Trucks and Stuff

Been working on some trucks and accessories for the area under construction.  Above are some completed trucks, and the buildings and loading ramps are now painted and weathered.

The thin leg takes shape

My TOFC (Trailer on Flat Car) facility is taking shape.  This is the thin leg of the railroad at the entry door to the basement, and is above the previously completed hidden staging - you can see that since the fascia board has been temporarily removed.  The trackwork, roadway base (white foam board), and foam terrain contours are glued in place, and the as yet unpainted yard office and scale house are in place for a fit check.

Viaduct and River Area - Complete!

The second scenery area is now completed, the viaduct and river, along with some small industries.  A tough area to build (see my post "Tricky Terrain" from February of this year), with the complexities of the terrain.  I'm very happy with the results, and hope you enjoy viewing the photos.

Making a (small) Scene

The scene above is a little service station along the road just beyond the grade crossing.  The basic terrain, ground cover and asphalt road were already in place.  Here's how I build up the additional detail to complete the scene.

More Tree Planting

Once we've got our trees done, it's time to plant.  Besides the trees, here's what I use: some bagged lichen and leftover materials from the supertrees, white glue, and Alene's Tacky glue.

SuperTrees - Start to Finish

If you look back at my September 3, 2012 post "Trees", you'll see my first go-round building Scenic Express SuperTrees.  They turned out great, but took so long to build, I was dreading this next batch.  Learning from what I did last time, and doing some more online research, I've changed my process a good bit.  They look the same, if not better, and take a lot less time to complete.

Animation

Animation on a model railroad comes in many forms - movement, lights, sound, even smells! - and can be activated manually or automatically.  Most animation comes from the trains themselves, which, after all, are the stars of the show!

Backdrops

Photo backdrops add a feeling of distant scenery between the actual 3-D modeled scene and the cloudy sky.  The area previously finished required very little (about a foot) of backdrop, while the area I'm currently working on requires more.  Generally, I use them where the track, a road, or some other element runs pretty close to the wall, and the planting of lots of trees to soften the transition from 3-D to flat vertical is impractical, because the area is narrow.

Big Muddy

The river has been poured, and despite having a lot of apprehension about this step, I'm very happy with the results. (Note - the viaduct coloring and detail is far from finished!)

Plastered Up

Most of the foam and plywood terrain is now covered with Sculptamold plaster, and the roads and river base are covered with Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty (the yellowish color).  Durham's woks well for roadways with a finer texture than the Sculptamold, and will be sanded to remove any putty knife marks.  I also use it for the base of water features because, well, it's water proof.  The epoxy resin I'll be pouring for the river is very thin, and like water, will find any pin hole leaks before it cures.  I've caulked where the foam meets the plywood base, and the Water Putty adds another layer of leak protection.  This all has to set up now for about a week before continuing on.