Backwoods NE in Florida

[cuse]

What a piece of art , very Troels Kirk and Martin Welberg like.

That's as fine a compliment as I could ever get...thanks


Once I get in motion, I'm pretty happy with the results. It looks good in place, I need to move on to the surrounding areas next.

[fsmcollector67]

John,
Looking good indeed....

Loren...

[GPdemayo]

Neat scene John.....

[ACL1504]

John,

Looks really great. Well done.

Tom

[cuse]

New progress...I've broken ground on the "backwoods" side with the Bragdon Geodesic Foam scenery system. So far, I've built lightweight support from foam and covered them with the Bragdon hardshell foam. There are two pieces in place. Both are just temporarily on the layout. The next steps will be to take them (independently) back to the garage and cover their vertical faces with foam rock castings. I'll do as much of the finishing away from the layout as possible and then apply a casting or two over the joints between units and down to the river. This is an entirely new process for me but after watching the demo at the NNGC - I was hooked! Gives a good indication of how things will fit, including the FSM Bailey's Produce that Reading Bob recently built...the suspended track in the foreground is where I hope to place a three arch version of NE Brownstone's new stone arch bridge (check out Dave Emery's thread-that's where I first became aware of it)

[Janbouli]

Good progress John , that bridge is great, will you be building it yourself or is Dave's meant for you?

[cuse]

I wasn't aware that was an option...Dave, send it over 


(I haven't even ordered yet- I emailed Russ but I'm not even sure it's available yet

[jrmueller]

John - Attached is a photo taken very near your family's business in Pelham. It was posted on the New Haven RR forum site. Jim

[cuse]

John - Attached is a photo taken very near your family's business in Pelham. It was posted on the New Haven RR forum site. Jim

I spent a lot of time on and around those tracks      long before I cared about trains

[cuse]

It's been a productive weekend with some significant rock casting and application to the hardshell bases (plural as I will keep them manageably sized until planted on the layout). I'm getting more confident with the Bragdon foam scenery system and my progress increases with the lack of checking and double-checking every step of the way. A few more castings and some blending, cutting and fitting, and then it will be time for coloring the rock faces. Then I'll goop them up, apply my typical layer upon layer of ground cover, etc...I really think I'll have substantial scenic progress by the end of the month...then, I'll focus on nagging my buddy about completing my backdrop (on the other side) so I can do the final wrap-around landform with a dramatic rock face and (maybe?) a tunnel that will greet the visitor walking in the layout room...I'll be ready to get a structure or two going by then, I'm sure.


Anyone going to NNGC, I strongly suggest you check out Joel Bragdon's seminar, he's a neat guy and the system is revolutionary, IMO. I've never been comfortable with anything other than small plaster castings, but with this system, you can make huge ones, bend them, cut them up, store them for years, heat them up and shape them again and again...and the detail is really good. I wish he'd share his seminar on YouTube, I think a lot of people would abandon plaster - particularly for LARGE rock faces.



John

[S&S RR]

John


Good to see you working on the layout. I will be following your progress - I love to see the scene develop. 

[Zephyrus52246]

Nice looking rocks.  Looking forward to seeing how you color them.


Jeff

[cuse]

Thanks.


I did a little more casting, including a few extras for scrap pieces, as I now need to do a little patching and blending with caulk. I should be able to (at least) get that done this weekend and begin coloring soon. Joel Bragdon's recommended method is to color the whole thing with white Gesso, follow with Black tempera powder (to highlight the cracks & shadows), and then to paint with very thin washes in many layers. I'm following his guidelines as I was truly amazed by some of his displayed work at the seminar. I also ordered more chemicals for the next batch of landforms - but I plan on finishing what I've done before moving on. I'll also need a new batch of Ground Goop to landscape on top, around, and within the rock faces. Between each step, I like to place the landforms and structures to help me check and double-check how it will work out and confirm track clearances, etc.


It's a busy weekend, but I hope to get some done tomorrow.

[cuse]

Finishing up the mountains in the garage. Hope to get them planted and merged(that's the scary part) this weekend.

[PRR Modeler]

Nice job on the stone walls