Weathering Lionel Fastrack

Used the Model Tech Studios (MTS) "Aging" solution to weather the Fastrack along with some chalk to smooth out the finish and applied it with one of those silver handled, black brush craft brushes. I then applied rust color to the outside rails and black to the inside rail with WS paint pens.   

MTS also makes some other neat products for your layout.

Lots of good stuff yall posted here!!! Really enjoy seeing folks doing great things with that evil FASTRACK lol   Now if they could just make the switches a bit cheaper?? 

Jim 

I would suggest that all of you with those brown rails go out and look at some real main line track!

Big Jim posted: " I would suggest that all of you with those brown rails go out and look at some real main line track!

I think it depends on the location/environment that a particular secton of track is located in.

 IMO woodland Scenics Rail Brown is a good start. We all know how it looks when rails are painted "rust color" Eventually I want to brush some rust/grime weathering power on the plastic roadbed and tie it into the ballast better.

For those painting fastrack its important to include the very top edge of the plastic base where the simulated spikes are.

This actually represents the flared out bottom of the rail. Painting this edge helps, tone down the upside down "U" shape that fastrack has by design.

RICKO,
Take a close look at your examples. Note how the rails do not stand out like a sore thumb, which is the way it should be.

Big Jim posted:

I would suggest that all of you with those brown rails go out and look at some real main line track!

True enough, but I don't think the standard is did I make the FT an exact replica of what a section of real weathered track looks like.

Although that's what we all strive for, I think the standard is did I make it look better to myself and the average person who will see my layout than a section of just plain FT. 

Richie C. posted:

Big Jim posted:

I would suggest that all of you with those brown rails go out and look at some real main line track!

True enough, but I don't think the standard is did I make the FT an exact replica of what a section of real weathered track looks like.

Although that's what we all strive for, I think the standard is did I make it look better to myself and the average person who will see my layout than a section of just plain FT. 

Richie,
The basic upside down "U" structure of FT makes it impossible to make it look like real weathered track. But, that doesn't mean that it can't be made to look better. The point that I am still trying to make (and we have gone through this on several threads long before this one) is that the color of the rails shouldn't stand out and be conspicuous. The rails should blend in with their surroundings. Go out to a main line and see what the real thing looks like. Stand back and take it all in. You don't see streaks of reddish brown standing out dividing the panorama into parts. Look at the photo of actual rail that RICKO posted above and compare it to his model photo. 

Big Jim posted:

Richie C. posted:

Big Jim posted:

I would suggest that all of you with those brown rails go out and look at some real main line track!

True enough, but I don't think the standard is did I make the FT an exact replica of what a section of real weathered track looks like.

Although that's what we all strive for, I think the standard is did I make it look better to myself and the average person who will see my layout than a section of just plain FT. 

Richie,
The basic upside down "U" structure of FT makes it impossible to make it look like real weathered track. But, that doesn't mean that it can't be made to look better. The point that I am still trying to make (and we have gone through this on several threads long before this one) is that the color of the rails shouldn't stand out and be conspicuous. The rails should blend in with their surroundings. Go out to a main line and see what the real thing looks like. Stand back and take it all in. You don't see streaks of reddish brown standing out dividing the panorama into parts. Look at the photo of actual rail that RICKO posted above and compare it to his model photo. 

I agree that if all somebody does is paint the FT rails, it's gonna stand out and may not look that good, but it seems to me that most people on this thread were both weathering the plastic part of the FT and also the rails, so that there was not so much contrast between the two - at least that's what I was referring to.

And if you look at RICKO's picture of a real rail section, there's still a fair amount of contrast between the rust colored rails and the surrounding grey gravel.

my advice or two cents.............NEVER paint the center rail black.  The blackened rail stands out like Rudolfs' nose at night.  rather, if anything, make the outer rails darker and leave the center rail the same colour as your ballast