Hello fellow Railroaders, today I’m presenting to you my Polar Express, O gauge, Lion chief, (Not 10th anniversary), Model train. I have been rather disappointed around Christmas time, when I come home to a “Christmas themed train”, and I notice there is not snow on the roofs. I have been doing research on how to make it look snow covered, but all I got were great tutorials on how to make it look iced over. I thought that they did a fantastic job on doing so, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I wanted the absolutely covered roofs, (As shown on the G-gauge Polar express). I surprisingly found a way to do so! Here’s what I came up with…Enjoy, And Happy railroading!
So, the first thing you will need is some Deco-Art Snow tex.
Here is the Web address to purchase some (Note: Depending on the thickness of the snow on the roof, you might want to purchase the large container, I’m glad I did! Also, there is a version that is more textured, and a version that contains glitter, I just purchased the one of my preference.)
http://www.amazon.com/DecoArt-...1ZG90DT24SSEJP1FX0RJ
*In the Project, I apply a lot of this stuff, so it takes a while to dry*
I also purchased new roofs off of Lionel, because I still wanted the option to use Black roofs.
Here are the part numbers for the roofs: 6205100017, 6205102017, 6205101017. You can purchase them at this link: https://www.lionelsupport.com/ReplacementParts/ Make sure to change the search by selection option, to part number or name.
+The first Step of the process was removing the roofs off of the coaches.
In your owner’s manual there are instructions on how to perform this. There are pictures Below of a disassembled car, as an example.
(*Make sure on the Observation car, to remove those three screws.*)
+ Next, you need to give the black part of the roof a good sanding to help the Snow Texture Stick. I used a fine sandpaper. 240-400 Grit sandpaper is recommended.
+ After that, you will need to use blue painters tape, and mask off where the black part of the roof ends.
(About where the yellow line is, in reference to the car, In the picture below)*Note. While doing this the roof will be separate, and you will only be working on the roof, I just needed to give a reference point as an example.
+ After Masking of any additional areas that need to be protected, start applying the paste. It is to your personal preference on how thick you make it. At the thickness I made, it took two days to dry, and I live in a very dry and hot climate. This is a labor intensive process, and takes time to apply the thickness you want. After applying, I let it sit for about thirty minutes. Then I took a smooth, non-textured tissue, and placed it over the still wet snow. I patted the tissue, so that the snow surface would become smooth, and achieve the texture I desired.
***I suggest playing around with it on a plastic soda bottle, and experiment with it to get the desired look. Let it dry with gravity pulling the paste down on the curve of the bottle, to see how it might slide down the sides a little bit.
After about an hour of drying, you will want to remove the painters tape. After doing so, you will need to carefully touch up the rough sides on the places where the tape was removed.
Let this dry for about 3 days before replacing them onto the coaches.
Then you’re finished!
And after all of this, your cars should turn out something like this:
Here are some other pictures… Hope it turns out well for all of you!
After
Before
