When I
first began building Fine Scale Miniatures kits (manufactured by George
Sellios) many years ago, the part that I enjoyed the most was the weathering.
Nothing irked me more than to build a model in a brand new, pristine condition.
I began looking
for something more that what the FSM instructions offered. Don't get me wrong,
I
owe a great deal of what I learned about building models from building early
Thomas A. Yorke kits, Model Masterpieces kits, Builders in Scale kits,
Timberline kits; heck, there's even a thing or two to learn from building the
Campbell kits.
In my
quest for the ultimate weathering process I remember that I found a four-step,
four bottle product back in the 1980s that stated it came from the guy's
driveway and I tried this for a while. I then I tried the 'Steel wool &
vinegar rust' process. This I really liked, but the thought of the rusting
processing continuing even after the application scared me. I tried flushing
with water, but this washed the finer 
particles away,
and I still was not sure that the rusting process had been stopped. I even tried
sealing the finish with a dull coat—too labor intensive. And then one day I
literally fell over an idea as I was helping my brother install some custom
cabinets on a commercial job site.
The
long story short is that although my formula has changed over the years, AND, a
lot of folks have tried real hard to copy my Doctor Ben's products,
but they still haven't come close. Several even posed as 'friends' to get the
formulas. Today, you can buy various weathering powders (NOTE: some are just
ground artists chalk and/or tempra finger paint powders), and there are folks
are offering stuff used to tint wet concrete (yes, really!), but nobody—nope
nobody— has a weathering solution OR an industrial weathering pigment that will
perform anything like the Doctor Ben's products do.
And for
the record, these are the very same Weathering Stains & Solu
tions that I
have demonstrated in the many Clinics and Model Shows and used to finish the
plethora of Fine Scale Miniatures (FSM), Master Creations, Sequoia Models,
Downtown Deco, Thomas Yorke, Scale Structures Ltd, Evergreen Hill Designs, Model
Masterpieces Ltd,
South River Model Works, and many other kits (including quite a bit of Athearn
rolling stock) over the years
that have been recognized as award winning, museum quality models.
Using this Doctor Ben's Product:
I sincerely believe that this is the most Realistic
Weathering application that you will ever find-guaranteed! Realistic Rust
differs from Weathered Rust is more like the rust that you would see
metal-on-metal
like that sliding steel door scraping on the steel surface or bracing og a
boxcar or metal shed—and then dampened by the morning dew slowly etching away at
the metal surface. This product is a topical application that does not affect
the surface integrity of the model. This product has built in adhesive polymers
that enable it to stick to any surface. Get too much on and want to remove it?
Not a problem, read on about all the great uses in our How To #1 booklet and in
our website.. You will not be disappointed.
