Bridgework: River Banks

[Zox]

I'm starting to get the landforms in place for the banks of the river on my ICRR bridge module.

Here's a picture of the real landscape at the southwest corner of the bridge:



And here's a picture of my first attempt to exactly match the shape "at the waterline" with some half-inch foam:



(The edge of the foam is covered in masking tape, which is why it doesn't look like foam.)

One major problem is evident here. Unlike the real terrain, I have to come back up to track level by the end of the module, all along the edge where the module meets the next one. This edge is defined by the 1x4 visible above the foam; in fact, track level is 1/4" above the 1x4 (I have plans to deal with this later).

In the real world, a dirt embankment generally can't be steeper than 30 degrees; if it is, it will erode. For models, I find 45 degrees acceptable, but anything steeper starts looking implausible. Looking at this picture, it's obvious that I'll have a very steep hill running down from the module edge to the retaining wall along the river--too steep for me to accept.

So for my second attempt, I extended the riverbank out to allow a shallower slope, and used a hot-wire cutter to rough in the land contours:



The slope looked better, but comparing the model to the reality showed that I needed to make the retaining wall a bit higher. Also, I was obviously going to need to "skin" the curved part of the retaining wall in styrene to make it acceptably smooth, yet I wasn't sure how to attach a bent piece of styrene to styrofoam in a way that might not work loose later.

So the third attempt was cut with a scroll saw out of 1-by lumber, and I hacked the top off of Attempt #2 and sat it on top of the new lower piece for the test shot:



It's obviously not finished yet, but I think this is the right approach.

[Zox]

A bit more progress--got the retaining wall section assembled and painted:



It's odd--the paint on the left side of the retaining wall is the exact same paint as the bridge, yet they look very different here. It seems like the craft paint I'm using definitely color-shifts a bit over the course of a week or so after painting.

I noticed the same discrepancy with the cutwaters, yet now they match with the rest of the bridge. Here's hoping this new piece will fall into line as well.

 (The right side of the wall has some light gray mixed in; it's the color I'll be using for the newer concrete on the modules, such as sidewalks.)

[asciibaron]

looks good Rob.

how will you deal with the gap where the wall meets the water?

[Zox]

how will you deal with the gap where the wall meets the water?

I had a couple of pieces of paper under the unit, to keep the still-damp paint from sticking to the water. Taking them out, and gluing the unit down, with a little help from convenient glue squeeze-out, should take care of most of the problem:



Although now I have some touch-up painting to do. Dagnabbit. I should have given the paint more time to dry...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Lookin good Rob!

[asciibaron]

i can't wait to see this in person.  that's a huge model that really looks the business in photos.  the module should be an impressive addition to any layout.

[Zox]

that's a huge model that really looks the business in photos.

Not all photos :



If you look closely at the ends of the module, you'll see my solution to the problem I mentioned earlier, where the top of the interface is too low:



Nothing too fancy here--I just cut strips of 1/4"-thick wood to fit on top of the interface and glued them in place. I used an X-acto knife to whittle the strips down on the "inside" edges, so they'll blend into the eventual scenery slope.

I've also discovered a bit of an issue on the underpass side of the module:



See where the quarter-inch grid meets the arch? That's 1 inch, or 13 feet 4 inches in N scale, of clearance under the arch. See the sign that says "10 FT 4 IN"? That's the problem. I'm obviously going to have to add another layer of something to the terrain base under the arch, to raise it up a bit (three scale feet, to be exact).

[wm3798]

Use some stimulus money and put 3' of asphalt on the road.  That's what they're doing on Route 50 right now... :

Lee

[Zox]

Well, the good news is, it looks like a piece of foamcore is just the thickness (a smidge under 1/4") for getting the road to the right elevation. The fun part will be controlling the material's tendency to cup toward whichever side gets wet, which I'll probably deal with by sealing with Dullcote and/or spray paint before gluing.

The bad news is, I may have to do something I hoped to avoid, which is scratchbuilding some rocks.

There's a retaining wall at the northeast corner of the bridge:



And here's the closest patterns that I can find from Plastruct:





Obviously neither of these is going to work.

I have a notion of how to do this (pre-distress some styrene strips, then cut to random lengths and glue to a backing), but that falls in the "more tedious than fun" category.

Oh well. At least the Plastruct might work for the smaller rocks in the "extension" on top of the wall...

[Zox]

Well, I ended up leaving the Timonium show early this weekend, and being under the weather for the rest of the three-day weekend. Looks like I'm recovering just in time to go back to work. Whee...

Anyway, I did manage to get the retaining wall built while I was semi-conscious:



(Diagram at right, wall faintly visible at left.) Fortunately, I was able to build it row-by-row instead of block-by-block. Each horizontal row is a strip of .080" (high) by .125" (deep) styrene, with the blocks marked out by cuts made with a triangular file. In the glue-up, the rows are separated by strips of .010" styrene, to provide a visual separation as well as to bring the rows close to the 1-scale-foot (.088") height I deduced from measuring the photographs.

Here's a shot of the actual retaining wall, taken from across the river at full (3x) zoom:



And here's a similar shot of the model wall:



Obviously it needs to be set closer to the bridge, but sizewise it looks okay. I still have to do the smaller stones at the upper right of the wall, but I think I can use the Plastruct sheet for that.

Right now the wall is "in the paint shop" (i.e. sitting on top of a chunk of foamcore in the basement) with a primer coat drying. More pictures once it gets painted...

[DKS]

For that stone effect, you might want to look at something like this--

http://www.eurorailhobbies.com/erh_detail.asp?MN=15&CA=23&SC=N&stock=NO-34861

[Zox]

For that stone effect, you might want to look at something like this--

http://www.eurorailhobbies.com/erh_detail.asp?MN=15&CA=23&SC=N&stock=NO-34861

Dave, I looked at the link, but I'm not sure I understand how it applies, other than showing an example of something that has a stone texture. Could you elaborate, please?

[Zox]

A minor update: got a bit of paint on the main retaining wall, and cut the section made of smaller rocks out of a Plastruct sheet:



It's much easier to take pictures of objects that aren't glossy white.

[Zox]

I think I'm done with the retaining wall.

From across the river:



Up close and personal:



Close enough for government work.

[RDG_Rich]

I'm diggin it!

Few people will ever appreciate the level of crap you are putting yourself through to make the model match the prototype...except for other modelers, BUT, everyone who has seen the prototype will immediately recognize the model, which is worth it, I think.

And by crap I mean fun.