Really? I go back and forth on whether it is too straight up and tall. I have a similar area on the other end and I am going to leave the inner track as cut into the mountains and see how that pops. Here is a overall picture so far. Still need to find another turn out and finish the siding in the center.
I love mountain railroading, so maybe I'm biased. With good rock castings and selective compression, that sheer rock face can be a prototype match for much of the Rocky mountains. You won't have wide open meadows or solid stands of prime timber, but you can place a few trees there, using the bigger trees up front and smaller at the top really exaggerate the distance for the camera. In model railroading, forcing the perspective is what makes our pikes look larger than they really are. In this photo, the camera is preched atop Tunnel 26, roughly 7" above rail level. You can see how the perspective shows the scene is much deeper than it actually is. The mountain in the shot (although not completely in view) is about 14". Your big hill will make a great backdrop, too. (Just make it accessible from the rear, as much as you can sice any part that's not accessible will be derailment prone!) The whole hill is pretty sheer and large, hopefully illustrating my point. I had to cut the banks back, as they were too close to install rock castings and trees, but you get the idea. Hope this helps!
One more thought--tunnels, while fun scenic elements, can be a hassle when it come time to clean track or pick up a drailment. I built my pike with removable top tunnels for that reason. I have about 99% accessible with fingers, or 100% with a short tool. In this early construction view, you see the clear gaps indicating the removable top of Tunnel 19: Another early shot at Tunnel 26, showing the gaps: The gaps were hidden with rock castings and creatively placed Hydrocal, and a plastic sheet barrier, ensuring removability: The gaps are mostly filled: Carefully-placed trees hide the gaps almost entirely from the camera:
Black-tinted SculptaMold was slatered heavily on these tunnel "liners" giving a bare rock look. Once dry, I coated it liberally with the flattest black paint I could get. It seriously cuts off all light in the tunnel, just like the real thing: Look to the prototype for creative solutions to hide tunnel gaps, such as tunnel liners and portals set away from the cliff face:
Oh wow! I really appreciate your help here. I was directed to you early on and I have looked over your thread. I never was able to compress time like you just did for me. Thanks for taking the time to compile all those photos for me. I had never thought of making a removable lid and that is just genius! I have thought about maintenance and at this point the back is completely open and accessible. I was thinking of keeping two sections open in the back but if this ends up against a wall it would have to be pulled out to access the track. Ummmmmmmmm.......
I'm happy to help! I should suggest that this is not the only way to maintain tunnel access, but it is a way to do it. For me and a HCD layout in the middle of the room, it works. For being in the corner, rear access may not be feasible. As far as the mountain being too vertical: If it doesn't look right to you, it can still be shaved back to a gentler slope. I have learned much through trial and lots of error--there's few mistakes you can make in scenery that you cannot remedy by doing it over, or adjusting it a bit. If you're worried about the look of the mountain, build a small diorama to test the concept, and adjust it until you're comfortable with the result.
Sorry to derail the topic, but I haven't seen Hemi's snow scene shots in a long time... Hemi, I know What and Where you are modelling. I've also been there. I gotta say you've really nailed the scenery on those snow shots. It's sort of uncanny. I took a road trip up to GlennWood Springs over the TG holiday and it was snowy in the canyons and icy, clearly they were trying to get the sort of effect you are going for. Maybe you can call and give em some tips up in snow country Colorado.
Aww, shucks, Geeky, that's awful kind... My mediocre skills (the artist knows were all the mistakes are) owe much of the success of the scene to Mike Danneman's article in NSR mag a couple years ago. It was Mike's detailed how-to that made it possible.
Here's some more ideas how to hide a removable mountain gap. This is Tunnel 19. The wide open view above with the tunnel liner construction was actually T19. This is the basic landform: A basic tunnel portal carved from 1/8" hardboard (1 1/4" spade drill bit , jigsaw, files and a sharp utility knife to make the cuts). I used a proto photo of the portal to get the look right. I took the portal face, placed it over the tracks, centered and vertical to match the proto, then secured it with glue, slatered a thick mix of SculptaMold over it for rocky texture and painted. The tunnel top was treated with SculptaMold as well,a nd a sheet of plastic was set between as a barrier and I positioned the top where it would best eliminate the gaps. I added SculptaMold under and over the gap, directly on the plastic to minimize any visible gaps. Scenic material was next. Painting and weather, plus a bunch of various ground foams (textures, sizes and colors), "vines" (pillow-type poly-fill material, dyed green, sprinkled with ground foam) and wildflowers were next. The gap is still visible, but much less than without this treatment.
Tunnel 18 has a prototype poured concrete face, set several feet from the cliff face. This tunnel, too (it is part of Tunnel 26 in the snow scene--see here for the layout plan: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/1014/HCD.jpg) has a removable top. This poured portal and partial smooth concrete lining is the only spot on the layout that I have impaired access directly with my fingers. Tunnel 19/25's top is a vertical drop in. Tunnel 18/26's is a horizontal slide-in top. This is the basic landform at T18: After tracklaying, basic portal and some painted rock castings: Painted portal, styrene "lining" installed, gap filling with SculptaMold: Another view:
T18, continued: The gap is there, and you have to look for it. The portal's construction (more 1/8" hardboard, scored to simulate planking used in the concrete pour) is evident here: With a good camera angle, the gaps disappear. Keeping gaps non-linear (not straight) helps camouflage them.
Last up, Tunnel 25. Similar to T19 in almost every way. Carved hardboard portal, covered in SculptaMold, gapped with SculptaMold, snowed in.
I should note, if you need tunnel portal inspiration, check out my albums on the Moffat Route: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/1035 Now that I have entirely hijacked your thread, we return to your regularly scheduled programming.
Thanks Hemi for the help and links. I appreciate your consolidation of the different posts and you have saved me a bunch of time. That said I was having fun making a nice CO mountain and my sweet wife reminded me that I was building a fleet of NS locos to match a local operator and his rigs...... Lol. Here is the start of the mountain..... I realized that it was getting too big and I needed more of a "cut into the mountains" look and some trees on top so I am lowering the mountain and need to lighten the colors to more tan color. The second "Hill" and short tunnel is developing and I am not sure where it will go. I am thinking short rock wall along the raised track and just trees on top as well.
Okay, updates time guys. I have been trying to get this layout ready for the Christmas Village and I have so much time into it and I am not happy with my snow. I am thinking of swapping to a different layout next year and just make this into a summer layout. I have so much time in and the snow just doesn't look right to me.
I would say it looks pretty good? Maybe some water effects strings to look like icicles would really make it pop. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
I'm with Jeepy. It looks very nice. Is the granular look whay you're not happy with? What is your snow product? Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Well, I only posted the best area to save me the embarrassment..... Lol. The problem is that I can't find a way to get the fluffy look down. I have tried paint and now flex paste by Woodland and it doesn't act right. I thought the flex paste would flow nicely but any thickness and it won't dry or lay smooth. I also don't have the heart to pour it over the ballast and tracks and I think I will just leave this layout as a summer setup and try a specific mountain layout for next year. It does however please my family and all is well for now.
I never tried a realistic winter scene under the tree, I always just cheated with the white sparkle polyfiber, but I've seen people's success with corn starch at shows and in videos. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
