Sandy Lake & Northern misc builds, etc.

[jbvb]

It does look good. But the 3-post braced corner might be a bit much for pre-1900. Pre-WWII barb wire fences I've dealt with used larger posts for strength at corners, and didn't show much evidence of modern-day tight wire.

[friscomike]

Howdy, Dave. The barbed-wire fence looks great.  It adds a lot to the scene.  Have fun, mike

[deemery]

(THIRD TRY...)
Vegetation...  I wanted tall (12mm) vertical grass tufts along the cliff edge.  Instead I got grass thickets.  Not bad looking, but not what I was trying for.

The orchard goes in on the right side.

And I've been filling in the slope by the bridge with tufts.  I need to add some taller shrubberies.


Also, I ballasted the track underneath the bridge:

Check out the 3/4 tree directly behind the bridge that wraps around the corner. 

dave

[jbvb]

Your scene is developing well. I've made late-summer weedy tufts from some vendor's long grass-colored fibers: Punch or drill a hole, collect a bundle of fibers, cut to length, dip in white glue and insert using tweezers.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looking good, Dave.

I like the shingle road with the backdrop behind.

Cheers, Mark.

[KentuckySouthern]

Nice scene, the rock strata in the cuts is right on to my mind.  A concept of which I am having extreme difficulty executing on my layout.

[deemery]

Karl, on rocks:  The best looking and most expensive solution are the Cripplebrush rubber rocks.  https://www.cripplebushvalleymodels.com   

A cheaper way is the Heki 'rock foil' large sheets from Scenic Express:  https://www.sceneryexpress.com/Heki-Rock-Foil/products/1414/  I use hot glue to attach those to the cardboard scenery web. 

But I've also done just straight plaster faces with rock treatment, that's on the left side of the bridge.  The secret is in the finishing.  I get a 2" bristle brush and cut it down so there's about 1/4" of very stiff bristles.  Then I put a light layer of plaster on the plaster wrap scenery base, and draw the "stratigraphic brush" across the damp plaster to add strata lines.  You know how plaster gets, there's that magic period when it's set but still workable.  Just be careful to keep your strata lines parallel.  With this technique, you can do level strata (like I did) or tilted strata.   Then let the plaster dry.  I prime the rock with dark grey or black.    I've also used this technique to add brushed on strata to the Heki rocks. 

The painting techniques are the same for all the rock variants.

I paint in the strata using a 1/4" nylon brush that gives pretty sharp edges.  I use various rock colors  to get some different strata layers. 

Now here's the secret for the rock strata I worked into regular plaster:  Once the painting is done, I go back with an utility knife and carve joint cracks perpendicular to the strata lines.  Not a lot, but you can see those on my rock face above.  Then I use a thin point Sharpie to 'paint' the joint cracks.  (You can paint the joint cracks on the Heki or Cripplebrush rocks, too.)

Finally, I drybrush with a light tan color using a fan brush from the top down, to pick up the (faint) relief on the rock, and then an overall A&I wash to blend things together. 

It helps to have good photos of rock faces to consult while doing this. 

dave

[Michael Hohn]

Dave, I like the composition of this scene. The bridge over curved track with factories in the distance.  And of course the rock cut, which with the bridge reminds me of the first place I collected fossils along a similar bridge over the Lehigh Valley RR south of Batavia NY.

Mike

[deemery]

Dave, I like the composition of this scene. The bridge over curved track with factories in the distance.  And of course the rock cut, which with the bridge reminds me of the first place I collected fossils along a similar bridge over the Lehigh Valley RR south of Batavia NY.

Mike

Mike, thanks!   I remember finding fern fossils in shale beds near where I grew up in Pittsburgh...  

dave

[ACL1504]

Dave,

I like how the scenery turned out. I'm also a fan of the old wooden road crossover.

Tom

[deemery]

Although it doesn't have his name, "Aladdin Foundry" (the brick building in the background) is in my mind dedicated to Don Ball.

dave

[ACL1504]

Dave,

I have a few of Don's RR photo books. They are excellent. I'm assuming we are talking about The Don Ball.

Tom

[deemery]

Dave,

I have a few of Don's RR photo books. They are excellent. I'm assuming we are talking about The Don Ball.

Tom

Actually, I think there are 2 railroad guys named Don Ball. The guy I knew who modeled 1880s/1890s California and wrote a book on the Bedford & Billerica, first 2' gauge railroad, is not the same as the guy who published photo books of more modern subjects.  But I could be wrong about that.

dave

[Rick]

Dave, the scenery looks outstanding.