I do like that brown you paint. It gives it look of a line that hasn’t seen traffic regularly. Very convincing
Today I sanded the paint off the rail tops, and tested locomotive running good on both tracks, then started on scenery stuff. First was to make a train station platform, and I wanted it to be curved to match the tracks. I also want a rail crossing, there, so I built up some ballast to be sub roadbed, and I started sprinkling on a bit of WS Fine Yellow Turf over the terrain. It will take many layers to get the look I want, so this is just the start:
The ballast does have a green-ish tint to it. I would be tempted to put a different scene between each tree stand leg, sort of like an advent calendar. It is great you have all the tools and knowledge to make what you need when you need it. I'm very curious to see the look you are aiming for. Great progress. Jim
The curved platform is just another of those little details that seems so small but such a difference
I ran out of Yellow Turf, but Hobby Town carries it, but it don't open till tomorrow, so I am working on trees. I got a pack of 100 Butch Fir Trees, but they look too symmetrical and perfect, so I am going to chop away at them a bit, and see what I can do to make them look better:
I decided to try a bit of airbrushing dilute Apple Barrel tole paints on them and see what that does. I think it is a subtle but still an improvement over stock trees which are a bit glossy and all the same color. Stock 2 on left, airbrushed on the right:
Nice tip on the trees. I’ve been researching some for my layout recently, and harder than it sounds to find quality looking trees that are well proportioned to fit Z-scale. And an additional problem is, I’ll be needin’ hundreds.
Woke up to a bit of that cold wet stuff today. You can see it's wet by the way it sticks in the trees. Front Yard: At least it's starting to look a lot like Christmas! : So the base coat... I was going through all my tree boxes looking for more lame trees to work on, and found a bag of the WS Fine Yellow Turf and covered the layout this morning. After that I sprayed the layout with wet water and drizzled on a lot more of the dilute Mod Podge: Next I sprinkled on a light dusting of a few other colors of fine turf, then I whipped out my Electronic Fly Swatter Static Grass Machine: It's a small Tupperware tub with a metal screen cut into the lid, and wired to the 2 D Cell version of the Harbor Freight Electronic Fly Swatter. The negative lead goes to a wire with a T Pin on it that you stick in the scenery, and the positive wire gets connected to the screen in the Tupperware tub. Since electrons travel from Positive to Negative, the positively charged static grass is attracted to the grounded scenery, and they fly like tiny darts, sticking up like grass or weeds. It works surprisingly well, however every so often I end up shocking myself. Good Times, Good Times!
Back to the Butch Fir Trees while waiting for the layout top dry, I decided I need a few of the trees to look like they are drying out and dying, in the mix. I feel I need a variety of slight color differences in them so here is the attempt. I start with a stock tree. They are all shaped the same with a symmetrical taper from top to bottom, however i feel is represents a young short tree with that taper: So I cut the taper to a steeper profile, to represent an older taller tree of Z Scale: Then I airbrushed it brown from the bottom up, so the underside of all branches is brown, and then I airbrushed from the top down the evergreen color, so the tops of the branches are greener, and it kind of gives an overall dying look or drying out look to the tree. I'll make a dozen of these to throw in the batch:
Excellent! I find the spray paint trick works well, but I add a sprinkle of ground foam. My friend Grant Eastman (of N scale Southern Alberta Rail/sar fame) does a double sprinkle, and the results are excellent.
This morning I started to carve the mountain form with a serrated steak knife: View attachment 260760 If I suggested a Z scale theme to our tree in the front room I think my Wife would be thinking of another, more sinister use, for that Knife!
It was cold this morning, so cold in fact that a giant slab of snow that was trying to slide off my patio roof was frozen in it's tracks. In fact at 3PM, half of it was still hanging there: So I'll call it another model railroad day. I started by trying to rough in some gravel roads around the layout: And then I decided to work on the creek quadrant of the layout. First I painted the creek bed flat black, then loaded it up with Rip Rap, crushed granite, and powdered lichen. Next order of business was to plant a couple trees for inspiration. After that I painted the concrete culvert bridge gray. Then looking at the road, I decided I need some kind of road bridge over the creek, and decided to draw something up in Corel Draw. I still need to figure out some support bents for underneath, but I wanted to visualize something over the creek bed first to bridge the road:
Rob, Creek bed looks real good! I like the bridges, especially how the concrete bridge looks like it's always been there. Scott
I finished the bridge supports, and added one of Walt's 1920's style cars crossing the bridge. also a couple more trees: And I planted the NP Depot and Cherry Poppin's Playhouse in the next quadrant, as well as a few trees there too:
Excellent work on the trees Robert. I’ll certainly be using many of your tips and techniques for my own adventures coming up soon. Hey in regards to that picture of the sheet of ice just hanging there, I had to stare at that for a little bit and figure out what exactly what I was looking at. At first it looked like a massive tsunami wall getting ready to engulf your neighborhood. Then I realize that’s the sheet itself.
The slight elevation of the station makes quite a difference. The stairs and the road behind the depot add a sense of depth. I like the Playhouse building. It looks similar to some of the MTL waterfront kits. It is coming along great. Walt's car looks cool going over that bridge. I haven't done much train shopping lately. I'll have to look at Walt's stuff. Brilliant work, Rob. Jim
Rob, Looks great! Love the locomotive, did you do a build thread on it? Is that Walt's shell? Is Cherry Poppin's appropriate for the Christmas tree? Scott