Thanks so much for the video/tutorial. I'll be putting a dairy farm on my layout soon and am totally going to steal your ideas Nice job!
Hey MC, Do you plan on putting anything around the area to make it look like a washout occurred? You know, some parts of the old bridge, etc? Love the module! I've been following closely! Alex
So I finally figured out how to use my iPhone & iMovie, so I've posted a three-part step-by-step video series on how to make the N scale twisted-wire oak trees to my YouTube Channel. [sorry the first one's not in HD: casualty of the learning process] Don't have 30 minutes to spare? Don't want to listen to me ramble for a 1/2 hour? Don't blame you! Here's a SIX-MINUTE "abridged" video: All the Oak, 1/5th the Fillibuster! [video=youtube_share;7tnBIdbL9sY]http://youtu.be/7tnBIdbL9sY[/video] I'll be uploading more "how to" videos to my YouTube channel as I make them. The good news it that it took me a few "takes" to get the videos right, so I should have about 4 more oaks planted by the end of the weekend. Enjoy the weekend!
Thanks, John & John. After making a couple more, I've learned what NOT to do: When spray painting the polyfill, just shoot from underneath, leaving the tops green. On this recent batch, I sprayed Grimy Black from the top, too, and it didn't turn out so well: The newer tree on the left looks more toy-ish & blobby, while the first tree (sprayed only from the bottom) has a better blended look. It also helps to spread the polyfill out a bit more horizontally, rather than clump like q-tip heads around the wire branches. Here's the "wrong" tree: And here's the first one that turned out better, IMHO: The other two I made the same "wrong" way turned out a little better, and I planted on the hill. A couple more smaller oaks will help blend the scene better, so I'll post some picts when I get those built & planted. Thanks for looking.
I'll have to take your word for it as it is difficult to see the difference in the photos. Makes sense though as the underside of the branches would be shadowed for the most part anyway.
Actually they both look good from here. The "wrong" tree I'd picture in my imagination as earlier in a growing season, with more lush and fresh foliage. The other a later summer appearance as if exposed to heat and weather. Just my impressions.
Dangggg.....If ya wanna make a bunch of "wrong trees"....throw em in a box and I'll PM ya my mailing addresss! :tb-cool: I will be happy to take all your 'rejects"...LOL. :tb-biggrin: Orrrrrrrr...ya can just make me some for my birthday today They all look great to me :thumbs_up:
MC, thanks so much for the videos! I appreciate the time and effort you have gone through to help show us how you made these wonderful trees. Now I have to open up the sawdust bag off my tablesaw, get some of that good ol sawdust and get-a-strainin'! NCDaveD
Thanks, guys. The camera makes the "bad" one look a lot better than it does in person (especially anywhere near the "good" one). I'll probably turn the bad one into a fallen trunk on the hillside. As for the cow pasture and the fence ends, perhaps I need to model this story (it's even in the right area): Cows break out of pasture, die on road Two cows went to the dairy in the sky when they were hit by a delivery van early Tuesday near Santa Rosa. The black-and-white Holsteins were among 30 to 40 cows that escaped from a pasture through a hole in the fence sometime around 3:20 a.m., said Officer Jonathan Sloat of the California Highway Patrol. Officers found a “chaotic scene” when they arrived at River Road near Olivet Road, with the animals mooing and several drivers trying to help. CHP officers determined that a man in a delivery van had struck the cows before leaving the scene. The driver later contacted the CHP and won’t face charges “because it was in the middle of the night and there was nobody to report it to,” Sloat said. Had the driver not reported the accident, it would have been a hit-and-run because cows are considered property. Forestville firefighters and Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies helped to herd the cows back to their pasture near Woolsey Road. The county Roads Department used a loader to remove the dead carcasses. “They’re heavy,” Sloat said. The CHP got another call at 9 a.m. Tuesday after three cows escaped yet again from the same location. They were mooved back to their pasture. Authorities are having trouble finding their owner, Sloat said. The CHP doesn’t have a position as to whether it’s safer to hit cows head-on as opposed to swerving around them, although the cows might. “You just do what is safe, whatever you think is the safest thing to do,” Sloat said. It's a brilliantly written article, too boot. (At least they didn't use dynamite to remove the cows like they did the dead whale back in '70): [video=youtube_share;Q8-MmSjZP3w]http://youtu.be/Q8-MmSjZP3w[/video]
Spent the week making about 4-5 more oaks, planting them, and adding some bushes and the ubiquitus yellow flowers that flow over the Northern California coastal hillsides in Spring: And here's some pull-back shots to show how the hill fits in with the rest of the module: Still have one more oak on the workbench that will be mixed in with the lighter deciduous tree along the creek, and one "fallen" trunk to be placed up on the hill when it's all dry. Next up: the "in-progress" abutments, some workers, a bulldozer, replacement ties & rails, and an old barn. But the show is a week from today (Friday), so we'll see how much I can get done. The vineyard is just not going to make it, I'm guessing, as I still have to redo the leg assembly and build the travel / storage box. Thanks for looking.
Thanks, Mark! Finished a big project this morning, so I used a lovely 70 deg day to cut some wood outside of the garage (still managed to make a mess inside, though). Cut all the pieces to build the carry / storage crate, but I'll assemble that tomorrow. Today I rebuilt the legs with some sturdy plates up at top: This is much better than the previous bolts-through-legs set up. The module is actually resting on the legs. It's a little wobbly, but when connected to other modules I hope it'll be fine and not Free-moN Dominos. And since it was such a nice day, I just carried it out into the sun for a few photos: In terms of new stuff: there's one more oak down among the light-green deciduous (you can see it in the back-middle of the first of three photos) which helps balance and mix things up. And then there's the fallen oak trunk, which turnout out better than I thought but not as good as I hoped (knowwattaimean?) So tomorrow's the travel box, and I'm still trying to carve an abutment from pink foam but it's just not happening. Maybe tomorrow. Thanks for looking.
Fantastic modules! I really think Free-moN has a future with work like this. But I have one question....... Why did the B&B crew lay a separate siding when the existing approach trackage to the original bridge could have been used? Just sayin'... :tb-err:
Took the opportunity to put in new ties and rails after shoring up the slope and re-ballasting the main. Still need to put in all the old ties and rails along the main waiting for clean up. There's going to be a crane car on the approach as well to work on the cow-side abutment building (will be just forms and rebar, I think). Never fear! All will be okie dokie in the end! It just looks a bit silly and messy in medias res (which is why so many authors start there). Cheers!
