Is that a couple of ladies washing their car at night, do tell? The lighted buildings are awesome and almost look real. Almost time to tear this one down and start over so i can see updates i know i have mentioned this before but your pictures are amazing and look professional. You own the hubble telescope or something?
Thanks in2tech. That ranch house and the duplex next to it are Menards buildings. They both came with the people and each Menards building has Jack the German Shepard. The two young women are washing the car both day and night. They really like a clean car. Fortunately, it's always summer on my layout so they are at it 12 months a year. I can't think about tearing this layout down, I haven't finished it yet. Don't worry, I will be adding details like people, trees, brush, animals and the like and documenting it here for a long time to come. I'm also thinking about tying the two ends of the E together and installing a lift bridge of some kind where the door is at some point so I may not be finished even after I'm finished. I use my smartphone for pictures and videos. It's a Samsung Galaxy S8+. It takes really good pictures and videos. I also have a Canon digital SLR that I hardly ever use. It's a really good camera but the phone is so handy and easy to use that I only use the Canon for situations where I would need different lenses or to use a tripod. 99.9% of the time all I need is the smartphone. Next up is the campground and lake so I'll have new pictures in the not too distant future.
If the young ladies wash the car 24/7, send them my way. Your phone takes great videos and pictures. Sent from my SM-G550T using Tapatalk
Haven't checked into this thread in a while. All I can say is that your layout looks like, well- fun. Lots of new stuff to see and absolutely great details. Yeah I really like the '49 ford, too, but I think I hear a Bruce Springsteen song playing in my head. "Pink Cadillac, crushed velvet seats, ridin' down the pike cruisin' down the street" Did I really see a one sitting by the depot or was it a trick of the lighting? All in all, outstanding as always.
Thanks Tom. That is a pink Cadillac. I've been looking for an O scale Elvis to go with it but haven't found one yet. I love the details and have many yet to add. Some I already have and they are waiting for to find their home on the layout and others are still out there somewhere but I hope to find them at some point. The layout is a lot of fun for me. It's my own blend of high rail and toy train that is just right for me. Sometimes I go into the train room to run trains for 10 minutes and find I'm still there an hour later, watching the trains run through different scenes and thinking of improvements.
This is a WIP mini update. I cleared the grass away from the lake area today. The next step is to paint it a very dark green or very dark blue, either color almost black. When that step is done I'll post another picture.
I decided to paint the lake area blue. I've done green, black and landscaped with WS earth and soil in the past and all have looked good. I figure it's time to give blue a try. This is how it looks right now. I should be able to apply the Mod Podge tomorrow.
They are practicing their stroke on the grass while they wait for the drought to end and for rain to fill the lake. That's a great picture, thanks. I'd say it's the same loco but the handrails are much too thin and it's got some rust showing, very unrealistic!! Considering that my loco is a toy train locomotive I'd say Lionel did a pretty good job capturing FEC 506.
I ordered a lighted truck, a lighted car, some plug and play cords and got two free Starbucks box trucks from Menards last week. The package arrived late yesterday afternoon. I installed the two new vehicles plus four others I had last night and took these pictures. I put one of the box trucks at the freight platform and I'm looking for a place on the layout for the other one. I noticed that I have a picture of the campground/lake area. Nothing has changed there. I placed the canoes in what will be their location when the water is done. I took the photo as a reference for myself.
Ones dirty and one is clean, guess which one I like they can’t keep the real one as clean as yours? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I applied the first layer of Mod Podge to the lake late yesterday afternoon. This morning it's almost dry. It is still very slightly cloudy. It's not as glossy as I would like but that might be because it's not completely dry. I may give it another coat this evening or tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Main thing is the canoeists ( learned a new word ), will not be on dry land for much longer. When are they arriving at the lake? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The Mod Podge is dry to the touch so the canoeists will be having fun on the lake this evening or tomorrow. As it thoroughly dries and cures it's looking shinier. I'm going to let it cure for about 2 weeks and then I'll give it a coat of acrylic sealer. When that is dry the canoeists will be able to spend as much time as they like on the lake. I have a strong feeling that they will share the lake with some anglers. I'm not sure if these two phots will show the shininess of the lake any better but it is looking better. I'm going to start detailing it very soon, maybe later today. That's it for now. More to come soon so stay tuned.
This is a small update. I've finished all the big work on the layout and I'm working on smaller details and finishing some scenes. I started working on the lake area and got some of it done. You can also see the blacktop so folks at the campground can get across the track. I need a sign to warn them to look for trains before crossing the track. I also added some rough turf around the gateman's shack. That's it for now. I'll post some more pics as I make progress around the lake or get some other areas looking a little more polished.