would have preferred to do other things. -- Russ

Quote from: Hauk on August 17, 2026, 12:21:25 AMFunny you should mention Rinaldi and his books, Stuart! I have his City Tractor book, and I have learnt a lot from it. Regarding his Oil Paint Rendering and Chipping Books I ordered those more than 5 years ago, but still havent recieved either of them...

He eventually got his chipping book out earlier this year, distributed by Ammo. I was unimpressed on a quick flick through though: it largely confines itself to chipping Ammo and Mission Models paints by reactivating them with their respective thinners. It's also very repetitive. The models and layout make for great eye candy, but the typography prioritises graphic effect over readability. There is also a set of linked videos, but if they're anything like the Brummbär videos he had to make public early this year (because the book's QR code didn't work), they might not actually add a lot.

His latest promises for the oils book I think are now for printing about September.

I would agree with your AI's suggestion of oils, though, but that may just because I'm a stuck-in-his-ways geriatric who learned to paint figures with them back in the last millennium.

I have startet to suspect that my choice of paint and thinner for the washes is not the wisest.  I will now make an exception from my "No AI rule" and post an exchange I had with ChatGPT on the matter. I would love to hear if anyone have opinions on the validity of ChatGTP´s wisdom. Here goes:

Q: Is it generally agreed that acrylics like Tamiya XF series diluted with isopropanol (X20A) is a poor choice for general washes?

A: Yes—it is generally agreed that Tamiya X/XF acrylics thinned with X-20A or isopropanol are a poor choice for a conventional general wash, though they can be useful for certain deliberately harsh effects.

The reasons are:

They dry too quickly. Alcohol evaporates rapidly, giving little time to distribute, soften or remove the wash.
They produce tide marks. Pigment tends to accumulate at the perimeter of each wet area.
They do not flow particularly well by capillary action, especially across matt paint.
They stain immediately. On a matt surface, the wash can become almost impossible to correct.
X-20A can attack a Tamiya X/XF base coat. Fully cured Tamiya acrylic is more resistant, but alcohol and mechanical brushing can soften or lift it.
XF paints contain enough pigment and matting agent to become chalky or grainy when enormously diluted.
Because the wash and base coat use essentially the same solvent system, there is little chemical separation between the layers.

Consequently, the standard safer combination is:

Durable acrylic or lacquer base coat → oil or enamel wash thinned with mild odorless mineral spirit.

Oil washes stay workable much longer, flow better and can be feathered or removed after application.

When diluted Tamiya XF can nevertheless work

It can be useful when you actually want the pigment to grab and stain:

accumulated dust
dried mud
soot
faded or bleached surfaces
dirty workshop floors
rough, porous timber
broad tonal modulation

In that case, I would not use pure X-20A or isopropanol. A more controllable acrylic wash can be made with:

Tamiya XF paint
mostly distilled water
a little X-20A
a drop of acrylic retarder or flow improver

Even then, Tamiya XF is not ideal because it was formulated primarily as paint, not as an extremely dilute wash. Purpose-made water-based acrylic washes—Vallejo, Citadel or similar—usually behave better, although they still cannot be reworked as easily as oils.

So your previous mixture of three drops German Grey, one drop XF-64 and 1 ml X-20A will certainly create dirt and shadow, but it behaves more like a rapid staining filter than a forgiving wash. It is particularly risky over another Tamiya X/XF layer. For controlled grime around machinery and underframes, I would replace it with the same approximate colour mixed from raw umber and ivory black oil paint in AK Odorless Thinner.

Q: That corresponds well with my own experiences with this mix. But I am actually looking for the filter effect, so I might try using distilled water. Is the isopropanol alchol used for wetting purposes?

A: Yes—partly. Isopropanol lowers the surface tension of water, so the mixture wets the painted surface instead of forming beads. But with Tamiya X/XF paint it also acts as a solvent for the acrylic resin, and it speeds evaporation. X-20A is not simply pure isopropanol; it contains a balanced solvent mixture intended to keep Tamiya's binder and pigment dispersed.

For a filter, replacing most of the X-20A with distilled water should give you:

slower drying
more working time
less attack on the base coat
softer staining
but potentially poorer wetting and more pigment separation

I would test something like:

3 drops XF German Grey
1 drop XF-64 Red Brown
0.8–1 ml distilled water
1–2 drops X-20A
optionally, a minute amount of acrylic flow improver or retarder

The X-20A then primarily helps the water wet the surface and keeps the Tamiya paint dispersed, without making the entire mixture strongly alcohol-based.

Do not substitute dishwashing liquid unless testing on scrap first. Even a tiny excess can make the wash foam, behave unpredictably or leave surfactant residue. A proper acrylic flow improver—Vallejo, Liquitex or Winsor & Newton—is preferable. It must also be used sparingly, normally after dilution according to its instructions.

One potential problem is insufficient binder. At extreme dilution, the small quantity of binder can no longer secure all the pigment. The filter may dry dusty or rub off. A drop or two of clear acrylic medium can help:

Tamiya paint + distilled water + a little X-20A/flow improver + a small amount of clear acrylic medium.

For your intended effect, however, some staining is desirable. I would apply it with a broad, soft, slightly loaded brush, keep a wet edge and cover an entire logically bounded surface—one wall panel, machine casing or wagon side—rather than brushing isolated patches. Avoid repeatedly brushing areas that have begun to dry; that is what produces hard edges and lifts partially dried pigment.

The safest sequence is:

Apply one extremely weak filter.
Let it dry completely.
Judge the colour only after drying—it will usually appear lighter.
Add another filter if necessary.

So yes: retain a little alcohol/X-20A for wetting and paint compatibility, but distilled water should constitute most of the liquid if you want a gentler, slower acrylic filter. A test piece is essential because the exact behaviour will depend strongly on whether your underlying surface is matt, satin or gloss.
--End of AI conversation

I must admit that the AI answer seems very well founded, but some human input would be nice!

Quote from: Stuart on August 16, 2026, 04:16:57 PMHauk -- you may want to check out a master modeler named Michael Rinaldi who uses artists oils to create some absolutely stunning weathering and aging effects on his models. I have a couple of his books which describes the process he uses. He is also available on YouTube and hosts regular podcasts where he demonstrates his methods on different projects he is working on.

Funny you should mention Rinaldi and his books, Stuart! I have his City Tractor book, and I have learnt a lot from it. Regarding his Oil Paint Rendering and Chipping Books I ordered those more than 5 years ago, but still havent recieved either of them... I do have acces to his YouTube videos, and there are tons of things to learn.

Going through some old files a few days ago I came across this build log from 2013 and thought maybe some of you might be interested in what I was trying to do.

As I remember this project took quite a bit of research and time to develop but I must warn you no 3D printers, Laser cutters, or computer drafting programs were used or abused during this build.

So what is a logging arch?

This is a late 1930's Fairlead tracked arch, the final stage of the development of this type of log yarding in the woods.

I am sure some or even most of you may be unfamiliar with this piece of equipment so a little background or history is in order. You must understand that like all equipment it evolved over many years of trial and error by the men in the woods getting the timber out. Each and all of these systems overlapped each other sometimes by years.

Probably the earliest method of getting logs out of the woods was the use of draft animals to drag the logs along the ground. But, it didn't take long for the old timers to figure out a better way and come up with a thing they called a Skid Road. A skid road was built using small logs half buried in the ground that the timber was dragged along by the animal teams, and the skids were greased as they went along to ease the pull.


An 8 horse hitch dragging a large log along a skid road.

Another early development in the movement of logs was the River Drive. The logs were cut and stored along a river bank during the Summer waiting for the winter floods to send the logs down stream. This method was used mainly in the North Central United States where there were plenty of small rivers, Of course this was only good for the timber that grew close by the rivers. This method was never used much in the Western States because the timber was too large and the rivers too few.


Notice how small the logs are but make no mistake this was a very,very dangerous way to make a living.

Well we have reached the 3 picture limit.
More to come.
Thanks for taking a look
Rick