Don't laugh too hard...It's my first attempt!

[ocalicreek]

Steve,

The riverbank looks great, and the added aquamarine color really adds a nice effect to the waterfall. I agree, some additional texture will take the riverbank to the next level.

If you don't have it already, Dave Frary's scenery book is an excellent resource on color, texture, and so much else peratining to scenery. But you seem to have a knack for innovation already!

Oh, and yes, moving is F-U-N! We'll be unpacking a POD Monday and Tuesday, but may get to relocate from the rental to our own home if our offer is accepted! Woo hoo! No giant basement or spare train room, but the potential for much railroading is there, and particularly garden railroading, or maybe even a bit of live steam...one can always dream, eh?

Galen

 

[Nazgul]

Hi Galen, I had intended to get Mr. Frary's book but my LHS was always out of stock. Then I just forgot about it. At this stage, I need all the help I can get, so I'll be purchasing his book...thanks for the reminder and the encouragement. Good luck on the New house (I'm sure it will work out). Garden Railroading....I think my wife would make me sleep in the garden........Lynn, I'll do the greenery when I do it on the rest of the layout. See ya

 

[wdsrwg]

You sir are an insperation and an artist! :thumb:
You also have been in the greatest of company through your journey.
I cannot wait to see your pix on the completed river project.
Keep up the fantastic work.

Russell

 

[Nazgul]

Russell,
you are most kind...I wish I had the talent that others here possess but little by little I'm improving. The twin rivers are coming along...I need to add rocks and sand but finally I have a RIVER(S)!!!

 

[Nazgul]

I added some sand at the edges and the small beach area. I put glue down first and sprinkled the sand on top. It formed a hard thin layer. Question: what should I use to seal this and the painted banks? Some flat clear acrylic spray? HELP please.....

 

[ocalicreek]

Steve,

You really don't need to seal it...however, you can always wet it with 'wet' water then drizzle on some diluted matte medium or white glue, like the balast treatment.

What I usually do for dirt or sand situations (in flat areas) is this: I apply glue and sprinkle on the sand/ground foam/etc. Then I mist it with wet water and soak it with the diluted glue, followed by a dusting of the same material. The stuff that's in the glue itself will be often darker than the same material sprinkled on top. This gives you a slight variation in color and texture.

I've had good results applying dirt first along with a dark or burnt grass fine foam, followed by the soaking and then sprinkling on a lighter colored turf of a fine/medium grind for grassy areas and more of the dirt for, well, dirt areas.

But lately, just before I packed up the layout, I discovered Silflor materials from Scenic Express so I'm all jazzed about that and can't wait to get back to work re-scenicking the layout. Now there's the base layer of color and texture done the old way with the silflor tufts and matts applied on top...a great looking color/texture combo.

I keep looking at the great strata in the riverbanks you created just by hacking away with a knife...what an impressive result from such a simple technique! Can you say more about the colors you chose, the paints you used, and airbrush settings you used to acheive this result?

Galen

 

[Nazgul]

Galen, thank you for answering my questions....I will also check out Scenic Express!......To answer your questions: No body could be more suprised that my experiment turned out as well as it did than me! I just had this idea and figured if it looked bad I could just cover it with Sculptamold as I originally intended....... First carve out your river and banks. The more irregular, the better.



Next slice horizontally with utility knife. After a while the knife will get a little dull and starts to pull small pieces out. That's a good thing. When the knife gets too dull it will no longer slice only rip( time for new blade).



Next I used 2 paint colors: Crafters Edition "camel" (dark) and "tan" (light). Different colors could be used obviously. I bought these at the craft store (cheap)! I used my $4.99 Harbor Freight airbrush to paint the dark color first trying to get all the recessed areas. Then I lightly sprayed the tan paint to highlight the surface areas. I believe you could get the same results with cans of spray paint...It's that easy.



Then add whatever elements you want (sand, rocks, greenery ect.) I also experimented with gray.



You could also use an ink wash or WS pigments. I hope that all makes sense.

 

[ocalicreek]

The Harbor Freight "disposable" airbrush - Yeah!

And ain't it great when something like a dull knife blade brings out a truly 'random' effect? It's often when we try to do something in a random pattern that a pattern emerges. Nature has a way of bringing the best chaos to our attempts at duplicating just that!

Thanks for the explanations. Do you strain your paints first?

Galen

 

[Nazgul]

Galen ,
Straining paint sounds too much like work... tooth1. Actually It never occurred to me to do it. But I can see why that would be a good idea especially when painting buildings and trains (and when I get a real airbrush!). And by the way, thanks for all your help and interest in this project.
...... I've added sand, rocks, and white water to the rivers and now just need a few more coats of gloss medium...anyway here's a couple of pics

 

[cnw1961]

Steve, this already looks like a piece of art. Your river banks are amazing :thumb: .

 

[Nazgul]

Thank You Kurt, It certainly turned out better than I had hoped. The next thing to do is finish the water between the falls and the lower rivers. Its a short stretch with a small falls (so more of the same). I wont bore you all with pics...I think we've all had enough water on this layout! I think I'm going to leave the waterfall I've already done removable. I learned a lot doing it and believe I could do a better one in the future...but I wont try it anytime soon. After that, It's back to the mountains!

 

[wickman]

Steve thats looking great . I never get bored looking at other folks modeling pics

 

[91rioja]

Your Layout Looks Great!!!

Steve:

Wow, your layout looks great! I hope I can get mine in some kind of shape really soon. We started about the same time, and you are and have been running trains on yours; I'm still pushing acrs around to test the track.

Anyway, a ways back in one of your posts, I saw that you were using IDC's to connect your bus to the feeders. Where did you get those from, and did you find them in bulk?

It looks great and keep on working. I can't wait to see more!

 

[Nazgul]

Thanks Lynn! Chris, I don't know how I've missed your thread, but all I can say is, that is going to be one awsome layout! I love the track plan and the addition of staging (yard) is something you are going to be glad you did. To answer your question about the IDC's....I bought mine at NAPA auto parts. that was the first place i stumbled across them. I didn't buy them in bulk ( big mistake!) expensive! Someone here later suggested trying 3M. check out this link, it should help you see what they have and where to buy:http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MElectrical/Home/ProductsServices/Products/?PC_7_0_21K4_root=GST1T4S9TCgv&PC_7_0_21K4_output=html&PC_7_0_21K4_gvel=H8665PJ911gl&PC_7_0_21K4_vroot=HHQF1TLZT7ge&PC_7_0_21K4_node=4CHZT2876Cbe&PC_7_0_21K4_theme=electrical_markets_portal&PC_7_0_21K4_command=CustomizePageHandler

 

[fsm1000]

On my website I show how to 'model' your model. This ensures that you will get the most out of what you plan to build. It also makes sure that buildings will fit. Also makes sure curves have easements put in so you derail less or even not at all.
Lots of info.
I hope you pop over, it is all free and may even help. I hope so
Enjoy

 

[91rioja]

WS Risers

Steve:

What/how did you attach your WS risers to the layout? What did you use to hold them in place on the turns?

 

[Nazgul]

Chris, You can use any foam compatable glue. I Pinned the risers and inclines in place with T pins (sewing section of craft store). get long ones. and then, being impatient, I hot glued (with low temp glue gun) around the edges. Worked great and allowed me to move along at a good pace. Hope you can see in the pic... Later I used white glue and push pins to hold down the cork on top.


Hope that helps....been checking out your pics....man you're doing a great job! Everything looks perfect........STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Nazgul]

I lied!

I said I wouldn't post pics of my smaller waterfall.....so sue me!
The banks and rocks are obviously not finished. I just threw a little paint to test colors. Also, as shown in the last photo, I changed the rock color of the first waterfall to brown and added cotton to simulate foam. I wasn't happy with the gray rocks because it made the falls look "frozen" and too monochromatic. I like the contrast with the brown rock better although the color will probably be tweeked a bit.......Will this water never end! I want to get back to the mountains!

 

[ocalicreek]

Awesome, Dude!

Galen

 

[Nazgul]

Dreaming of bridges

Thanks Galen,
Well I've been putting a little thought into my bridges. I have an Atlas warren truss bridge but wanted to see what a plate girder bridge would look like so I found a suitable picture, resized it, and made copies.


I then put on a card board backing and put them in place. With the lighting I have, you really have to "look" at them before you realize they're paper(especially the upper).




I like the girder on the upper section just below the tuss bridge but am not sure about having a girder bridge on the lower level mainline. I'll keep my mind open and keep looking for alternatives. Any body have an opinion? I'm listening.