Hi all.
I'd like to share my current small layout I am building to display at local train shows in the coming years. Its been on-going, but with major gaps interspersed, for over three years now. Some of you will have seen this before. I'll briefly get you up to speed, then get back to building!
Well, after our Feb 2011 earthquake I felt the need to build some bench work (a bit of therapy! I later found out I was by no means the only modeller who did this.) After seeing a rehashed version of John Allen's original layout in an edition of MRR, I decided to try my own hand at something similar. I particularly liked the way a view divider was placed long ways splitting the layout into two uneven sections. I further complicated things by reducing the layout down to a size that would fit under a single bed (all be it a high one). The final dimensions were 6' by 3' 2". I am using peco setrack and points with the smallest radius being 14 and 5/8".
The gradient is 4%, apart from the spur leading to the highest point on the layout (where the mine will be), which is 5%. I like to confine myself in as small and difficult space as I can. I guess I like the challenge of creating something believable in as smaller space as possible. I think its also a neat idea to make an HO layout that could slide under a single bed (it is housed in our garage on the top part of a bunk). I guess I see this project as the sort of thing a father and son could build together without the need for any extra space. The central backwoods town part of the layout has my version of a combination of two shunting puzzles that I found online - timesaver and Inglenook. The original combined plan was done by Jack Trollope. I'm trying to do this layout on a budget, and all the timber was scrap or leftover from work. This layout will also give me an opportunity to practice techniques on first before trying them on 'Tellynott' (my home layout).
Image 1 - the plan.
Image 2 - the bench-work taking shape.
Image 3 - the backwoods town side of the layout - mocked up with some structures.
Image 4 - the mine side of the layout and a view of the layout on the bunks.
Image 5 - a close up of the mine side at the left end opposite the mine. One of my goals is to investigate just how smaller width of isle space I can use to make a believable mountain scene.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
It's great to see a new build thread! I'm looking forward to following along.
Thanks John.
I was busy editing while you posted so there is more in my initial post now.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi again.
Here is a before and after shot of the front left corner of the backwoods town side.
Image 1 - benchwork.
Image 2 - The stone viaduct in place and painted.
Image 3 - The two sides of the viaduct being glued together.
The Viaduct was a major project. I rolled out air dry das, imprinted it with texture using a rock, let dry for a couple of days, then marked and cut out individual stones. These were slowly glued in place using tweezers over a plastic former made from sheet styrene and downpipe brackets and then 'spliced' together over the timber framework. There was a LOT of fitting and tweaking involved. Mortar joints were added using water putty and the joints re scribed. Once in place it was painted using woodland scenic colours, and dusted with white chalk. The inner was done using a flexible soft styrene brick product. The city viaduct to the left was done by kit-bashing a Micro Engineering viaduct.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Wow...what an ambitious small project. Great description of the viaduct. I've always loved that plan. Thanks for documenting - I love a layout "documentary" (mine seems to have stalled for now) :)
John
Looks great Mark.....glad to see you posting over here, I'll be watching.
Great looking stone viaduct. I can't say I have ever seen one like it before.
8)
Mark,
Fantastic layout and eye appeal! I'll be watching with the others.
Tom ;D
Hi guys.
Thanks for the input Gregory, ak-milw and Tom, and thanks for following along everyone else.
Well - here's a bit more of the story...
So ... the larger side of the layout will be a tiny backwoods mountain town - a few tiny shops and industries, and winding steep dirt roads. After rereading the MRR issues featuring Malcolm Furlow's San Juan layout, I went down to my local hobby shop and bought a few Woodlands Scenics white metal structures, and went through my stash of DPM models to see which ones could be cut down to suit the look I wanted. I also have a couple of suitable Campbell kits, and will scratch build a couple. I guess for me, the most important part of what I do is the composition. That's what brings the scene to life. But I have to remember that I work slowly. If I rush things I just end up with a mess and a waste of energy. Another thing that happened recently was a friend visiting with a three year old boy. I could see how well the framing of scenes was working. Jack just loved the mine side of the layout, where the train popped into view on a lower bridge and then disappeared into a tunnel before popping into view on the upper bridge a few seconds later. I had my recently finished wooden scratch built structure in position in the front left corner of the layout. Although no damage occurred, there were a few dodgy moments! I have decided to try to put all finer built structures within the loops of track, so they will be more likely to be out of harms way, and will replace this structure with a small metal crane and wharf. I really want to let the public get up and personal with this layout, and Jacks reaction was exactly what I was hopping for.
Here are some pics. I've tried to keep the same views into the scene, but have used the mountain scenery to direct the eye. Its all just polystyrene and taped together structures and mock-ups at this stage.
Image 1 - is a view showing the shape of the facia at the left end. The valley directs the eye down the curving dirt road and into the backwoods town scene. I have decided to keep the other end blocked off, and will paint a waterfall and distant mountains behind. This is to help stop viewers looking at each other and ruining the illusion.
Image 2 - is the same view in closer. You get more of the feeling here of how the shape of the facia around the road in the valley should direct the eye into the scene.
Image 3 - shows the layout from the front. White medium density polystyrene is placed to show the mountains and I have mocked up the town with some of the Woodland Scenics, DPM and Campbell kits.
Image 4 - is a closer view. I'm trying to follow Malcolm's advise, and group the structures together somewhat. You can see the viaduct here carved out of poly to give me a feel for what it will look like. I left the timber supports in place and worked around them.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Part 1 - A couple more pics to start.
Image 1 - Here is the right end of the layout. I've tried to frame a view through to the tunnels with the contour of the land. The mountain at the front to the right also disguises a support for the ceiling.
Image 2 - And here is my first kit-bash for this project. I tried to look for kits that could be reduced in size without too many problems. DPM's Seymour block was a good candidate, and gave the added advantage of a nice angled structure to fit on a corner site. I used the street front side and corner walls and the back wall, so still have the long front and side wall left.
Image 3 - Looks like a 'first national miners bank' or something of the sort.
Image 4 - And a view from the other end. The back is detachable at this stage for glazing and the like.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi again.
Part 2.
I bought a couple of Campbell kits off ebay, each containing two small structures, and these seem to fit right in. I have several Woodlands Scenics white metal kits as well. The two storied Pharmacy I have split in half (I'm using the back as a front) to get two structures. I also am using one wall from my recent 'boneyard casting' purchase from Randy (Downtown Deco), and managed to swap some of his larger walls for the RDA stone and brick factory shown in the second pic. In front of this, and next to the river, will sit the Campbell Grist mill, complete with its water wheel and aerial water race. There is also one small 2-storied DPM structure and a kit-bash of a 'Gruesome Casket' kit. This kit-bash will sport a two story balcony, and will be a hotel. There is also one casting from 'Rusty Rails'. The feed track for the yard will also have a small industry at its end and this will be two storied with a square hip roof. The track at the left front of the layout will have a small wharf and crane. I'm pretty happy with the placement of things at present. There may be one or two very small structures added, and perhaps one or two swaps. Sounds like a lot of fun. Mainly fairly budget starter kits with a few small craftsman type kits. One of the aims is to show that model railroading is within the grasp of many who don't believe it to be so, and I hope this selection will help to show this. The layout feels so much more gelled together now.
My wife bought me a copy of Jonathan White's 'Majestic Wilderness' for my birthday. It features large colour prints of 52 paintings he did over several years of Fiordland's west coast sounds - some of the most rugged and beautiful scenery to be found anywhere in the world. The area features the type of terrain I hope to convey on both this layout, and the future extension of my Tellynott layout - Shadowlands. This book should prove not only to be inspiration, but I also hope to be able to use the paintings to help me paint my own backdrops.
Image 1 - View through one of the cuttings
Image 2 - View of the grist mill and RDA industry
Image 3 - Front on view showing the small steep road sharply curving its way up the hill from the wharf to the main road
Image 4 - view under the upper track rail bridge
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Part 3.
I spent a great weekend away in Timaru (two hours drive south) at a modelling meet (basically, a group of friends modelling together on individual projects or in small groups). It was a lot of fun and I spent my time making trees.
Here's a few pics of my efforts. It gives an idea of the look I'm hoping to achieve. It will use a lot of trees!
Images 1-3 - trees mocked up in the front right area of the layout - backwoods town side..
Well, the jigsaw is slowly coming together. I've been working on the tunnel areas on the mine side of the layout. As there is so much hidden track, I decided I needed some access to the tunnels for cleaning and other emergencies. With so much track crammed into such a small area (6' by 3' 4" in HO scale) the clearances are very tight - both horizontally and vertically, and so what might normally be a fairly easy job is quite complex! So here is a series of photos showing the layers - over two posts.
Image 4 - Here is a view back towards where the mine will be, looking into the tunnel entrances. You can see my home made tunnel sizer on the tracks. There are notches in the bottom so it runs along the track.
Image 5 - Here is a view from the top with the plywood base for the mine removed.
Image 6 - Here the removable section is sliding out.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, I've loved following along on this awesome and artistic project, and I'm really glad that
you're taking the time and effort to post it here! ;D ;D ;D
I know that takes time away from modeling! :( :(
But, this forum seems to have become the 'the ol'e family gatherin' spot!'.
And, you're part of the family!!! 8) 8) 8) 8)
Hi guys.
Thanks David! I was a bit late to the party! I guess that comes from living on the other side of the world and not being up with the goss. But when I found this site a saw so many familiar cyber friends I just had to start this thread here! I hope to meet many of you in person in the coming years, and have a trip to the States tentatively planned. I hope to attend a convention, visit the F&SM, see some sights, and put a few faces to names.
Part 4.
Image 1 - And here is a view with it removed.
Image 2 - Here is a view from the side showing the access acquired.
Image 3 - And again from the top, this time with another piece removed.
Image 4 - The removed piece (pretty complex!)
At the other end of the layout where the tunnels go under/ through the backdrop, I played around with a drawer, but couldn't get it to work. The space was just too restrictive and it meant the sacrifice of the shape of the facia on the mine side of the layout (I find the shape aesthetically pleasing and nicely balanced). On the other hand I really wanted access to those hidden tracks. After much head scratching I came up with the idea of building a box over the tunnels with an access hatch underneath the layout. As the tracks curve into the tunnel, viewing into the tunnel to the point of being able to see the void will be impossible. Problem solved!
Image 5 - a view of the box, backwoods town side right end.
Image 6 - a view from underneath the layout. I had to re-route some wiring.
Well - that's it for catching up this weekend!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
This is really a great thread. I'm glad you started it here. I've pretty much moved all my threads here. I'm looking forward to you bringing the layout together. Great job on all of it.
If you live on the other side of the world, that means we live on the other side of the world as well. 8) 8) 8) 8)
Thanks for sharing with us!
Tom ;D
Mark
Love the layout - and I'm also very glad you moved your thread here. I will be watching your progress. I hope we get a chance to meet when you visit.
Thanks Tom and John - very much appreciated!
I should get a chance to get further up to date with the posting next weekend.
Cheers, Mark.
Very cool
Thanx
Bob
A lot of very awesome work. love this thread
Hi guys.
Thanks for your nice comments clevermod and Bob!
(A bit more catch up posting.)
At this stage there are lots of little (although quite time consuming) jobs that need to be done in some sort of coherent order. As well as the tunnels there are 9 bridges to be built and installed, feeder wires to the track soldered in place, the interior of the tunnels to be painted black and the tunnel track to be ballasted. The point motors also need to be checked into the track bed. I'm itching to roll my sleeves up and get into some scenery, but these other jobs just have to get done first. Still - motivation is high and progress is steady. I certainly never suffer from boredom or lack of things to do!
(a bit later)
The point motors have all been fitted, and the feeder wires are all done. Time has been scarce for modelling, but I have finished the stonework on the viaduct and done a slight kit-bash on a Railway Design Associates kit. I held a modelling weekend here just this last weekend, and made a bit more progress. I think all had a fun and productive time.
Image 1-3 - Here is the viaduct. I cut slithers of pink foam, ran my thumb nail across it vertically, horizontally and diagonally both ways, and then lightly tapped it with a wire brush. The slithers were then cut into strips, and then into stone size pieces. These were glued to the white poly former using a tooth pick to install.
Image 4-5 - And here is the RDA kit. I mitred the corners on the brick structure as there were no brick details on the edges. Of course this meant the roof wouldn't fit (and there was the shape of the peaked walkover roof moulded into the brick structure roof), so I cut a new one from the third structure (which I wont be using). The walkover has been moved to suit (and the peaked roof swapped for a flat one), and so I had to cut, splice, file, fill etc. to make things work. The stone structure has also been lifted by about 1/4 inch to give track clearances without the walkover roof being above the stone structure roof (the reason for the flat roof) and causing unnecessary headaches! There will be several platforms.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
(Part 2)
Another structure I have been working on for my 'Fault Lines' layout is a scratch-built freight house based on Sierra West's Scotia Supply. I own the kit and intend to build and place it on the Shadowlands extension of my home layout. I felt like doing some stone carving one day, and so tried my hand at a mirror image of the building with the intention of putting it on my Fault lines. Here it is as it now looks. The bottom story is glued to the base. The base is spackle over a plywood base with building platforms built to the correct height with sheet styrene and MDF. The second story is just sitting in position as is the matt board roof.
Image 1 - Here is an overall pic. There will be a gable roofed one story structure to the left of the two story structure, and maybe a second story porch as with the original.
Image 2 - And here is my stone carving. Once the plaster is dried I file it square and true, draw the stonework on with a fine clutch pencil, and then scribe in the lines with a dental pick. I slowly work away in this fashion, whittling down individual stones to get variations in height, and carving in texture when I am happy.
Image 3 - fast forward a bit and here it is at present. I re made the roof former and have some of the Campbells corrugated iron attached. I also have part of the second story porch made.
I've been plodding away at my Fault Lines layout making steady progress. I have been super elevating the track as I fix it down, carving tunnels, adding additional fixing for the facia and control box, and making sure there is access to the hidden trackwork. As I get to the bridges I'm trying to get them done, but several of them will take considerable time to build. I've been working lately on the city viaduct type one which will cross the passing siding track below. A while back I bought a Micro Engineering viaduct off trade me (NZ's version of ebay) for about half price. I liked the look of the viaduct, but wanted to see how it would work for bashing and just use it as a box of bits.
Image 4 - Here is the box showing the viaduct.
Image 5 - Here are three intermediate span girders modified to suit the curved track. The instructions of the kit say only the centre girder assembly needs to be modified to make a curved bridge, but my radius is too sharp, and I needed to modify all three to make things work.
Image 6 - And here is one of the two central supports almost finished. They will be placed off centre (but still at 90 degrees to the bridge) as required to straddle the tracks below.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well - holidays are here - officially day three - and finally I have got back to this thread! I must admit, planning a five week holiday to the USA has taken some considerable time! But we are nearly finalised on all our plans. I hope to meet many of you at the Expo in Scranton in March!
I will try to get back to filling in the gaps in this thread over the next two and a half weeks, but thought I would leap ahead to what I am working on at present. I've tried various methods for my rockwork, and have settled on casting hydrocal rock castings, cutting them up, jig-sawing them back together, and filling in the gaps with carving plaster and sculptamould. (I love that Sculptamould!) The secret drawer layer has had all the track laid, wired, painted and ballasted, and all the tunnels in this area have been carved out of polystyrene and the interiors coated in sculptamould and painted a Smokey grey. The plywood base for the mine area has been screwed and glued permanently in position. I've been working on the mine side of the layout and last night and today I formed up the river George. I have borrowed some Bragdon rock moulds off a friend, and plan on getting some more. I made up some bridge abutments using my air dry Das stone method, although the through truss bridge is still removable. I still need to complete the wooden viaduct which is the front bridge of the three. I started by inspecting the rock castings to find the best contender for a waterfall. I found a wonderful casting where I could clearly see the path the water would take in two to three falls to the river below. The fall is approximately 65-70 scale feet high - so quite significant. I used polystyrene and expanding foam to fill in behind the castings, and glued and foamed them in place. There was a lot of time spent moving the various casting pieces around until I was happy.
The first photo shows the view from below. It will look much better with the wooden viaduct in place.
The second photo shows the George with the highest bridge removed.
The third photo shows it with the highest bridge back in place.
I have already run trains for three children over the holiday period, and they all love to watch them transverse a bridge then disappear into a tunnel before arriving a short time later on a different bridge.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I moved back to the town side of the layout today in order to attempt to get one of my buildings finished before the year is up. I have enough half done projects hanging around! The weather is hot here in Christchurch, so I cleaned off the downstairs studio desk, and moved this project (Campbell's Grist Mill) down there into the cool.
This first picture shows the handrails added. As I had added an extra step to lessen the first riser and to level the treads, I had to custom fit my railings. The instructions ask you to trim the treads to fit the posts once assembled. This was extremely difficult to do without damaging the assembly, and definitely something I would have thought of and done at an earlier stage if scratch-building. I did manage to not break things!
This picture shows the Campbell shingles. Its the first time I've tried these. I went to use a wet brush to apply (as the instructions said) but found that after several decades the 'sticky' was no more. For the briefest of moments I thought about glue, and then reached for my trusty double sided tape. Application was easy and quick.
I found a couple of DVD's on painting shingles and used Troels Kirk's method. Again - easy and quick and I'm pleased with the results.
The only thing I would change for next time is the ridge capping. I used a piece of brown paper bag, but although I folded it in half before application to the ridge, it kept its memory and flattened out slightly again, lifting the top row of shingles on each side a bit as well. I think I will try a timber V-cap next time (as I noted Carl B. used in his Braden Cove build - supplemented with prototype photos - thanks Carl!)
Next up are the rafter tails and fly rafters.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
The Grist Mill looks great Mark.....I'm enjoying the progress you're making.
I'll miss you at the Expo, can't make it this year, but Tom and Bob will be there, hope y'all get to meet.
Mark...
Great building.
Coupla things................
Regarding Campbell shingles............ I don't even try and make their glue work. I put a thin pull of yellow glue on the card stock, a few rows at a time, I think roofers call each row a course, sooooo, a few courses wide and then put down the strips a few at a time.
Often when the shingles come off of the spool they want to pull into a curve. That is because the shingles are not relieved at the cut during production. I take a small screwdriver or pick and pop up one edge of about every third shingle and that allows the strip to come back straight. I press the raised shingle back down and the glue seems to grab it.
For color I dry brush assorted acrylics on the roof to create a variation.
Below is a photo that shows only a part of the roof of one of Jimmy's structures. I used the acrylic dry brush stuff on this one.
see ya
Bob
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/81-291214121046.jpeg) (http://modelersforum.com/gallery/81-291214121046.jpeg)
Hi guys.
Thanks for you comments Gregory and Bob.
Gregory - I am really looking forward to the Expo, and hope to meet many of my 'on line' friends there! I'll keep an eye out for Bob and Tom.
Bob - thanks for your tips. I'll consider your glue technique, but the double sided tape was so easy. I just used my thumb nail to press the strips of shingles on every half inch or so, and got the curve out like that. I then pressed each strip on firmly using the edge of a metal rule.
Your painting technique sounds pretty much the same as Troels Kirks method (which I used). Troels technique is to paint the shingle roof a dark brownish black, and when dry do a serious of dry brushes - tans, light browns, paynes grey and white mixes, and a little black soot to reverse if needed. Finally add bird droppings and enhance the edges with flesh or light tans.
Photo one shows the fly rafters and rafter tails added. I need to touch up the ends of these along with the decking and railings.
Photo two shows the water wheel coming together. This was quite fiddly. It should get a coat of paint today.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark, some really good stuff here. The scenery will be spectacular after coloration, etc. And the grist mill looks great- I remember building this one about forty years ago, and the water wheel was fussy. The shingles on the mill and their weathering is spot on, for my tastes. And there is nothing better than using the transfer adhesive for Campbells shingles or any kind of roofing material. It's quicker, easier, completely non-warping, and neater in my opinion. Looking forward to seeing you in Scranton (Peabody?) in a few months. Happy New Year!
Thanks Mike - getting quite excited!
Peabody on the 18th April.
Happy new year to you (and to all on the Modelers forum!!!)
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A little progress over the last couple of weeks.
Photo 1 & 2 - Campbell Barber shop
Photo 3 - Campbell cigar store
Photo 4 & 5 - Campbell drug store
Photo 6 - view down on the Campbell grist mill
Seems I've gone Campbell mad!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Nice work on the structures- you are flying along on this railroad. You'll be able to finish it in time to bring it to the Expo!
The structures look great Mark , thanx for sharing.
Hi,
looking nice.Keep it going.
Cheers,Chris
How did I miss this thread?!
Cool stuff here.
Looking forward to more.
Jaime
Hi guys.
Thanks for checking in and thanks for your comments Mike, Janbouli, Chris and Jamie - they are always appreciated!
Its been a while and we have safely returned from our epic 5-week adventure to the USA. We both had a fantastic time and fell in love with the desert. Utah was amazing! My highlight was our guided tour through the fiery furnace in Arches National park, while Michelle's was our Navajo guided tour through Mystery Valley in Monument Valley. We drove for 12 days through Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nevada, but spent most of that time in Southern Utah. 3 days in Las Vegas was one day too many and 4 days in New York was just right. The architecture was incredible - from the North End in Boston, to Stonington in Maine to the Navajo Nation - it was all very different from what we have in NZ. We struggled with the crowds (even though it was off season) but bare in mind that the South Island of NZ is about half the size of Colorado and home to only 1.1 million people. I remember walking near Time Square and noting that the footpaths were 12 wide with pedestrians, and being pleased that we were leaving that night! Don't get me wrong - we had a wonderful time and saw so much - I think we just missed the quiet. The Expo was great and it was lovely to meet up with many of my modelling cyber friends, and to see some of your work in the flesh. My other great highlight was to meet George Sellios (and his lovely wife, Cathy) and spend several hours soaking in the F&SM. Both George and Cathy were great hosts, and it is truly one off the bucket list for me! I'll try and put up a photo or two of our trip in upcoming posts.
So now it is time to get back to work on Fault Lines!
Photo 1 - Bryce canyon
Photo 2 - my new bridge being test fit on Fault lines
Photo 3 - and again
Photo 4 - George Sellios and me
Photo 5 - Michelle and me - Grand Canyon
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
It was really nice meeting you and Michelle at the EXPO. I can't believe how much of our country you saw in 5 weeks. We all love New York but most of us love the mountains a little more. I'm looking forward to the pictures and watching the continued progress on your layout.
Mark....
Glad you had time for our southwest. Amazing place.
See ya
Bob
Mark, It was great to be able to meet and talk with you at the expo. I can't wait to see you get started on some of the stuff you got at the expo.
Quote from: coors2u on May 23, 2015, 04:45:09 PM
Mark, It was great to be able to meet and talk with you at the expo. I can't wait to see you get started on some of the stuff you got at the expo.
Mark,
I also enjoyed meeting you at this years Expo. Sorry, I didn't get a chance to meet Michelle. The bridges on the layout look fantastic.
Tom ;D
Hi guys.
Thanks John, Bob, Dustin and Tom. You know - its really nice to type names in and see faces!
John - you should be getting some pictures of my visit with George soon.
Bob - it sure was great to see the Southwest - and we saw a lot of on our 12 day drive!
Dustin - those kits will have to wait as they are all for Tellynott and I'm working on Fault Lines at the moment. I'm trying to get as much done as I can before our annual train show in October.
Tom - Thanks. 9 bridges (and one road bridge). Nearly done.
With the new bridge temporarily in position I could see the fascia need some reshaping. I cut a little extra off on the right hand side and added a little extra in on the left hand side. Glue, clamps and a couple of small offcuts on the inside. When dry I filled where needed and sanded back. Pretty easy and quick, and by holding the new piece up against the fascia, marking with a pencil and then cutting with a jigsaw, you can get a pretty neat seam.
Well I then felt the need to see something finished and so I bought myself some matt black paint, counter sunk all the screws, and sanded and painted up one side of the layout. I had decided some time ago that although I have seen fascia's painted several different colours that I like - I still think matt black is the sharpest, and shows off the layout best. I can only get an angled shot because of where the layout is positioned in the garage at present.
I put a few trees around to get an idea of how things will look and immediately decided I needed a lot more! and many smaller trees. I got out my tree making supplies and have made up another 50 trunks. I'll get some tree making done in the next few weeks while carrying on with other jobs. I also put in an order with Walthers for some more flock. Along with this I ordered a CMX track cleaning car. I've been meaning to get one for ages, but held off in case I found one while in the USA.
Photo 1 - matt black fascia.
Photo 2 - the tree making starts.
Photo 3 - Jerome, Arizona. Day 1 of our drive.
Photo 4 - Monument Valley, Navajo Nation, Utah.
Photo 5 Monument Valley - where Tom Hanks utters the words 'I'm pretty tired now. I think I'm going to go home." in Forest Gump.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
I spent a few hours today jigsawing together rock castings. I'm trying to create a nice S-shaped river leading the eye into the very narrow scene and under the bridges. A tier of waterfalls will drop down from the cliff to the right into a deep pool from which the river will run through rapids to the layout front.
Photo 1 - without the timber trestle.
Photo 2 and 3 - with the trestle.
More soon, cheers, mark.
Good looking trestle & scene Mark. 8)
Rock work looks great. It'll be a great looking scene.
Jeff
Mark
The rock work looks great - this is going to be a very nice scene - trains and mountains just look great together.
Hi guys.
Thanks John, Jeff and Gregory! Always great to get your comments and feedback.
Here are a few pictures of the left side of the short tunnel on the mountain side of the layout. This short tunnel splits the mountain side of the layout into two scenes. The scene to the left of the short tunnel is a wedge - 17 inches long, 4 inches wide at the left end and 11 inches wide at the right end (at the centre of the short tunnel) and 17 inches high. Its really pushing the boundaries to see how big of a scene can be fitted into how small of a space. The shaped fascia helps keep it isolated from the other area of the mountain side of the layout. Just still plaster castings and sculptamold - and some bare polystyrene - but coming together.
Photos 1-4 show different views of this area.
Photo 5 shows the opposite side of the short tunnel where I am jig-sawing the last castings together
Photo 6 shows the shaped fascia isolating the area.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Nice layout Mark!
Hi guys.
Thanks Long horn caddy!
Well, things have been progressing on Fault lines.
* All of the bridges are built and a couple just need to be installed (waiting on me to do the scenery first).
* The bunks have now been transformed into a wheeled layout display table. I cut the legs shorter and inserted threaded bungs up them into which the wheels were attached with threaded bolts. I put two with breaks on diagonally opposite corners. I cut about four inches out of the main bunk side supports and pot riveted pieces inside to re connect them together. this meant the layout fitted snugly between the ends. (I added L-girder's to the sides of the layout which fit snugly over the bunk side supports). I cut the upper part off one end of the bunks so my trap access drawer would open, but left the other on for a pushing point. I inserted two bungs in the holes. I made cross braces to sturdy up the table. I did all this with my father at his place so it was nice to catch up as well.
* The end with the trap drawer was permanently attached and the access holes carefully cut out. I made up a drawer front to fit over all three access holes and carefully wedged the cut-outs back in position. These were glued to the removable sections of the tunnel (bottom two access holes) and then the drawer front was glued to these three cut-outs. When dry I attached two handles. The drawer front also gets screwed into position.
* I carried on with the rock castings, tunnel inners and tunnel mouths, and am waiting on some more Bragdon moulds to arrive.
* I have almost finished my RDA iron works kitbash.
* I have completed 21 more trees.
I have five weeks until the show so it is a matter of prioritising and getting done the most important things first.
I'm hoping to get some rock washes on, backdrop painting done, wiring completed, trees and greenery done, and the whole layout fascia painted black for a crisp display. There are many more things on this list.
More soon,
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Great layout - you have some real Engineering behind the scenes too. I'm watching your progress with great interest.
Hi guys.
Thanks John - much appreciated. Half the battle for me is just rolling up my sleeves and getting into it! I have to keep reminding myself that part of the reason behind this small layout is to find out what works for me and that mistakes are OK and a learning experience. I'm taking good notes when I'm happy with an outcome.
Well I have painted up the lid - matt black around the edges and grey on the top. The layout looks nice and sharp now.
I also started staining rocks. Another bit of a first for me (apart from a very small area on Tellynott). I used the leopard spot technique. I experimented on a spare casting and ended up using white, stone grey and raw umber as my three secondary colours and slate grey as the overall wash. I also put in some small highlights in yellow ochre and burnt umber. I guess I kind of tried to randomly split the rock area into fifths - white, stone grey, raw umber, bare plaster and the last fifth split between the burnt umber and yellow ochre. I found by using the white that when putting the wash over that area stayed a lighter grey. When experimenting I tried an ink wash first and found it had too much blue in the black ink, and then a black wash, but found that made things too dark. The slate grey seemed best, although I think I need some more shadowing. I'll experiment with spraying on very diluted photo-flow and adding more slate grey to see how it works its way into the cracks - maybe some black as well. I cant really tilt the rock areas to get them closer to flat now! I worked with prototype photos as a reference. There will be A LOT of moss over much of this eventually.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Great job on the stonework Mark. 8)
I'd not heard of the "leopard spot" technique before. Nice looking rocks, Mark.
Jeff
Mark,
Great coloring on the rocks. By the way, the last rock formation picture sure looks a little erotic!
Just saying. 8) 8) 8)
Tom ;D
Mark, the rocks look great.
Hi guys.
Thanks for the comments Gregory, Jeff, Tom and Dustin!
Gee Tom! Actually there is a much worse one than that! Still, I have now spent some time in Arches National Park and Bryce canyon so know these shapes are quite common.
As Mario finished his birthday I started mine, (please don't start a birthday thread! it happens every year! - if I could only find a porthole to the US I could have it again!) and would you believe that on my return home from the shops I found my new Bragdon castings on the doorstep! A couple of those are BIG! So I have been whisking away with a bowl and a spatula and trying some of them out. Unfortunately the pictures on their website are much to be desired and before ordering I spent some time squinting at the computer screen trying to decide what would suit my needs. Having the luxury of borrowing a friends first was very advantageous, as I could see what kind of rock work looked right. There is also the added problem of some of the smaller castings being made up of parts of the bigger ones. My friend had brought eight rock molds and one of the smaller ones was mostly made up from part of one of the bigger ones. So again, I looked very carefully in order not to double up so to speak.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Quote from: ACL1504 on September 01, 2015, 09:03:56 AM
Mark,
Great coloring on the rocks. By the way, the last rock formation picture sure looks a little erotic!
Just saying. 8) 8) 8)
Tom ;D
Erotic rocks.....???. :D :D :D
Hi Guys.
Yep Gregory - very satisfying.
Well, colour makes a world of difference. The green is just the base colour over which everything else will go, but it still makes a big difference to not just be looking at white. Pictures are without the bridges in place. I have also been watching you-tube clips on painting landscapes, and will be practicing over the next few days.
The last photo shows three of my new Bragdon molds. A couple of the items on the table give an indication of their size. I'm pretty happy with my selection.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Well - I decided that in order to move forward I really needed to know where all my trees were going to go. So today I 'planted' more than 30 trees. The trees and the holes for the pins will all be numbered so that they can be removed and replanted as I progress. I still have a couple more to make to specially fit certain obstacles - one arching over the river. This should help with getting a direction when adding undergrowth and painting a backdrop.
More soon, cheers, Mark.
The rockwork and trees look great, Mark. Interesting work sequence as most people would add the trees last, but your use of them for planning the backdrop and undergrowth makes perfect sense.
Jeff
Looks great Mark! I understand planting and replanting the trees - placement is very important to get the look you want. Size and shape make a huge difference in creating depth to the scene.
Hi guys.
Thanks Jeff and John - much appreciated. Yep - I can't just plant trees - I have to examine them from every angle! You have no idea how many times I moved some of those!
Well - the model show is in the first weekend of October. That gives me only two more weekends to work on things (as its nearly 5pm on Sunday afternoon here in little old Chch, NZ). So bearing that in mind, and after studying some pictures of South Westland bush and realising just how much work was involved in trying to replicate that scenery (entire cliffs of ferns, moss etc) I decided I was better off spending some time getting the town side of the layout a bit further on. So this weekend I have been playing with my new rock molds and an expanding foam gun. Lots of messy, sticky fun!
One technique I devised that some of you might be interested in trying, was to make up large triangles of plaster in some of my flatter molds, and then folding the mold over on itself. You have to work fast, but I achieved some pretty reasonable 3-D rocks.
I had trouble with the foam gun (they are very temperamental things!) First I couldn't get it to go, and then I couldn't get it to stop! I have little hoodoos all over the garage floor! Its a pity because for modelling I find it a brilliant tool - I just wish it would work more reliably.
So here are some pictures.
Photo 1 - shows the tunnel entrances on the mountain side of the layout, stained and weathered with chalk.
Photo 2 - shows the rock castings propped with all sorts of things as the foam goes off. I find expanding foam is the best thing to stick the rock molds to the polystyrene.
Photo 3 - view of the end of the layout.
Photo 4 - A close up of some of the folded 3-D rocks. These rocks between the two tracks are visible from both sides, but also needed to be quite thin to give clearance for the trains.
Photo 5 - shows an overall view of the front of the layout. I spent a lot of time trying to get the shape of the contour of the land just right. That pointy rock near the centre of the view was a great triumph. I placed that one there, stepped back, and said 'that's it!'.
Over that coming week in that little time I will get in the evenings I hope to get plaster between all the rock castings and sculptamold on all the rest. Then I should be able to get stain on all the rocks and paint on all the sculptamold next weekend. Fingers crossed!
More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark
Your fold over technique looks like it work very well. When I did my 3D rock work I used full molds or glue two rocks that I poured flat, together. That is going to be a great scene.
Hi guys.
Thanks John. Yep - I tried the gluing together of two castings to get a 3-D rock, but like this method MUCH better. Give it a try. Quick, easy and no seams.
Well - I have been busy pushing ahead with any time I can find. I must say these deadlines make you get things done. I found myself busily plastering and sculpting and staining and painting and asking myself "why don't I work like this all the time? Imagine how much I would get done!"
So... the sculptamolding has all been done and some of the plastering between the rock castings where needed. I tried using hydrocal, and although the working time is very short, I like this the best so far. I bought myself a little paint applier (can't remember what they are called) to go with my other one. The new one is like a small brick layers pointer. I use my first one like a bricklayers hawk to hold the plaster and the new one to scoop it off the hawk and apply it to the crevasses between castings. The hydrocal needs to be starting to go off to do this successfully.
I sculptamolded the roads in place, and when painted brown they will act as leading lines as intended. I really have decided that the adding of colour makes a huge difference.
I have finished off another Campbells kit, Slapped together a Magnuson (Walthers) Dons shoe shop, assembled a pre loved (hated???) Woodland Scenics Rockies tavern, and filed (and sworn at) two more (new) Woodland Scenics white metal kits (I really thought the fit on these would have been better!!!)
And finally I have started staining rocks and painting sculptamold. I decided the vertical rocks along the backdrop wouldn't look right painted green between the rock castings and the backdrop where I had applied sculptamold. In a perfect world I would rip them out, recast them with my new folded mold technique, and carefully fit them when cured. But time is of the essence, so I opted to paint the sculptamold in full strength Woodland scenic paint colours (the same as my stains). They turned out not too bad.
Only 13 more days to go!
And so - some pictures of progress.
More soon, cheers, mark.
Looks great. Fun project! I love the shingled building.
John
Fantastic looking layout! Very well done Mark. I've certainly enjoyed the progress of the build.
Tom ;D
Thanks John and Tom!
John - yes - Campbell make some real cuties, and many of these fit right into a small layout like this. I especially like the use of a stair stringer as decoration on the parapet wall - very clever.
Tom - I've really enjoyed building this one - especially as it has progressed. I think there is a lot to be said about spending time building a small layout and experimenting with different techniques without worrying too much if something is a disaster. And then when you use similar techniques on a larger layout your that much further on with your skill set.
Right - off to do the groceries and then its back into the garage to get plastered!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Lots of progress on Fault lines. Its day two of the show today (just typing this over breakfast, Sunday morning) and, cross fingers, so far everything has been going well. Lots of interest. The ladies seem to be interested in the artistic side of things and gentlemen seem to be interested in the construction. I've caught several 70+ gents leaping from one side to the other and pointing to the little shay as it roars out of a tunnel with a huge grin on their faces - and I know I'm taking them back to being 10 or 11 years old again. Lovely to watch! The kids also love guessing which bridge the train is going to pop out on next. At times I've counted ten or more people watching in each side. The most common comment is about the presentation and lighting - its certainly worth spending the time on. Having a ball - but getting rather tired - and losing my voice from all the talking!
I'll update with some photos over the coming week.
Cheers, Mark.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi again.
Well - all over. Lots of fun and very little damage. Lots of good feedback. and I managed to get in the top few for popular vote - which I was pretty chuffed with considering how far from finished it is. The real highlight though was watching just how many faces I put smiles on - both young and old, male and female!
My boss got a new van last week and was kind enough to not fit it out with drawers, shelving and so forth so that my layout would fit. Perfect! It even had stropping points on the floor which I used to stop the layout bouncing on our earthquake damaged roads. I transported most of the trees and structures in boxes and then set them up in the hall. Here are a few pictures.
I will see how I feel over the next few weeks - but I have been thinking I might take a break from Fault Lines and work on my 'Innes Aerated water manufacture' diorama (part of my Tellynott layout) to take up and enter in the competition at our biannual NZ conference.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, its a beautiful layout.
Mark, just the top notch work all [/size]who follow your modelling have come to expect. No pressure for the next one then..... ;D
Not sure what happened there it should say:Mark, just the top notch work all who follow your modelling have come to expect. No pressure for the next one then..... ;D
Glad to hear the show went well. Great looking layout.
Jeff
Outstanding job on the scene Mark. Great work! 8) 8) 8)
Awesome work Mark.
Mark
Great work! And you made your deadline for the show! Very well done.
Thanks very much for your comments Martin, Barry, Gregory, Jeff, Dustin and John - they are very much appreciated!
I forgot to mention how well the layout worked. I had only managed to get everything wired up last weekend so the show was in many ways a test run. I ran my Roundhouse shay all day on Saturday. At about 11 am a wire came off so I ran it over to the soldering display table and it came back with a tiny extension wire attached five minutes later. The chap who fixed it also won the public vote for his layout. From then on it never missed a beat. On day two I ran my 2-6-0 IHC Camelback which also ran very well (which was good as I had to do a bit of 'extra' rock carving to give clearances on the main line!). I left the shay on the mine line and every so often (when there were lots of kids watching) I would run it out of the tunnel and over the high bridge to the mine. That seemed to get a lot of ooos and arrrs. I'm actually rather pleased with my control panel so far. Electronics scares me, and this is the first time I have tackled a control panel myself. Still a lot more wiring to go, but all the same...
There is still a long way to go on the layout - painted back drop, many more trees, the whole forest floor and masses and masses of ferns, flaxes, cabbage trees and mosses. Then there's two rivers with waterfalls and a wharf area to 'water', all the structures to finish off (as well as a engine facility to scratch-build and my BIS Silverado mine to build). And lots and lots of detailing. The plan is to have a 6 month hiatus and then get back to working on Fault Lines after Easter with the 2017 show as a goal. In that way I will be able to present a layout with very noticeable improvements. We will see. With a bit of luck we will have our house repairs finally done by then and perhaps another trip to the USA to the Denver Narrow Gauge convention???!!! Fingers crossed!
Thanks for following along and for all the comments - they really do mean a lot and help keep me motivated.
More in a little while, cheers, Mark.
Great job Mark. I hope I get to see it some day. Thanks for letting us in on it and hope we get more.
Mark,
The layout is truly wonderful. To finish it in the past few months like you did is really something. Great job.
Tom ;D
Thanks Mike and Tom.
I find posting my progress online really helps keep me motivated - so there will certainly be more! Thank you both for your kind words.
Cheers, mark.
Hi,
Very fine work on the layout. You have done a fantastic job on it.
Regards,Chris
Thanks very much, Chris.
It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to starting back at it after Easter next year.
Cheers, Mark.