Layout Progress, Finally

I managed to get some where on our layout, starting with some scenery and track. I'm trying to discipline myself into focusing on one area and just working from that point and not straying from that area until it's complete. Here in these photos I've been tring to replicate, or imply a small rocky island that features a cut right down the middle for rails and road. On it a lighthouse ( not complete) sits and it connects to what is an area representative of Rockport, MA and Stonington CT. Both are waterfront locations, in particular pennisulas. And the pennisula of the layout will feature water on all three sides with coves and inlets everywhere possible.

This large rock formation is devoid of rock molds as I'm a big fan of carving them myself, to get exactly the features I want. I start with a massing of rigid foam insulation, cut up and glued together. Then plaster is globbed on with a pallete knife. While it's still workable, I use the pallete knife to form edges, fractures and the over shape of things. Once it starts to set up I work the rest with an X Acto knife, getting rid of all the rounded edges. The goal is to remove and alter any shapes that look like plaster blobs. I often remind myself of early Star Trek episodes where the location was a rocky planet or cave. These sets featured some pretty bad rock work, it was obvious that the surfaces where really undulating window screen material or chicken wire, lending itself to the blobs and curves. But hey, i've never been to those planets, maybe they really look like that...anyway, after I remove the blobs, I'll cut smaller cracks and fractures into the rock work, often defining an predominant angle of sediment which all other cracks are based on. The mass of rock could be at 45 degrees so I'll cut them more or less parallel to that and them some that look like they've fallen away from the larger mass.

I used to just wash the rocks with alcohol and ink, dry brush them and call it a day. but recently I've been trying to vary my rock pallete. I still start with a wash of alcohol and ink, but follow it with a dry brushing of a tan latex paint. Then I apply a wash of Burnt Umber Oil paint thinned with mineral spirits. The oil for some reason has more of a contrast then the acrylic. After that I dry brush it again with white acrylic.

The photos here show some of the various stages, there's much more work to be done in this area, I'll post some more next week.

Rust & Modules

Well it's Thanksgiving morning, and about 3 weeks since the Craftsman Structure Show. We're still trying to catch up from that great weekend in Mansfield, MA. We're almost caught up and once we are we'll post our latest kit Lightmann's Army & Navy. If you were at the show you've already seen it; if not keep a look out during the next few weeks on our site.

In order to keep from going crazy from days of laser cutting and packing kits, and it being Thanksgiving I took some time to try out some of the weathering effects Scott Mason and Mike Rose demonstrated on Scott's Weathering Freight Car DVD's. While this is a plug for my friends DVD's, please trust me in that these are some DVD's you should have in your library, it should be required reading as they say. And I've rewatched them several times to fully absorb the techniques. For one thing the idea of using oil paints to create some of the most realistic rust and weatheirng effects, really takes modeling to another level. Simultaneously I have been rereading the Lance Mindhiem article in the Great Model Railroads 2008 issue on his Miami based, modern day shelf layout.

I'm pretty much set in my era of modeling the 1950's, but I was so taken by this layout and its hyper realism, I'm embarking on building a small module set in 2007. I've always been quitely envious of all the great locos and rolling stock for CSX, BNSF and even Amtrak. But at the same time, modern layouts always seem sparse, lacking the character that an earlier period of modeling, usually accompanied by detailed craftsman kits has. But Lance's layout has since changed my mind. Almost immediately after reading the article I did two things; order some modern freight cars and Athearn's new CSX MP15AC and then convince Scott Mason to collaborate on a modern day switching module. We're getting Jimmy Deignan involved too.
It's ironic that the three of us all model in the past, yet we're curious, drawn and intrigued by trying out something new and completely the opposite of our usual tastes.
And the idea behinnd the modules was, for one thing, build something we could actually finish and then operate, so scenery and structures will be sparse. Each module is only 12" wide by 79" long. The bench work is just a bifold, hollow core door topped with an inch of foam, similar to Lance's layout.

Back to Scott's DVD's...so last night I finally took a break and popped in the DVD's and the end result is the pictures above...my first attempts at using oils. I think they could be improved, like anything else...practice, practice...but it was very encouraging and I had great time doing it. Soon I'll have some track down on the module, and post pics then.

Have Great Holiday.