I received a couple of new foam hot tools for Christmas, so had some time to fool around with them today. I created a curved half sized version of the large cantral mesa/butte that will dominate the "Santa Fe Room" layout... I wanted to use the tools and see which ones will work ther best for the various features. The one that will be on the layout will be about a foot higher (this one stands about 10 inches), I'll just laminate more sections... These pics show the general contours 'roughed' in, and a little 'erosion' detail created on the vertical upper portion-I want some more carving on the vertical part...I'll fool with it some more tomorrow. Although this piece is just a 'test bed' and won't be on the layout, I'm going to go through the whole process of final shaping, adding loose sand and boulders to the sloped section, then painting, including adding the horizontal strata layers with different hues and colors. I'll blend the finished piece into a small diorama that i can take outside for photo purposes...akk in akk, I'm pleased with the initial trials of the tools.... Again, here is a pic of one of the Mesas in the area that i'm modelling... Thanks for looking, Bruce
Neat! Very good carving. You have to be somewhat artistic to paint directly onto the foam. Reminds me of that "flatiron" layout.
Thanks!...but the hotwire tools make it fairly simple...I will 'smooth' the slope surface before adding sand-rock-boulders, but I want to leave the vertical eroded exposed sandstone layers 'naked' until painting... also, I really need to proof read my posts !...my spelling is great, but my typing is atrocious! (especially when trying to type in the dark!) Bruce
Thanks Mike! trying to rapidly develop the 'learning curve' with the new hotwire tools... fiddled with the test mesa a little more...a little more detail and 'randomness'...variations in slope and natural talus fields, again, just trying to hone the skill before carving the main one; also, having this smaller, mobile version allows me to move it around the trackplan to help me visualize final scenes a bit better... Thanks, Bruce
Bruce , If you could write up a How To , I would love to post it on the shop hoe-to page . PM Me if that is of intrest to you. Thanks , Mike
Walthers Machine Shop These are pictures of my Walthers Machine SHop that will soon be a Power Station. So far I have weathered it and painted it. I will add a Power Relay to it and some lights to the building and we'll be set. It's part of my New YEars Projects to build some of the kits I've had sitting around for some time. It was a blast to build and easy as most Walthers kits are.
Well - my fingers are really sore! I just finished cutting a gazillion sprue cuts, separating all of the parts for - gasp - The Walthers Leather Tannery kit! Poo on the 4 separate bags! They are all the same part numbers anyways, and who builds it like the box shows anyways? I sorted & filed all the parts in two large size Plano parts boxes, numbering the bins, now ready to start a couple of Factory Buildings.
I may have missed where you mention it...what type of hotwire foam cutter did you get that you have found the most comfort with?
Bryan, I'm REALLY loving the tools made by "Hot Wire Foam Factory"...especially their 'router'...a thick wire that can be bent to a specific shape.... I threw on a quick coat of 'earth' paint (acylic or latex ONLY!...enamels and laquers will melt the foam!) to give an idea of the actual texture of the foam after using a hotwire tool (the upper rock strata) and a 'surform' rasp (the sloped area)...for background relief, apart from extra painting and shading, this stage would be sufficient...(if one takes just a little more time in laminating the layers of foam together-I didn't!-there won't be any visible 'seams' between the layers...of course, if you can find a single piece of this type of foam that is 10-12 inches thick, then it's even more simple...no laminating at all!...However, I'm going to continue the laminating on the large mesa, even experimenting with various thicknesses of foam, to help define the starta layers...also, i'm going to use a different type of glue for laminating the upper rock foam layers-the latex liquid nails is just a little too thick for 'fine' detail work; it's perfect for the laminating of the layers of foam that will end up being the sloped part of the mesa, though) I'm going to add some more texture on the slope, in the form of fine sand and various sizes of talus. Normally, I would apply the talus and sand BEFORE a first base coat...but it can be added after. you can still see some 'pink' through this layer of paint, but you can better visualize a finished product when you add the first 'real' tones of color... Thanks for looking, Bruce
Hello, a few more steps on this test piece... I've proven the concept (to myself)...I feel confident, at this point, that I'll be able to use these techniques to bring the scenery on the 'Santa Fe Room' layout to life, based on the results of this little piece. There are some things I'll do differently on the main mesa; namely use different adhesive for the vertical exposed rock layers...the thickness of the latex liquid nails that I spread onto each layer is way too obvious, it doesn't carve like the foam, tends to 'bead' under the hotwire tools. However it will be perfect for all the sloped areas... I'm illustrating the extra steps I'll add to the scenery, although in 'reverse' order than I'd normally do it... Normally, I'd carve the basic shape add the detail to the vertical strata apply sand and boulder 'ground cover' THEN paint the entire piece with a base color paint the horizontal variances in sediment apply a series of washes to blend the scnery add large specific 'loose' boulders', add any natural growth In this case, I haven't settled on my base color (I want to replicate the reddish-terra cotta color that dominates this part of the Southwest), and my accent colors for the sedimentary layers, so I just painted the base coat with what I had 'on hand'-a Home Depot mix matched for Pollyscale's "Earth"...BTW...Pollyscale's "Earth" color should be the base for just about every other scenic application one could imagine in modelling 'terra firma'...it's a great 'natural' neutral 'dirt'-'soil'-'sand' color that one would find in just about every region of the world... Even with the red color dominating this layout, I'll still use the earth color as a wash and as one of the variances of sedimentary color. Here, I'm adding 'boulders' made from breaking pieces of scrap foam-I don't throw away any of the foam I cut-carve from the layout-i can always find a use, somewhere, for even the smallest pieces of scrap..
last installment for today... adding a base layer of 'sand'...in this case, actual sand, un-sifted, from the area around the house (here in coastal Alabama, the top layer of soil is sandy) I just used a wide brush to 'paint' an area with scenic cement, then drizzled a thin layer of sand from a 'saved' Parmesan cheese shaker (I save these and use these for dispensing ground foams...a lot cheaper than buying the Woodland Scenics shakers!) Thanks for looking, Bruce
4 Alco PAs, in a fantasy scheme, 2 F-7s in NP colors, and 2 RS-3s in SP&S colors are on the workbench in various stages. The RS-3s are getting the fans modified as was done with a number shortly after delivery, but not with the rest. This variation completes my SP&S RS unit roster.
I am working on an Athearn F45, the second unit for my passenger train. Adding detailing and renumbering to 5920.
