Weekend update - 10-21-2007

[3rdrail]

Since no one else has started it (I got diverted by the unjustified blast at all individual entrepreneurs), what have y'all accomplished in the past week? I got a few things done, like the decal on my LIRR H16-44 and finishing the October 2007 MTL cars I bought (tank and reefer cars are semi-kits), plus scanned some more old photos.

How about you?

[Chris333]

Used a etched tender wrapper from RLW to get my Nn3 locomotive's motor hidden.



A coal bunker, back-up light, and water hatch will help hide the rear 1/4" of motor peeking out.

[up1950s]

Chris , your quality of work is unearthly .


Here is a new addition to the W&LG , thanks for the sideframes Chris . I am now working on Randys Whitcomb .

[Ed Kapuscinski]

These are all from last weekend's show, but don't have Max's steam.

Conrail power laying around in the BANTRAK yard. A pair of vets for local power (U23b and GP30) and three shiny (almost) new GP40-2s ready for their next TV train.



There's something about my MP15s and paper mills (I think it's my frustration about the lack of SW1500s). Here it is working John's oNeTRAK return loop mill:







And here's the uboat waiting for Tim Nixon's Chessie power to get out of the way to depart with its local:

[Zox]

I'm not going to be getting much accomplished here for a while. They're "underpinning" my basement, which means adding more concrete under part of the footing to stop the whole thing from falling over.

To let them do this, I had to move everything six feet from the walls in that half of the basement, which meant compressing everything there into a space the size of a ping-pong table. Needless to say, until they get done and I can start moving stuff back where it belongs, I don't really have any place for doing projects. :\

[up1950s]

I'm not going to be getting much accomplished here for a while. They're "underpinning" my basement, which means adding more concrete under part of the footing to stop the whole thing from falling over.

To let them do this, I had to move everything six feet from the walls in that half of the basement, which meant compressing everything there into a space the size of a ping-pong table. Needless to say, until they get done and I can start moving stuff back where it belongs, I don't really have any place for doing projects. :\

Ouch , that can't be cheap .

[nscalesteve]

I did finish the CP Rail SD40-2 #5398...


(klick for a bigger picture)


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The Making Of this engine you will see here:
http://www.scalerailsonline.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2883

...and Kimi Raikkonen finally did it - Bravo Kimi, Formula 1 Champion 2007 !

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Steve, I really feel like that's your best work to date.

[nscalesteve]

Steve, I really feel like that's your best work to date.

thank you Ed, that means a lot to me... 

[qantaqa]

I was fortunate enough to log a few hours operating with almost a dozen other guys on the "Pilchuck Division of the BNSF" in N scale/DCC on wednesday on Whidbey Island, WA.  That was *much* fun

On the home layout, I'm about 60% finished with the cardboard/blue foam scenery base, hydrocal to follow...

John

[bdeuster]

Great stuff everyone! And Ed, you are the king of on-layout photography with available light!!

Here are several images taken on my 1/3 finished, 2 week old photo diorama (2ft x 6ft). Two of the things that I have begun working with - and I stress begun - are making my own shrubs and using the Noch GrassMaster. I have a lot to learn about both but am encouraged that I am going in the right direction. And, I decided to try my hand at the supertree process and one of them can be seen in the background (not the sad pine-looking trees that need to be redone) - though admittedly out of focus....

Here they are









I just hope this works as I havnt done it in a while....

B

[3rdrail]

Bill, those bushes/trees in the thicket in front of the feed mill, shown in these  two photos:





are about, no are, the best job I've ever seen of modeling a thicket! Share with us what you used, please. 

[sparky]

Bill, those bushes/trees in the thicket in front of the feed mill, shown in these  two photos:

are about, no are, the best job I've ever seen of modeling a thicket! Share with us what you used, please. 

While we're waiting for Bill to answer, I'll take a guess... Looks like pieces of SuperTree, Silflor, and static grass- all available from Scenic Express.

http://www.scenicexpress.com

EDIT:  I forgot to mention I agree with Gregg- that looks awesome, Bill!

[bdeuster]

Thanks 3rdRail, coming from you that means a lot!

As I am in the midst of testing some "shrubbery techniques" I dont have a specific approach but a very general one. And it is as simple as taking some (a very small amount of) poly fiber and twisting it into a length of about 3/4 to 1.5 inches in length one end being twisted very tight and the other end very loose. I then paint (grimy black works) the most twisted end into a small piece of aluminum foil (again twisted to form a "trunk" for inserting into the foam base) and let it dry overnight. The next day I airbrush the whole mess matte black.

(Note that as much irregularity and "airyness" are best looking to my eye as I think that vegetation, in general, in N scale is entirely too clumpy and dense. Ed K with his winter modeling is what really got me to thinking about all of this.)

The next step is to simply spray some hair spray on the fibers and sprinkle ground foam (oh the horrors!!!) to simulate some leaves. No two are alike and the paint on the fiber serves two purposes - one to darken it for depth and two, to make it more shapeable. Painting the fiber gives it a feel of steel wool - though not the shedding - and allows it to be shaped a bit.

Finally, I use scissors to cut and shape an interesting final shape.

As for placing them on the diorama - well - they are part of the reason I built the diorama. To test this technique and to perfect several other new ones, the grassmaster and the supertrees being some additional things I want to learn and perfect before I continue my work on my gallery layout.

As for the placement on the diorama in the form you see. Well, the first placement left a lot to be desired. When I put several of my "shrubbs" together, I began to lose the "airyness". So I added some of the stems from the WS tree kits and then added some of the MiniNatur prairie tufts to mimic what I remember thickets of my youth looked like where I grew up. I also wanted more variety of texture and tone so I sprinkled a tiny bit of top soil into the mix after a spray of matte medium to finally tie it all together....

I have several other ideas - one specifically - that the supertree stems can be used to construct an entirely different type of small shrub/ground cover that has a new level of realism for n scale. Also, forest floor cover is another modeling effort I am in the process of trying on this diorama and will post my work when I get a decent photo of it....

B

Edit - I forgot to say that the entire thicket was placed on top of my first try at using my new Noch Grassmaster.

[wm3798]

I finished upgrading Bob Bufkin's A-B shark set with MT couplers and decoders.  They spent most of the day breaking in ... providing some interesting views on the WM...  You'll pardon the cobwebs... I didn't realize the layout was already decorated for Halloween!





Not my best photography... but you get the idea...

Lee