Here we go! Gotta start somewhere.

Well, I've come out of my funk and started goofin' around again on the backstretch. My recent trip to Durango really inspired the creativity in me and I must say that I probably went a little crazy with the rock molds. I've got one tunnel portal in the middle that I messed up on the color and have to redo it. The red oxide came out a little brighter in some of the cracks than I would have liked but I think it will be okay once I add more little rocks, bushes and trees.
View from left...
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View from middle...
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View from right...
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Other views...

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and an overall of the area...
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Amazing

:eek: AMAZING TRAINUT!!! you definatley didnt over do it.it looks just right :thumb:.keep it up trainut and cant wait to see more ;) ! --josh
 
Thank you very much! Next comes the grass which is an extremely easy step but makes such a big difference. Then... smaller details... individual rocks, gravel, bushes, trees, etc. Can you see the influence my Durango trip had!:mrgreen::mrgreen:
 
Can you see the influence my Durango trip had!:mrgreen::mrgreen:
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i think we ALL saw that one sign1.but im the same way,ill be building my layout go on vacation and want to change it over to look like my vacation spot! i just try to resist it now,my wallet (and wife) say i cant change anymore :mrgreen:.--josh
 
Yea, updates! They look great!:thumb: The rocks look very nice, how many different molds did you use? Your mountains turned out well again, wanna come and build mine? :mrgreen: As always, I love your layout, I love how 3-D it is.
 
I used a total of 5 different molds. It's amazing how different you can make things look by flipping them around or breaking them up and fitting them back together in different positions. Someone who is familiar with the molds could probably pick each and every one out. I find myself doing that with other peoples rockwork that have used the same molds. Painting them for me has been the tricky part. I have NEVER been able to paint my rocks to my satisfaction and so I usually end up using real rocks instead. In this case, my benchwork would have probably collapsed from the weight and so I finally figured out how to make them look real more or less. Anybody want to paint my backdrop for me?
 
Allright, so I have been slowly working my way around the corner with scenery and I get to this part.
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Due to my track spacing and positioning on curves and my desire to make sure my double stacks will fit, none of my store bought tunnel portals would work. Sooooo, I built my own. I then proceeded to add my rock castings, newspaper and other beginning scenery touches...
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Then, I get this whole area shaped and finished with plaster cloth when I decided that I was going to put a farm scene on the top of the hill and they might want a back way down into town. Less than 8 hours after the plaster cloth dried, I was already hacking into it with the Xacto blade to add a little cliff side road sneaking up the back way.
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Now I've finally gotten motivated to start playing around with my farm idea at the top of the hill.
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So far, it's all resting on chunks of foam. I'm simply trying to find a good arrangement for the buildings. I probably won't use the house but it makes a good stand in for now. I kind of figure I'll have a little fence lined driveway leading up in front of the barn to the house. Down in front of the house will be a cow pasture with possibly a dirty little cow pond from the runoff dumped out by the windmill.
 
Hey,, hey, slow down there big fellow.... You're gunna make me look like a slug.:oops: :oops: You've got more accomplished in a few months then I have in the past five years, and it's all quality stuff too. :thumb: :thumb:

Great work my friend, and equally great progress.:mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
I am getting ready to make my mountains and tunnels, so I reviewed this whole thread again - you are a real artist with that plaster cloth! Thanks for all the tips and a sterling example of how it should be done! I hope I can make mine look half as good.
 
w8jy said:
I am getting ready to make my mountains and tunnels, so I reviewed this whole thread again - you are a real artist with that plaster cloth! Thanks for all the tips and a sterling example of how it should be done! I hope I can make mine look half as good.
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Just take your time, learn as you go and if something turns out that is not to your liking, rip it out and do it again. I think you have seen in this thread already, I have not even finished the whole layout with the first round of scenery and I've already gone back and redone several sections. Have fun!
That reminds me... I forgot to post these progress pictures of the rocky section...
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Well it may look like I have gone backwards but indeed I am moving forward. Once I decided I was happy with the layout of the farm, I took everything off and glued down the foam, shaped the foam and added little bits of newspaper here and there.

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Then, again, comes more plaster cloth. As I mentioned before, just in front of the windmill there, I am going to put in a small murky cow pond created from the constant runoff from the windmill.

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jesso said:
Looks good! How did you make your tunnel portals?
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Ahhhhh, a question.... I love questions.
To begin with, I wanted to use the precast portals from either WS or Chooch products BUT, I also needed the clearance to pull my double stacks around every so often. All of these portal locations ended up being on curves and so I had to have openings that were wider than normal (to clear the overhang) and for the double stacks, taller than normal. This translated into having to build my own.
I purchased one piece of balsa wood 36"x4"x3/16" for the main facades and one package of 1/32"x1/16" balsa stripwood for the trim. Using another portal to copy my dimensions from and then making it slightly bigger to accomodate my double stackers on curves, I ended up with this as a start...

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Next, I joined the two facades together to accomodate my tracks at different levels next to each other. In this picture, I have not finished applying the trim as of yet. You've probably noticed that there is no 45 degree bracing in the upper corners of each facade, This was partly due to laziness and partly due to the fact that my double stacks risked the possibility of scraping them... so, I just left them out.

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The left side heading underneath the farm...

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The right side as the tracks re emerge on the other side of the farm before crossing the canyon. This end still needs to be leveled, centered and a lot of trim put on.

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I have to admit that my heart has not been in this project and I did not devote near the time and energy to them as I should have but for my purposes, they're good enough! Obviously, they still need paint and weathering. Sorry I did not take a picture of one of my double stackers in the photo. If you would like one for size reference, let me know and I'll get to it.
 
Thanks. They look really good. I have been thinking about building my own tunnel portals as I have been building a mountain over a bend track curve and it is wider than the Chooch portals that I have. Plus I made some domestic hi-cube containers that don't fit through the current tunnels on the club modules so I knew I had to make these portals bigger. You again have given me some great ideas.
 
Progress. It still does not look like much but at least the driveway now has dirt and a fresh sidewalk has been paved in front of the house. The toothpicks denote the corners of where the fenceline will run. I have to wait for all the dirt to dry now before I can add grass otherwise I'll get grass all in my driveway... not good. After the grass dries, then we can unlock that windmill and start filling the pond. How long do you have to wait till you can stock bluegill in a new pond?
Now I need to find some more things...
A suburban for mama 'cause she's tired of that old blue car.
Some farm equipment other than 1 tractor.
Some 55 gallon drums.
Some hay bales.
A playground set for the front yard.
Chickens.
A little quad for the kids to be riding around on in the driveway.
Any body know where I can find these things or have other ideas?

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TrainNut said:
Now I need to find some more things...
A suburban for mama 'cause she's tired of that old blue car.
Some farm equipment other than 1 tractor.
Some 55 gallon drums.
Some hay bales.
A playground set for the front yard.
Chickens.
A little quad for the kids to be riding around on in the driveway.
Any body know where I can find these things or have other ideas?
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That layout just looks more and more amazing all the time.
I'm insanely jealous. :curse:

;) :D

As far as some of the other stuff you're looking for, have you looked at Model Rail Structures ? He has a few N scale accessories that might help.
 
Cannonball said:
That layout just looks more and more amazing all the time.
I'm insanely jealous. :curse:

;) :D

As far as some of the other stuff you're looking for, have you looked at Model Rail Structures ? He has a few N scale accessories that might help.
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Thank you very much (in my best Elvis accent!). Just keep in mind that this is my 11th layout and I've been dinkin' around with N gauge since I was 8 years old (30 some years now).
I have not looked around Model Rail Structures but thank you for the link as I will have a lookysee.
Well, I stopped by An Affair with Trains on my way home this afternoon looking for farm/ranch details and got a little carried away with figures.
By the way Phoenix people, they have a pretty neat overhead layout hanging from the ceiling now (G scale)!
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