new 6 ft NTrak module for the Lone Star Region set up in June!

[arbomambo]

painted and weathered slightly (a thin black wash based on Testors enamel thinner/brush cleaner)...
I also am using NZT battery boxes here as I had them in my stash....
Now that these are done (Phewwww!)...i can proceed on weathering the track and starting to rough in the styrofoam land forms...
Thanks for looking,
~Bruce

[dnhouston]

Nice work on the signal bridges.  You did such nice work, it's a shame they won't be lit.

[arbomambo]

hello all...
Beautiful weekend here in Coastal Alabama, so work can continue on the module outside...
all track feeds soldered, tie's replaced in any gaps from soldering, switch machine ties added to switches, module and legs drilled for hardware and legs mounted-5/8" bolts, washers , and T-nuts-skyboard cut and mounted-1/4" T-nuts, washers, and Eye bolts....
a couple of days before, during the deluge we received, I modified some Atlas telephone/power poles and drilled locations for them today...
I also mounted  the styrene tubing that will keep the signal bridges straight and in place, but allowing easy removal for module set-up and break downs

Tomorrow, another beautiful day forecast...
All gaps will be cut in track
track painted
skyboard painted

Thanks for looking,
~Bruce

[Scottl]

It must be great to work outside on the layout!

Looking good, I am looking forward to seeing the scenery come together, it is such a great concept for the module.

[arbomambo]

Another beautiful day!
Backdrop painted with the first coat...ties painted (siding and branchline painted gray-mainline painted black), the rails were painted with a grimy brown, then the ties were weathered with other browns...
Rust was used to accent tie clips and branchline rail...
Also, the siding and branchline roadbed wad trimmed to represent lighter rail...ballasting will show this to effect.
Thanks for looking,
~Bruce

[arbomambo]

and so the foaming begins...
Bruce

[arbomambo]

Hello all...
a little soggier today in Coastal Alabama.....it's taken far too long for the last few layers of foam to dry....
So, I decided to add the fascia, carve the 'sandstone/limestone' portion of the mesa (these three layers were glued early in the week and were dry enough to start carving)
I tested all the track and feeds-I had to clean a little paint from most of the turnout points and tweak the points so that they lay firmly against their corresponding rail...ARGGGGH...I was a little too aggressive with one of them, and broke a point rail; rather than replace it with a new switch, I decided I can live with it...it's one of the turnouts leading from Red to Red siding, or orange. If the group wants to replace this switch at a future date, they can...but for now, I've got a deadline...I'll provide a package of Arizona Rock and Mineral Mauve ballast, so that they can replace and re-ballast at a later date.
Apart from puttying the screw holes in the fascia, sanding, and painting...I don't have all that much to do...
the foam shaping goes very quickly; the top, vertical outcroppings, that will 'top' the mesa, can be carved upstairs at the workbench, and glued atop the formed slope.
Painting and texturing go VERY quickly...ballasting the track-adding some juniper bushes, and grass...then a few last details...detailing the skyboard....
the final wiring to the bus wires will be done in Austin/Round Rock3 more weekends plus a few evenings a week should be plenty of time to finish...
Thanks for looking,
~Bruce

PS-Otto, I posted plenty of 'in progress' pics because I know how much you love working with foam!

[Greyryder]

That's an interesting choice, for ballast.

[arbomambo]

Hello all,
Saturday has dawned beautifully here in coastal Alabama!...this weekend's schedule is already taken; major scenic steps on the Ntrak module for the June Texas show (only 2-1/2 weeks left!)...gotta squeeze in yardwork and a porterhouse steak cookout in there somewhere!
pulled the module out to do the final rough foam shaping...the verticlel' eroded 'rock' face has been glued to the top and, for grins, I roughed out some cracks and crevices to give me an idea of how it's all going to come together....













after a nice Mexican breakfast taco breakfast...the fun really starts!....
I had home depot mix flat interior latex paints to match Arizona rock and Mineral "Cajon Sandstone", "Apache Rock", and "Earth Limestone (Kaliche)"....I'm going to mix batches of sculptamold with these colors (individually), and apply them to the styrofoam structures....hopefully, they should be dry enough to really carve later this afternoon and tomorrow, I'll also add talus and debris to the slopes....the large form will get the Cajon sandstone treatment, and the lower gentle forms will be Apach rock and Limestone.
Thanks for looking,
Bruce

[Scottl]

Superb work.  To make it even more realistic you might want to try and extend the gullies further up into the draws below the cliff, especially the central major gully.  That is how they form so it is more natural that way.    I especially like how you have increased the joint density in the cliff rock unit above where the gullies are- that would be consistent with how you would find these landforms.

[arbomambo]

the fun and sloppy part is done!...mixing paint-tinted sculptamold, applying it with a spatula and wet fingers!

I tinted the sculptamold because this is an Ntrak module and is subject to knocking and it's more than likely that they're will be a chip or two, here and there...no bare sculptamold revealed...
the colors look a little 'stark' right now, but that will change with colors, washes, greenery, talus, etc....you'll notice piece of blue foam 'rocks' planted in the wet sculptamold...theres will get a paint and wash treatment.
thanks for looking...carving the rock comes next!
~Bruce

[arbomambo]

sun is setting on a full day...
sculptamold is dry in most places, so I started to experiment with carving....I found my Dremel engraving tool very helpful; makes the process fast and easy...



















Tomorrow, I'll finish carving, then start tinting the rock and slopes with various tints and washes...
Thanks for looking,
~Bruce

[arbomambo]

got up early this morning to get some texture and glue on so I can color the purple foam 'rocks' this week...ballast, talus, and final vertical rock painting (I'm going to represent the sedimentary layers with airbrushing and masking)...
that gives me the last week for details and nit-picking...I'll add a bit more green, especially in the foreground to mark this area....
Thanks for looking,
~Bruce

[arbomambo]

Hello all...last update for the weekend...done as much as I'm going to get done until middle of the week...put a few bushes in, and drybrushed the foam 'rocks'...
still a lot more to do, especially with the talus and vertical rock face (many painted sedimentary layers with predominant red colors)...
but, as you can tell, the last 7 hours of work has produced an amazing amount of change...
still to do...
paint the skyboard with lighter shades of blue, then background scenery
talus field
Red rock faces and sedimentary layers
ballast

then, a little tweaking and we're on our way to Round Rock/Austin!
Thanks for looking!
~Bruce

[txronharris]

Looking great!  Good job carving those rocks. If the rest of the modules at the LSR show are half as good as this one, it'll be a great set up.