South River Modelworks 370 - Tucker and Cook Cotton Yarn Mil

[NEMMRRC]

Well we have some progress here.  Nice work Jaime.

Looking forward to some dirt and stuff though.

Jerry

Thanks.

I've been applying dirt. I had to go buy rock molds and plaster so I was delayed. I'll have an update in the next couple of days.

Jaime

[Mike Engler]

Why are we not seeing more dirt here?

[NEMMRRC]

Yo!

These are still available from South River so if you want one you best get a move on.

Word to your mother.

Jaime

[ollevon]

WOW Jaime, this is turning out AWESOME, very nice work.
  Sam

[martin.ojaste]

Jamie, I'm glad to see the details of doing the scenery part of the build. We don't have enough of these posts and appreciate you doing it.


Thanks
Marty

[NEMMRRC]

Howdy.

You all thought I was gone. Didn't you?

I've been delayed by deadlines at work and a lack of scenery materials. But I am moving forward a bit at a time.

I am hoping to be done with the build by Valentine's Day. It will be tight. If I go over that is OK. But, I need to give myself some deadline or else I'll abandon the build as I have done in the past with other kits.

I'll touch a bit on how I did the dirt on my diorama and then I'll discuss how I did the rockwork for the river's embankments.

Before I did the dirt I searched for some references out on the internet. I found this way useful video by Joey Ricard from Trackside Scenery:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWqM5Dv1MA0

I will follow Joey's methods except I will be using sanded grout instead of real dirt.

Here is what I used for the dirt.



- White glue
- Tan latex paint
- Dirt Glue (1 part white glue and 1 part tan latex paint)
- Cheap hair spray
- Sanded grout
- A small cup to sift out the grout

I did just as Joey Ricard says to do:
- paint the scenery base with tan latex paint
- wait for paint to dry
- apply Dirt Glue
- apply dirt on wet Dirt Glue
- apply cheap hair spray on the dirt right away (soak it all real good)
- wait for all that to dry (it took over a day for me)
- brush off all loose dirt

Ricard tells you to come back with sanding paper and sand down your dirt after it dries. I did not do that. When I brushed off all the loose grout I ended up with the same color as the grout was dry. Dirt doesn't always do that. Ricard sands down his dirt to get it a lighter color than it dries.

It all went OK for me except one thing, grout balls up when it gets wet.







Once I let the grout dry thoroughly (2 days) I brushed off any loose grout and the little grout balls went away for the most part. I still need to add ground cover and grass so I am confident those little grout balls won't be visible in the end.

To make the river's embankments I needed rock castings and plaster. I must confess I am a terrible model railroader. I went to my local hobby shop looking for Woodland Scenics Lightweight Hydrocal to make the rock castings. They want $12 for a 2 lb carton of the Woodland Scenics Lightweight Hyrdrocal. No way was I paying that price! Instead I went to Michaels and bought a 4 lb tub of Plaser of Paris for $6 and used a 40% off coupon for an ever bigger discount. Sorry if I cause my LHS to go under. I did buy the rock molds at the LHS though.



I gathered up some rock castings and went to imagineer how the river embankments could look.



I slathered on the rock castings on the embankments and waited for that dry.



Once that was dry I came back with Sculptamold and blended the castings into the landscape.





I now wait for the Sculptamold to dry before I can paint me a river.

Coming up - the river and more scenery.

Jaime
www.myyehudaexperience.com

[oldbloodhound]

I'm sure glad you didn't have to go into the office and took the time to show us your progress. 

[Jerry]

Yes nice how to.  Looks good so far.
If it doesn't come out right you can always "Cry me a River"!!!!

Jerry

[Janbouli]

Nice Jaime, I actually spread the dirt on the wet paint , it acts as glue , and you don't need the second layer of glue with paint mixed.

[NEMMRRC]

Nice Jaime, I actually spread the dirt on the wet paint , it acts as glue , and you don't need the second layer of glue with paint mixed.

I've done the same in the past. Ricard mentions that on the video and explains the second paint/glue layer helps hide any missed spots on the first layer plus the first layer can be thinned to get at tight crevices. Either way, it all involves a lot of waiting.


Jaime

[NEMMRRC]

Any suggestions how to make one of these:





Jaime

[EricQuebec]

Any suggestions how to make one of these:





Jaime

I will probably paint my river bent for first, then work with medium acrylic glosse  and adding some acrylic paint (in fact the color of the water) and brush the medium on the direction of the river flow. I will apply several coat with different shade of color. Then I'll create the eddies with clear silicon  heavily dry brush with with paint and add a final thin coat of medium acrylic lightly stained with the colors of the water (on the silicone too).
Just an idea never try yet, but It will be the process I'll use in you situation.

Eric QUébec city

[NEMMRRC]

Thanks for the feedback.


I'm kinda stuck getting the river bed painted realistically. It's climb out too light and not very alive. I'll keep at it since all I need to do is just paint over until I get it right.


Jaime

[oldbloodhound]

Check out Dave Frary's video for making water.  The key seems to be in getting the under color correct.  But also coloring the Mod Podge should add to the muddy water look.

[NEMMRRC]

Check out Dave Frary's video for making water.  The key seems to be in getting the under color correct.  But also coloring the Mod Podge should add to the muddy water look.

I've referenced that video several times while building this diorama. However, Frary is modeling an ocean. But, the same principles apply.


I'm stuck getting my river to look like it's moving. But it's just a matter of continuing to paint.


Here is Frary's video:

Jaime