ok, this is a spur track off the mainline where a few hoppers are loaded by trucks going up the ramp. predominantly coal, but open to the public as a dump (team track). nevermind the coils, or that wooden base.
csx, perhaps I would widen the road at the base of the ramp a bit (so that the trucks have room enough to turn). And the ground on the ramp looks a bit rough to me - could you replace it with some finer dirt/sand?
But apart from that the scene looks great! I love the coloring of the ground and the plants - a nicely modeled siding! (Also the weathering of the freight cars is tops!)
The modeling is very good. You can always add more details or redo this or that, but the one thing that will make that more real instantly is a backdrop. That will do more for making it look real than just about everything else you can do combined.
Hi! I'm agreeing with Tyson on the backdrop thing. That'll help a great deal! Not sure what the rest of your layout looks like but, I'm envisioning that scene as a "back-woodsy " type scene and since you have a lot of foliage in that area I think a ton of underbrush and trees would also help.
Just another idea; The road I would make as a not very well maintained gravel road with pot holes, mud puddles, tire ruts etc.
Other than my 2 cents it looks great and you're off to a fine start!
Thought I'd do a quickie backdrop to show the difference, hope you don't mind. This is the first pic you posted, notice how your already great modeling looks even greater!!!!
I agree with the folks above that you model an excellent scene! The scenary is very convincing. The second photo in particular looks almost like a prototype shot to me. Only thing I could think to add was maybe some sort of sign indicating the company owning the truck dump, or maybe "authorized persons only" signs etc(?)
Tyson that backdrop is awsome! "Take me home country roads!"
Ralph
Tyson..Your backdrop was awesome! I loved it! only problem is that it's a "peninsula" part of the layout. Now after seeing your backdrop I wanna push the layout against a wall! lol
I agree with all of the other's suggestions and appreiate the positive feedback. I will add signs and detail and post "after" pics.
In the meantime, thanks to all, and have a great day!
just thinking maybe you could put some kids off in the woods playing, building a cubbyhouse out of junk or something.
not sure if thats what kids over there do, but thats what i did when i was a wee lad. i was just thinking about it for my layout and thought it might look good on yours too. there would even be a ready supply of junk from that team track
Hi csx!
These guys are right about a backdrop...
A backdrop doesn't have to be anything fancy...it just needs to be something that will obscure any "out-of-scale", or "real-world" objects from the field of view...
Here's a couple of pics I took looking off the end of my layout, wherre there is no backdrop...so the viewer is somewhat distracted by cluttered basement shelves looming on the "horizon"...
Now, this is roughly the same shot, but this time, I propped up a sheet of masonite that I painted blue, at the end of the layout...
This keeps the viewer's eyes on the modeled scene, & implies that there might be more just "over the horizon".
Tyson and Charlie are right about the backdrop even if it is only a 12" - 18" piece of cardboard, linoleum, or wood setup to block the clutter behind the scene. Charlie has the simple version (painted a single color representing the sky and horizon while Tyson's blends with the locale). Either approach makes your scene look better instantly without touching the details on the layout. Doing the other things is gravy and can only make it better.