Bricks and mortar joints

[TrainNut]

Everybody has their own method but this is mine and I thought this could benefeit others as well...

The kit...
Cornerstone N scale Santa Fe-style brick depot

Tools needed...
1 toothbrush
1 Scarlett red colored pencil
1 Permapaque opaque pigment marker


I've tried many different methods but this one seems to be the easiest to "undo" if you mess up and need to do it again.


First, you need a kit with bricks and since this one has been sitting under my layout for quite some time, let's rip off the plastic and give it a go...




Next, you need the supplies as mentioned above.




The next three pictues may look a little strange but that's because I used the macro setting on my camera looking through a lit magnifying glass (hey! I said it was N scale).


This is what the shiny, plastic, brown, brick wall looks like before any applications of any kind...




Now, take the white opaque pigment marker and color in all the mortar joints. I found this took several applications (2-4) to achieve the level of white desired. The nice part about this step is the opaque marker is water soluble and if your not happy with the results, simply scrub off the white, with the toothbrush, under water and start over.




Finally, take the colored pencil and evenly color the bricks to the depth of red that you prefer. It helps to have a hard color pencil as softer ones tended to fill in the mortar joints. Inevitably, some red coloring will end up in the joints and that is what the toothbrush is for. Once you have finished applying the color, take the toothbrush and clean out the mortar joints for a nice clean look.




There you have it!... quick and easy bricks. Once the model is completed, I will come back and apply weathering as well as spray the entire structure with an application of dull cote to remove any glossy finishes that may remain.

[TallDude]

Great tip, Trainnut!!

I love seeing threads like this that allow people to take a kit and with a few easy steps make it look 100% better. This sort of thing is great for a beginner to help make his/her layout stand out from everyone elses.

Thanks for posting your method of doing this!

[TrainNut]

The opaque pen is a somewhat new way of doing this for me and I'm very pleased with the results. As I was sitting there knocking these little pieces out, it occured to me that I should share this technique. That's why the three examples are of three different pieces - I'd already started on the kit
.
Before this, I would use a thinner based, watered down whitewash and then take a little paper towell soaked in thinner and wipe back off the tops of the bricks before applying the colored pencil. It worked good but it was hard to clean off the tops of the bricks in the nooks and crannies. Also, if you messed up and needed to clean it up to start all over, most of the time, the thinner would mess up the finish on the plastic resulting in less detail than you started with.

[Dicky Dog]

Thanks for the tip. That's a whole new approach that I never considered. All I have done in the past is paint the bricks red, then apply a wash of dilute white latex paint and wipe off the excess with a damp cloth wrapped around my finger. Sometimes it is difficult to avoid removing the white mortar while pressing hard enough to wipe off the brick surfaces. I will give your method a try. This is a close-up of O scale brick I detailed on a Lionel engine house.

[Boss Boomer]

TrainNut--where do ya find those "Permapaque opaque pigment marker?" Art supply store? Micheals? Hobby Lobby? Hardware store??? Somewhere else?

Nice walls, DD. That wall section looks so much like the real thing! Might be the most realistic brick wall job I ever saw! No joke!

Hey, you guys are amazing! You

[TrainNut]

I found mine at an art supply store...

Arizona Art supplies
(602) 264-9514
118 W Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85013

It might take you a little while to drive down here and pick one up. Perhaps you can order one directly from the manufacturer.... dunno. If it comes down to it, I guess I could be persuaded to go buy you one and send it to you.
I walked in, described to them what I needed and that was one of the choices they handed me. I took a sample of one of my brick walls and proceeded to experiment with the different choices. This is the one I liked best and also the easiest one to reverse and do over if I mess something up along the way. I haven't gotten any further on that kit by the way.

[Boss Boomer]

Yup, indeed it would take me a time to drive down to yer neck o'the woods to pick up one of them things. Guess I'll check locally first to see if I can find one....

...unless of course, you need company for a few months? It's pretty darn snowy and cold 'round here and I could use a fun vacation and warmer climes--that describe your part of the country?

Lemme know...Hell's likely to freeze over any day now!