The M-K & Eastern RR, a layout made of dioramas, sort of....

[S&S RR]

Graffen


Looking good!  I would use a wash of A&I as a last step to bring out the shadows and make the texture pop out. Try it in a small area and see what you think.

[deemery]

And then, drybrush the tips of the rock with something like Titanium Buff. 

In between those steps, I like applying various colors of chalks/pigments (stippling using a worn out old brush).  That adds color and texture to the rock, making it look more like there are "grains" in the rocks. 

dave

[Graffen]

Thanks for the inputs.

Tunnel liner made of Shaper sheet.

[Graffen]

Tunnel portal in wood.


Instead of staining the wood, I'll paint it to look like wood. This was due to the strange veins in the wood which did not look good with stains.


I use Vallejo's wood weathering kit. In the pictures I only just primed it with IDF-grey primer.

[Graffen]

Painting of my tunnel portal. I used Vallejo's "Old & new wood effects" color kit.

IDF gray.


Painted concrete lightly and then random boards in IDF sand gray.


Some boards painted light brown.


Dry brushed with ivory sand.


More dry brush with IDF sand gray.


Dark gray wash all over.


Airbrushed soot with weathered black.

[Graffen]

The portal is installed and the tunnel tracks got cinders.





The hidden staging tracks are finished as well. Only the servos left to install

[Janbouli]

Looking great , I am using the AK wood sets to paint plastic wood  , almost the same product I believe.

[engine909]

Very nicely done. Thank you for sharing.
I am building the pictured Engine House in O scale. Mt. Albert kit.
ed

[Zephyrus52246]

Nice job on the portal. 

Jeff

[Dennis Bourey]

I AGREE!!!! Looks great.......Dennis

[postalkarl]

Hey Graffen:

Looks just great.

Karl

[Graffen]

Thanks! 
My solution of current pickup on brass locomotives. 

They pick up one pole on one side of the locomotive and the other in the tender. 
And it's via spring blocks .... It doesn't work well on digital. 
I replaced the gearbox cover with a piece of circuit board laminate. 
There is not enough space on the underside, so I had to sand the laminate 1 mm. 
The holes next to the gear are filled with epoxy for strength. 
The pickups are phosphor bronze which has a small spring coil made by wrapping the wire around a 0.7 mm drill bit. 
The power cables are soldered to the old pickup points. 
Now you have full power pickup on the locomotive, now the tender trucks will receive the same treatment.

[Graffen]

Made some more on the town of Holy Cross on my layout.



Made a road tunnel.


The tunnel to the staging.


My rendition of the Silver spur mine.


The church.


I'm slowly getting there.

[Graffen]

https://youtu.be/DjCuqFbYRbc

[Graffen]

You take what you have on hand... 😉😀 
I needed to install DCC and sound in a K-27.
So I found a sound decoder in an old locomotive.

A 21-pin ESU V4.

I took out the circuit board to avoid having to solder new contacts on the decoder.
I manufactured phosphor bronze pickups for the locomotive.

I also replaced the gearbox cover with a piece of circuit board laminate.



The decoder did not fit straight into the tender, so I 3D printed an angled holder.