Here we go! Gotta start somewhere.

roch

Member
I don't know what to say....................speechless
jawdropjawdropjawdrop You should write a book.

Roch
 

Wiredup

Member
wow, I just took a stroll down this whole thread while having my morning coffee's at work. I'm very impressed, not to mention inspired! Your handi-work is nothing short of stunning...and the evolution your layout has taken is awe inspiring to say the least.

Makes me want to dive head first into mine tonight... alas I gotta hold off a bit.
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Wow, you read through all 15 pages during a coffee break? How long did that take?
Thank you for those kind comments. I've been into model railroading since I was very young and I've built more layouts than I have time to sit and count up right now. The neat thing, and I think I've mentioned it here before, is there is a whole list of things on this layout that I have never tried or used before (backdrops, fascias, foam, water to this extent, DCC, etc.). The use of foam is the biggest one I think. I'm just a humble model railroader learning and experimenting right along side everybody else. And above all, having fun as I go!
Thanks again. I've got to get motivated again and get back in there to "play" some more!
 

hickstmj

Marcie
TrainNut,
Do you lay plaster cloth under the cork roadbed or lay the cork & just plaster up to the edge?

Thanks for any advise,
Marcie
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Option number two. I glue my cork to the foam, tack it down with rail spikes until the glue dries, remove the rail spikes. For attaching the track to the cork, I simply put rail spikes through the provided holes every 4-6" or as needed. Some on here go to great lengths to "glue" their track to the cork. I have not found that necessary as the rail spikes seem to get plenty of grip using just the cork and foam below. Besides, later, when you glue your ballast down, this will add even more stability to your track. As to the question you asked, I lay my plaster cloth up to the edges of the cork and then fill all gaps with wall joint compund. I also use wall joint compound either by applying with my fingers in some areas, or by a brush in other areas to completely cover the plaster cloth. This process removes the square texture of the plaster cloth, hides plastercloth joints, adds strength to the hardened shell and gives you something substantial to paint and attach talus and shrubbery to. Kind of a long winded and elaborate answer to a simple question.
 

sgtcarl

Member
wow! am i impressed, or what! TN, i can tell the terrain in az as well as co have definitely inspired you! i used to live in az, and at one time thought of duplicating some of the old tracks that went down from jerome into clakdale and cottonwood. i'd include the slag piles in clarkdale and cottonwood, too, just to be more authentic looking. never got around to it tho.
 

NIevo

New Member
Wow, even though I don't model N-scale it is very nice to see a well done layout go from start to finish and see the progression and changes. Well done and keep the updates coming:thumb:
 

Herc Driver

Active Member
WOW what a really nice job! You really made a great looking rock wall - really believable and well done. I like the subtile color variation.
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Allright, so I've been tinkering around with my canyon scene and using some tips and tricks from Nazgul's waterfall tutorial, I have come up with the following...
For starters, let's bring back an older picture simply for the sake of comparison. This is what it looked like last time you saw it...

DCP_6585_copy.jpg


Since then, I have slowly been working my way up the canyon with scenery and adding layer upon layer (to create depth) of WS's realistic water.

DCP_6680_low_res.jpg


One day, while waiting for my son to get out of school, I looked down and found this beautiful picture sitting at the top of the heap in the trash can (I'm sorry Brian, photographer is unknown). This picture became my inspiration...

DCP_6760.jpg


Since my lazy little creek now looked like a placid little fake stream, I came back with WS water effects and added some texture. On top of the texture, I hit the highlights with white to create turbulence. It's a little too turbulent for what I was going for but I'm fairly pleased with the results for never having tackled something of this type before. For the trio of falls, I sort of borrowed the idea from Nazgul to apply WS's water effects onto a flat sheet of wax paper, streak it with a toothpick and then let it dry. BAD IDEA (Nazgul said to use a baking sheet and I should have listened!). I would not have thought so, but it stuck too much to the wax paper and did not retain its transparency. Sooo, I tried again. This time with aluminum foil... which worked. Once dry, I peeled it off the alum. foil and coated the backside with a LIGHT blue highlighter. This time, I painted the rocks behind the falls with white highlights, measured and cut the falls to fit and stuck them in place. I still want to add a lot more greenery to imitate the picture and I just found some Aspens in the latest catalogue that I'd like to order, but here's some in between shots of where I'm at now...

DCP_6755.jpg


DCP_6758.jpg
 

jesso

Member
The water is turning out great! Really like the waterfall! Looks like lots of college kids are going to end up playing there!
 

mcbane666

Member
So is this going to be a fishing hole?

Have you thought about placing a rain run off pipe half way up the wall? a rusted wide mouth pipe with some green algae.
 

Highlander1

New Member
Good morning

Looking in for first time in what seems like decades I think the layout is superb and a bike in the back ground to boot.

Progress update please.

Regards H
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Progress update please.
I haven't been doing much lately except tinkering with the canyon and experimenting with different types of trees. Here is the latest on the canyon...
DCP_6789.JPG


And here's the thread showing my experimentation with trees...
http://forum.zealot.com/t157119/

As far as the bike in the background to boot, I'm a bit puzzled. I'm guessing but I think you are referring to the one partially visible in a picture of my garage back towards the beginning of this thread. I love that thing but have not ridden it much since the birth of my two boys 5 years ago.
Me1.jpg


I look forward to seeing updates of your layout in the attic as well... B&B willing!
 

jesso

Member
Your canyon is turning out great! The waterfalls look real nice. I am sure that area will quickly become a major spring break hangout!
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Your canyon is turning out great!
You should see it now. I spent a lot of the afternoon shaping the rest of the canyon with the soldering iron and painting the dark base coat. Will post more pic's soon.
Thomas have you used cork on the canyon it looks amazing Cheers for the update
Nope, no cork. What you see in the waterfall picture is a few real rocks and a lot of carved variations of foam.
 
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