Backwoods NE in Florida

[cuse]

Andy,
I wanted to do a gravel roof, but wanted to add some color to the building. The main roof will be red/orange-ish rolled roofing.

I spread glue and scattered a thin layer of fine reddish brown ballast I have had laying around in an unlabeled tupperware (90% sure it's Woodland Scenics). I dribbled a little more white glue/water and "pinched"  a little more ballast wherever the glue was pooling. When it set up a bit, I pressed it down with a piece of plastic to get a more uniform look. The color looked TOO uniform to me, so I pinched a variety of Bragdon's weathering powders to break up the color a bit. I'm pretty happy with it - I'd like to add a bit of litter to finish it off.

John

[ak-milw]

Thanks, something I might try.

[gnatshop]

BTW, that gap at the bottom is intentional...it makes it easier to plant the shrub that will conceal the corner. 

Darn, John, you're startin' to use Arkansaw Speak!
Intentional is the Ledbetter's favorut word!   
They've got a big bill at the local plant guy (unpaid, of course!). 

[DEFugere]

Looks great John, cann't wait to see this in person.

David

[cuse]

I managed to get my Model60 and a little more tonight. I added the roof and a couple of small touches to the Bar Mills Shaw's Ridge kit. There are quite a few distinctive features still to be added to this one. I never saw this kit before the EXPO and I generally scour the Bar Mills web site, so it may be a relatively new one. It certainly has some great character (when it's done), particularly on the roof. It looks somewhat complete now, but I'd say it's only about 65% there, as the box full of parts proves.

John

[cuse]

Here's a picture by Roughneck Dave I swiped from the other forum. It's got to have been taken from an elevated position and that's Gregg Demayo with the camera and myself with lips pursed to blow on the water surface for bigger waves  .

Nice pic David. I wanted to thank you for your kind words but, alas, I am still shunned.

John

[Erieman]

John,

Nice picture of you and Greg. Oh yes, the layout looks awesome too. Keep up the great work.

Frank / Erieman

[jrmueller]

Nice views of your layout John. Be glad you not in Pelham with the snow.  Jim Mueller.

[Bntrainmaster]

John,
Looking good so far. Can't wait to see the finished product. Thanks for sharing.....

[cuse]

Thanks guys.

Today, I got some more done. I painted and weathered some nice detail castings for the Bar Mills Shaw's Ridge I'm building. I also attached a sign, some lamps, and the bases for the skylights that I have yet to build. I'm not usually patient enough to do too much detail work in a bunch, so now I'm walking away for a bit.

I really found painting the castings a lot more enjoyable than in the past. Maybe I'm maturing 

I have only to build the 2 skylights and all of the window awnings to call it a day on this cool kit!

John

[ReadingBob]

You're doing a super job on that Bar Mills kit John.  The castings turned out great.  Keep it up and you're going to need to find a home for it on your layout.   

[Zephyrus52246]

Lookin' good, John.  Especiallythe Case sign!

Jeff

[cuse]

Thanks guys. Jeff, I wanted to compliment you on your SRMW build, but I still couldn't sign in. Unless I hear back from admin, I think I'm done trying (dozens of times).

This morning I got in my Model60 just mocking up and visualizing where I'm going to place yet-to-be-built structures. I think I've got some good ideas.

I put in a temporary little group of trees and I think that, along with a fence, It will provide enough visual separation to squeeze Shaw's Ridge next to the pulpwood yard.

I have a Bar Mills barn and a Bar Mills Hurst Boiler that could fit nicely on a little dock as shown. I copied and cut out the full size directions to create crude mockups.

On the wharf, I'm back to Groovy Jeff's CCK Carolina Pulp & Paper. That's the footprint on the wharf (main building only)

[cuse]

I opened up my Fos Scale Executioner's Rocks kit to help visualize placement. What a masterpiece. Doug seems like a humble guy, but he must feel like Richards and Jagger when "Exile on Main Street" came out. In my opinion, it's the greatest kit ever made. The design has so much character, so much interest, and so much unique appeal...I can't imagine how anyone could ever do better. His diorama presents it in such a dramatic way too. I definitely want to find a way to elevate it an inch or two, in similar fashion - in hopes of the same dramatic effect. I'm intentionally putting it off for a while, out of respect. I want to do a few more Bar Mills builds and possibly a Fos Scale background building to further develop my skills to do it justice. At this point, I don't have any plans for the buildings in the kit other than the big Peckham Sailmakers structure.

The most likely spot for it is where I placed the black iPad folder. I want to elevate it with a ramped road, just like Doug's diorama. It will not be directly on the water and I will probably not cut in a siding for it (but I probably could, with some awkwardness). I still think that, with the right colors and elevation, I can capture some of the drama of the diorama siting, when one first walks into the layout room. If it comes out the way I imagine, it will surely be the structural highlight of the layout.

[cuse]

Here's the real thing, viewed from the same angle, if any of you Photoshop masters want to chop it in.

I imagine it looming over those smaller Bar Mills structures.

John