Painting Scenic Express Bridge Piers?

Any of the Woodland Scenics colors, will work, or any of the artist acrylics from WalMart, Michaels, etc etc. You can paint them solid and then give em a wash, or just give them a wash to start with. You could make a wash with india ink or the artist colors. They are pretty durable. 

Wash them first in a mild soapy water solution to get off the mold release when they were made. I then spray painted them with a can of paint from lowes. Use what ever color you want. 

Thanks for the responses guys!

CN_Hogger

I paint all my plastic and foam piers with acrylic paints. 

If you don't like what you have done, you can let it dry over night and come back a redo it.

Black acrylic wash followed by drybrushing with light gray and antique white craft store acrylics. No special preparation or cleaning of the foam castings was necessary.

Jim

Great looking stuff guys! Jim, I think seeing your pictures was what made me ask the question previously... I hope I can get them looking half as good as what you posted!

CN_Hogger

could you explain what a "wash" is? 

Thanks, CN. The great rock details on the Scenic Express walls and piers really pop out with just a little drybrushing.

wb47,

For a wash, I just squirt some of the craft store acrylic black on a piece of plastic. Then I dip a brush in lots of water and work it into a little of the black. No fancy mixing ratios - just enough water so that the thinned paint settles in the crevices.

Then, when that is totally dry, I drybrush the colors I want. I pick up a little light gray or antique white on the bristles of a fairly stiff brush. Wipe most of it off on a paper towel - then whisk the bristles across the rock face to highlight just the edges. Just take your time and don't have too much paint on the bristles.

If you drybrush with more than one color, let the first dry thoroughly (doesn't take long) before moving on to the second.

The drybrushing works best when light colors are put on top of darker ones like the black wash.

If you would prefer brownish tones, I would paint the entire wall or pier first with a medium brown craft store acrylic paint. Then the black wash, and then finally drybrushed colors such as a light tan or antique white.

I like using the antique white rather than the pure white you often see recommended for this step. The antique white results in a warmer overall tone to the finished rock.

Really can't overemphasize the importance of the drybrushing in the process. It takes some courage the first time to hit your freshly painted rocks with a drybrush of another color, but it makes all the difference in the world.

Here are some pink styrofoam rocks after an initial coat of gray acrylic.

Similar rocks with antique white drybrushing added. You can see how much added detail pops out and shadows seem to appear from nowhere.

Jim

thanks so much for you "how to" Jim.