Painting & Weathering Track

[pfs]

Tim...looks good!

[DKS]

No doubt in my mind (or my eyes) that you've captured the look of ties as they appear after exposure to the elements.

+1

I've always felt this was one of the most difficult effects to achieve. I'd say you've pulled it off. Well done!

[pennsyfan1361]

Looks good, reminds me when  I use to walk  out of service tracks.       Rich

[peteski]

EDIT Here is some in situ in East Staging...



I need to turn down those flanges one of these days...

The flanges are in the background and IMO, they don't look all that bad....
What I find amusing is that modelers go to the great lengths to make their track and scenery look realistic but they somehow develop a blind spot for the lack of realism in the model which sits on that beautiful track. Large flanges? Sure but that is not what sticks out like a sore thumb in this picture.   How about those toysh, horribly oversized flat metal stampings which are standing in for side rods and the rest of the valve gear?!  To me this photo looks like someone put a Lionel model on some finely detailed track.  The realism is lost.

Yes, I do see that the siderods were blackened to make them less obtrusive. I also realize that this is a 40 plus year old model made by Atlas/Rivarossi/Con-Cor and it was designed during the infancy of N scale. Still, wouldn't it be nice if someone offered a retrofit kit for siderods and valve gear for those older locos? Something finely relief-etched in stainless steel (like the ones used on Kato Mikados).

This is not a put-down directed at rschaffter or at any specific modeler - just a general observation after looking at that photo.  Those siderods literally poked me in the eye what I first glanced at the photo.

[peteski]

Tim, you have perfectly captured the look and coloring of the 1:1 scale ties. But you have to do something about that warm-silver look of the nickel silver rails compared to the cool-bluish steel look if the 1:1 track. Maybe you could use some stainless steel track?

 Just kidding - your track looks awesome! Can't wait to see how you handle the ballast.

[MichaelWinicki]

Luv the look of the ties Tim.

[GaryHinshaw]

I think that looks outstanding Tim.  Now I'm going to have to do the same thing with my spurs...  I was going to use ME code 40, but these ties look much closer to the parched, sun-drenched sidings I'm after.

I'm just curious about the color balance in your model shots.  Is the ballast really tan colored like that?

Cheers,
Gary

[BCR 570]

Thank you all - the consensus seems to be that I am a lot closer now.  I appreciate the feedback.

I'm just curious about the color balance in your model shots.  Is the ballast really tan colored like that?

I photographed the track sitting on a sheet of Woodland Scenics scenic mat which is that colour as it the closest thing around I have to ballast.  I wanted to get as close to a ballast look underneath as possible with as little effort as possible.  I will be using AR&M Northern Pacific ballast when the time comes.

I just tried gluing one of the joint bars to a piece of rail:

 


The rail is upside down for the photo but you might be able to see that I scribed the rail joint into the top of the rail, which gives me something to centre the joint bar on.  They sit into the web of the rail quite nicely.


Tim

[ednadolski]

Hi Tim your latest results are quite impressive! About the only $0.02 I would add would be maybe to rough in some random distress lines on the PCB ties to help blend better with the other ties.   Anything like a few quick horizontal scrapes with a fine saw blade or the point of an X-axcto.

Ed

[BCR 570]

Hi Tim your latest results are quite impressive! About the only $0.02 I would add would be maybe to rough in some random distress lines on the PCB ties to help blend better with the other ties.   Anything like a few quick horizontal scrapes with a fine saw blade or the point of an X-axcto.

Ed

Not a bad idea.  I actually filed the surfaces of the PC ties before assembly to ensure good clean contactwhen soldering, so they are indeed quite smooth.


Tim

[robert3985]

Tim, the wood ties are lookin' really good!  BUT, the PCB ties poke me in the eye with their plain surface and those one or two perfectly cut slots that are exactly perpendicular to the edges.  I use a fine grit paper sanding wheel on my Dremel and just remove the copper from the top of the tie by "softly" sanding it away so the edges are feathered.  Takes just an instant to do it.

OR, I'll file away the copper with an oval, very fine jeweler's file.  Sorta does the same thing as the fine sanding wheel on the Dremel.

To ensure you don't have future headaches with "phantom" shorts, make sure you gap the bottom surface of your PCB ties too.  I learned the hard way that sometimes solder will creep over the edge and cause an almost unfindable short from either soldering the rails or soldering a feeder.

If you want to make sure you are soldering on a copper surface that is clean and flat, just hit the edges with a fine file (which removes the "burr" that is always on cut PCB tie edges)  then use a pencil eraser on your copper surface to be soldered.  It's quicker than actually filing each PCB tie.

I enjoy this thread.  I also find it refreshing that you are as concerned as you are about getting just the right "look" for your model track.

Keep up the good work!

Cheers!
Bob Gilmore

[Lemosteam]

Tim as you are going thru so much effort to perfect your track, have you thought about hiding the PCB ties with wood shavings and staining them as you are the wood ties?  Commercial veneer is much too thick, but you could find or make a thin piece of wood, the same thickness as the width of the ties, and using a small block plane set to remove a very thin shaving, shave off strips, cut to fit between and outside the rails and glue them to the PCB.  lost of work but it looks as if you are paying attention to each tie individually anyway!  Looks GREAT by the way.

[hminky]

If you tin the whole PCB tie the thin layer of lead is easier to distress and easier to solder the rails to the tie.

Harold

[DKS]

If you tin the whole PCB tie the thin layer of lead is easier to distress and easier to solder the rails to the tie.

Actually, I think a better approach is to remove all of the copper except for a square under the rail (thus simulating a tieplate), then scribe woodgrain into the PCB material.

This Code 40 switch is handlaid on 100% PCB ties.

[dnhouston]

Tim, the ties look great.  With ballast, should be spot on.