Click on any photo for a larger version
An exciting day on the outskirts of town! This 12-foot long (HO scale) monster is being transported to the abandoned silver mine, to be disposed of down the mineshaft. It was first sighted flying recklessly in the nearby mountains, bumping into everything in its path, before turning up dead within a few days. The shipment did attract quite a crowd, and the Sheriff (black vest with badge) was on hand to keep an eye on things. Among the onlookers were the preacher (black coat and hat) giving thanks for the safety of the town, and the owner of a local eating establishment (green shirt), who I assume is asking about the possibility of obtaining some meat.
With the major plaster work on this phase completed, the roadways are given a coat of spackle to smooth them out. While this area is a little more urban than the area previously completed, it's still a relatively backwoods small town in 1939, and even the best of the roads will be a combination of dirt and gravel. The structures are placed temporarily for a final check for possible interference of the plasterwork. They are:
A turntable
B engine house
(these 2 have been permanently in place for some time, since they have track running thru them)
C steam power generator (for the engine house)
D yardmaster's shack
E water tower
F church
G freight and bulk mail depot
H passenger depot with grocery store, post office
I assay and land office
J saloon
K hotel
The stone wall in the area of the church has been primed to accept the color washes in the next step.
With the buildings once again removed, the rockwork is given a 4-step wash with thinned colors - burnt sienna, raw sienna, some yellow ochre highlights here and there, and finally a very thin wash of black to create shadows. The stone wall is given the same coloring, as the stone would have been cut from the surrounding rock.
The flatter areas of the terrain, and the roadways, are painted with a brownish color latex house paint. Unlike the rockwork, this will all be covered with texture materials. The paint will keep any white spots from peeking thru.
Texture materials going down. They are soaked more than you might think with white glue / isopropyl. I wick up some from the bigger puddles with a paper towel, but most of it is absorbed into the scenery materials, and dries clear and hard.
Something new in this area - lighting. I use miniature LED's. They don't get hot, never burn out, and I can control the brightness by selecting the right resistor. Like size, speed and sound, I like the brightness to "scale down", too. All of the lighting will have a dim, warm, yellow glow.
Wiring in the structures is tedious, though. Here's a look inside the depot, which has 7 LED lamps inside, and 2 outside (under the overhang). Wiring in this shot is in process. Every connection gets soldered and insulated with shrink tube. Each LED needs its own resistor.
Streetlamps (and lighted clocks on the depot platform) are shown being installed here. Scenery texture will be touched up. This is the back, or track side, of the depot.
A shot looking up the road around the church, showing some the textured ground covering, and some more streetlamps being placed. Notice the gooseneck lamp over the church door. I test each lamp on the bench, but the wiring underneath is not yet done.
The streetlamps and some other LED lighting were bought on eBay, from China. Now, made in China is not surprising, but this is from an eBay seller in China. I've placed 2 orders with the seller named "WEHONEST_CN" (can't make this stuff up) after reading recommendations on a model RR forum. Both times, my items were shipped next day with tracking, arrived in NY within a week, and 2-3 days later they were in my mailbox. Pretty amazing.
