New Beginnings

PapaG Mar 1, 2021

  1. MK

    MK TrainBoard Member

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    A rasp used for foam? Surform(sp)?
     
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  2. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    I've got one in gray. And a bigger one that's 8" long.
     
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  3. PapaG

    PapaG TrainBoard Member

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    Yep! That's it! Thank you!

    I saw a video some time ago about all of the tools that this particular modeler used. That Surform shaver was something he said he couldn't live without, but I'll be damned if I could find that video again, lol!

    Thank you!
     
  4. PapaG

    PapaG TrainBoard Member

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    I'll be looking for some of those...

    I once took a nutmeg grater out of my kitchen to see how that might work... pretty effective, but the shape of that rendered it useful in only very specific instances.
     
  5. PapaG

    PapaG TrainBoard Member

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    My first attempt at weathering bridges... I'm not sure how some of you guys do this so realistically.

    Anyway, I think I'm going to repaint the green bridge. Of the four, that's the one I'm least happy with. I think I want the rust color to collect more in the corners and crevices than on the flat vertical faces of the steel panels, and what I've got is the exact opposite of that.

    Any bridge tips, tricks, and pics are welcome! BridgeWeathering1.jpg



    BridgeWeathering2.jpg



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    BridgeWeathering4.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2021
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  6. in2tech

    in2tech TrainBoard Member

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  7. in2tech

    in2tech TrainBoard Member

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    Your water and bridge looks cool! What did you use for the water?
     
  8. PapaG

    PapaG TrainBoard Member

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    That is Woodland Scenics "Realistic Water". It's a single part product that you can tint to the color you like. I over tinted the lagoon a little... I would have preferred a pour that was a little more translucent.
     
  9. PapaG

    PapaG TrainBoard Member

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    Getting some work done on the new gorge scene. After the water pour fiasco from the original attempt, I think I'm going to rethink the 'larger body of water' pour that I attempted last time, and continue the 'creek' down from the mountain, into the gorge, and under the bridges. This will give me the same kind of feature that I wanted, but without some of the inherent risks associated with curing resin. And since this section isn't installed in the layout yet, I'm going to take advantage of that fact and work on it separately for the time being.

    Starting out with just a simple line for the creek to empty off-layout. The bridge is there to provide some demarcation of where things will lie.

    NewGorge1.jpg


    Knocking out the shape for my bridge supports...


    NewGorge2.jpg


    ... and get things lined up for the longer bridge on the inside track.

    NewGorge3.jpg


    Thinking about some small, descending cascades as the creek flows off layout. And I really like the look of my heavily weathered/rusted deck panel bridge in this setting. Once I get things properly set-dressed, that bridge is going to look really good here.

    NewGorge4.jpg


    The cavity is covered with plaster cloth.


    NewGorge5.jpg


    Plotting the flow of my creek through the new gorge.


    NewGorge7.jpg


    This section looked just a little too 'square' to be natural. So, I tried to soften that edge a bit by cutting into the plaster cloth covered foam for a slight redesign.

    NewGorge8.jpg


    Paint applied to the modification and now I'm ready to cast my bridge supports and get them set, then I'll apply my soil mix around and along the path of the creek. Once the soil mix is applied I'll add some river stones to the creek bed and get the water, poured like I did for Four Falls Creek as it flowed down the mountain.

    I think I'm going to try and dress this scene as completely as I can before reinstalling it on the layout. So that means vegetation along the creek, shrubs, bushes, and brambles in the gorge, and grass applied where applicable, and then reinstall it.

    I'm hoping to have this all done in the next week or so.


    NewGorge9.jpg
     
  10. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    I enjoy seeing what your doing but think it might be easier to make it a marsh. We have a lot of those around here.
     
  11. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    Marshes don't occur on sloping ground, at least not sloping that much. They depend on still or very slowly running water.
     
  12. PapaG

    PapaG TrainBoard Member

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    Getting my bridge supports mocked up.


    It begins with some minor surgery to make room for the cast plaster parts. I prefer doing this after I've covered the area with plaster cloth rather than doing it prior to. This way, the dimensions of the cavity are pretty much set, accounting for the thickness of the plaster cloth, and there's less to modify from this point on. All I have to do is dress the areas affected by the modifications and the rest of it should be right where I want it.


    BridgeSupports1.jpg



    BridgeSupports2.jpg




    BridgeSupports3.jpg

    Then I rough fit some simple rectangular pieces that I’ve cast, and cut them to fit. This is just a rough approximation of how things will be laid out to support the bridges. The size and shape of things is less important at the moment than getting the relationship between the upper and lower support right.


    BridgeSupports4.jpg




    BridgeSupports5.jpg




    BridgeSupports6.jpg


    I still have to align the supports with where the bridges will eventually lie, so there may be some more surgery required to get a good fit. But, I need to connect the bridges with the rest of the layout to get their exact positioning and, thus, the exact position of the supports.


    BridgeSupports7.jpg

    Some of the pieces broke while I was cutting them, but that’s no big deal as these aren't the pieces that will actually be installed on the layout anyway. Once all the pieces fit like I want them to, I’ll glue what pieces I need glued together and then I’ll make molds from those pieces out of liquid silicone and gauze bandages. Prior to making the molds though, I'll dress any cracks or raw ends with some plaster and sand everything smooth and straight. Then, once I have my molds, I’ll cast new plaster parts that are the right sizes and shapes for what I need, based on this mock up.

    I'm also liking the differences in the weathering of the two bridges. The rearward bridge was just recently weathered... I didn't want it to look just like the bridge in the foreground, and I think the result is pretty great!


    BridgeSupports8.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2021
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  13. PapaG

    PapaG TrainBoard Member

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    WOO-HOO!!

    I’ve been looking at these for months and finally decided to pull the trigger.

    I love the look of these and can’t wait to have my layout working so I can run them.

    I’ll be running them with my UP EMD SD70ACe in the short term, until I get my D&RGW locos for the layout I’m planning next. CD248D91-3CF5-4A03-806E-69B6FCB805D3.jpeg



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    CDD1832A-A724-467E-93A4-85A25A357FB8.jpeg
     

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