The moisture rich maritime province I live in does have some disadvantages in that my landscaping glue takes twice as long to dry. So a small heater setting away from the layout, but blowing toward it, and a small fan on high have compensated some. Still working on the station area, but now structures are in and some scenic work is done. Still another round of scenic work to be done there. 100_5283-1 by John Moore posted Feb 27, 2018 at 4:00 PM The station is in along with small engine house. A small pump house and a water tank have been added along with a speeder shed and another small shed. Five houses and two out buildings have been added. I went with the smaller station and extended the platform cut out of artist project board that has a rough brown side. Then I decided that it needed a roof. With the Turtle Creek receiving the mini RDCs the old wooden 34 foot coaches became surplus for bldgs. and etc. So the B and B gang took a roof off an old coach and mounted it on supports for the passenger platform canopy. They also built the benches for the stations and the platform. Single benches and double benches each 6 foot long. 100_5284 by John Moore posted Feb 27, 2018 at 4:00 PM We are frugal here on the Turtle Creek Central. And a late entry. The canopy over the platform is now installed along with the benches. 100_5285-3 by John Moore posted Feb 27, 2018 at 5:14 PM That white speck on the station agents porch roof is a N scale white cat.
Added more ballast and more trees and grasses. Now up to 75 trees on this small section and ballasted from the creek up the incline and around the circle back to the creek on the plateau. Decided to install and small oil and sand facility, but that means installing another small siding, then it is back to the same area to install shrubs and bushes. Then It is on to the water in the stream and modeling the waterfall which will take about a week or longer until it dries. 100_5286-1 by John Moore posted Feb 28, 2018 at 4:09 PM Just added the small sand and oil facility for the Shays. One Peco turnout, one short 11 inch radius, and one scrap piece of flex track. 100_5287-2 by John Moore posted Feb 28, 2018 at 5:03 PM
It is called being frugal with my resources, especially with my credit card. My Wife calls it being cheap. But none of the free standing platforms I looked at appeared either to modern or just simply did not go with my old time station and why spend money for something I would have to cut up anyway. I have a vary large fishing tackle box loaded with parts and a few other boxes of them. So a left over roof from a 34 foot passenger car and back into my trestle parts bag for the supports. Styrene L girder and an H girder plus a piece of straight styrene strip and I have benches. Now working on the waterfall, and I pulled out my old bottle of Water Effects, and added some blue tint to it, and now seeing if it will set up for the waterfall or if it is too old like the last time I used an old bottle. 100_5288-2 by John Moore posted Mar 1, 2018 at 1:20 PM 100_5289-1 by John Moore posted Mar 1, 2018 at 1:20 PM And if it is too old I have a fresh bottle on order that should be here next week. Meanwhile I continue on working on the base coat of the waterfall and adding scenery. Should end up by this weekend with another 25 or 30 trees added bring it to about 100 trees in a small area of about 2 and 1/2 feet by 3 feet.
Well the pour of the Water Effects onto wax paper did not work out, it wanted to stick to the wax paper. So I am going back to a metal pan and hopefully this will turnout transparent with a blue tint. 100_5291-4 by John Moore posted Mar 1, 2018 at 7:45 PM And I added about 25 more trees again of differring species. 100_5290-3 by John Moore posted Mar 1, 2018 at 7:45 PM And I have been at work with the Lichen and Reindeer moss. 100_5292-5 by John Moore posted Mar 1, 2018 at 8:44 PM The blue color seen in the falls is deliberate. It is due to deposits of Moly ore in the headwaters and the minute particles suspended in the water, thus the Blue Falls. Some veins can be seen in the exposed rock. Moly ore. Moly by John Moore posted Mar 1, 2018 at 8:57 PM
Those rocks are fascinating. Individual pieces of moly rather than being merged and alloyed throughout the neighboring minerals.
While the stream and waterfall are on hold I am working on a pond now. 100_5293-1 by John Moore posted Mar 2, 2018 at 5:34 PM I believe the culvert and abutments are Woodland Scenics but not sure since I have had them awhile. The culvert and abutments were set in with plaster and then the pond has been lined with plaster cloth.
Part of my day was spent picking up and tracking down what got blown away by the Nor-Easter, then another part spent putting together a massive 6.5 foot tall cat platform that the Missus ordered, so little has been done on the layout today. I did work a few hours on the ponds putting rip rap around the culverts and applying some color to the bottoms. Started with black, then green, then raw umber, and finally raw sienna. Probably tomorrow I will add some more green tints here and there and start planting my horse hair reeds and cattails. I found my small box of tree stumps so I will be adding them and got lucky and found my HO scale rats. Pound their little tails out flat and N scale Beavers, which means a Beaver dam is going in as on the last TCC layout. 100_5297-6 by John Moore posted Mar 3, 2018 at 6:18 PM
My rather simple method of making reeds and cattails for a swamp, or marsh, and pond. In my opinion there is nothing better than horsehair as it hold up just fine and it can be dyed just like human hair. A long time ago I bought some packs of horsehair at a hobby shop that were green , olive green, and yellow after reading an article in a model railroading magazine on making cattails. After using this stuff several times I have come up with a method that makes handling and planting it easier. Essentially I grab a bundle and fold it over double, then use ACC at the bend to bind it Once the ACC has dried I cut it in the middle and I have two bunches to plant. Sometimes I split each bundle lengthwise and end up with four bundles. The now stiff ends of the bundles are easy to plant using Elmers Glue. I often mix colors in a bunch since last years reeds and cattails will be mixed in among the green ones of this year. The photo below shows some bundles ready to plant and one bundle yet to be split into two. Once the bundles have been planted in place and the glue dried, I will trim then to the height I want with a small sharp pair of scissors and vaccum the excess away. 100_5298-1 by John Moore posted Mar 4, 2018 at 10:28 AM To get the drum beater head of the cattail I tediously dip the ends into a thick brown paint letting each dry attached to some scotch tape hung between two objects before I dip them again until I have the thickness I want. Sort of like dipping candles in candle making. The picture below I am starting the process of making the drum beater heads. The hairs tend to clump together with the paint, so after drying I pull them apart and gather them in small bundles. Then I trim them to size and I may dip them again. 100_5299-2 by John Moore posted Mar 4, 2018 at 11:04 AM The process of constructing a pond or marsh using these is about a three day operation.
Silflor fibers applied to the right side of both ponds and then over sprinkled lightly with blended turf. The rest of the bank now have a coat of blended turf along with the stream bed that runs to the left and into the big stream by the rail bridge. The white showing through is the Elmer's which dries clear. Next up is to set in some tree stumps and build the Beaver dam out of materials I am about to make a trip outside to gather. I will take the gathered small twig and place them a a big mortar and pestle and reduce them to splinters. The same mix will be used to create the Beaver lodge. 100_5302-4 by John Moore posted Mar 4, 2018 at 3:13 PM My water materials should be arriving about the middle of this week and hopefully the ponds and the stream will be ready for a first pour. And somewhere I have some Willows and Birch trees salvaged from the first Turtle Creek that will go in here. Up to around 150 trees now in place.
Cranked up in high gear the tree stumps have been installed. 100_5303-5 by John Moore posted Mar 4, 2018 at 4:58 PM And ground up Dogwood twigs from the storm, the material for the dam and Beaver lodge. 100_5304-7 by John Moore posted Mar 4, 2018 at 4:58 PM And the beaver dam installed and drying. 100_5305-8 by John Moore posted Mar 4, 2018 at 4:58 PM And finally the Beaver lodge drying. The blue modeling putty I have left over from a mold making kit is serving as the base for the dam and the lodge. I have a Beaver dam about a 1/2 mile from my home, on a stream that feeds from my patch of woods behind my house. That lodge is around 6 feet out of the water so the whole thing must be 8 or 9 feet tall. My lodge is only five foot tall. 100_5306-8 by John Moore posted Mar 4, 2018 at 4:58 PM
And the final thing at the end of the day is planting the cattails at the edges of both ponds. 100_5307-9 by John Moore posted Mar 4, 2018 at 6:50 PM Tomorrow I will trim them to about 6 to 8 N scale feet tall and spread them out some. The dam gets a thin coat of mud paint and I vac the whole area and see what touch ups I need to do before the water arrives.
The final touches on the ponds before water is applied. 100_5308-1 by John Moore posted Mar 5, 2018 at 12:27 PM Even though limestone was actually quarried on the island I decided the whiteness of the rip rap around the culverts was just too white so I hit it with some diluted gray acrylic. A few more splotches of dark green here and there for water vegetation. 100_5309-2 by John Moore posted Mar 5, 2018 at 12:27 PM The first shot has my willow trees in it which I am going to wait until I have the water poured before putting them in. And I have two Beaver lodges and I may put one in each pond. The dam has had a light brushing of Polyscale mud. Also went back to the creek and falls and added some more color here and there. so it is ready for water. So while I wait for my shipment of water materials to get here I will be working on ballast and setting in the stockyards this week.
Today I installed the stockyards and the brewery and applied scenic material around both. I also added a grain bin to the stockyards and one to the brewery. That is a section of rail from milepost 1 south of the old RF&P holding down the latest addition of foam where the water tower and the sheep camp are going to be. 100_5311-2 by John Moore posted Mar 6, 2018 at 12:43 PM
The sheep herder's camp is in place and glue setting and I am pouring the Water Effects for the falls. The old bottle of Water Effects like the previous bottle doesn't hold up well over a few years storage so a new bottle. And I am pouring again on aluminium foil as I had before since it seems to work better than other things in peeling it off once dry. 100_5313-1 by John Moore posted Mar 7, 2018 at 5:03 PM It has had about four hours set time here and will go overnight or longer. And once again I am trying something different. To seal off my stream ends I am using the Water Effects, laying a bead where I need to confine the water pour to. It dries clear and is compatible with the other Woodland Scenic water products so it should make an efficient coffer dam. 100_5314-2 by John Moore posted Mar 7, 2018 at 9:18 PM 100_5315-3 by John Moore posted Mar 7, 2018 at 9:18 PM
Never considered using Water Effects as a coffer dam. John, your imagination appears to know no limits, thanks.
The one thing about poring a bead over an 1/8th inch thick is it takes day or more to finally dry clear, even with HVAC going. The strips for the falls were poured yesterday morning about 21 hours ago and some of the thicker parts an 8th to a 16th inch thick are still not fully set and clear. 100_5318-1 by John Moore posted Mar 8, 2018 at 8:02 AM However unlike everything else I have used for coffer dams, from mold putty to various other items, I literally could leave this in place and it would eventually dry clear. Or once my water is set I could remove most of it and not worry about any remaining since it would eventually dry clear. This morning the coffer dams are set solid enough to make a pour against if I choose to, or to build higher with another bead. I have use this stuff now over a number of years and I like to make layers on my falls with it, gluing one layer over another with the Water Effects. However I have found that the glued part takes an long time to dry where I attach it since it is not open to the air. If I remember right it took about two months for the attached sections to fully cure and dry clear at the attachment points.
Made my first pour of water in both ponds and the streams, of which there are two, the one running from the Beaver pond the to the mainstream. Going to have to make a 2nd pour for the ponds and the main stream in about another three to four hours. 100_5319-2 by John Moore posted Mar 8, 2018 at 11:34 AM Good thing that I raised the rear coffer dam early this morning as everything headed that way, so on the next pour I need to concentrate to the front side. I am hoping I have enough to raise the pond level to above the culvert pipes. Normally without the Beaver dam I would not be raising it that high but those pesky Beavers built an engineering marvel. Seeing how far a water kit doesn't take me has me thinking ahead to part two, the port area and possible alternatives. The port is planned for about two to three square feet of water area. And I had my first visit to the layout from a critter. in the shape of a large Wolf Spider, think looking like a miniature Tarantula. I hate spiders!! A quick whisk to the side of the layout with a paint brush that was handy and then I introduced him or her to the bottom of a #9 shoe. It was heading toward my fresh pour at the stream and that would have resulted in a big problem.
Other than a few more houses, maybe, I placed the last two structures on the plateau. 100_5323-1 by John Moore posted Mar 9, 2018 at 11:01 AM My Basque sheep herders camp With a whole deer being roasted on a spit over a fire while some folks sit around and wait for dinner along with the herding dogs. Some of my logging stuff got re-purposed for this mini-scene. Another deer hangs from a tree to the right rear waiting to be butchered. And I installed and wired my water tank with flashing beacon there also. 100_5322-2 by John Moore posted Mar 9, 2018 at 10:59 AM And once again Murphy raised his ugly head. As always when doing a water pour you try to have everything sealed. When I went to check on the 2nd pour on the big pond the level had dropped meaning a leak. As this stuff cures it heats up so I thought to feel the layout to try and determine where the leak was. The area directly under the tracks between the pond was unusually warm so I suspect the culvert area was the source of the leak. Last night I applied Water Effects as a sealant into the culvert and around it and hope that was it. Won't know until next week when I try to pour again and bring it up to the dam level. In the meanwhile I am totally disgusted with my track ballasting job and so this weekend I am going to try and improve that some.
