Rock Castings – Lift Outs – Scenery February 13, 2008
Posted by railroadman in 1, Buildings and Scenery, Model Railroading, model railroad, railroad, railroad construciton.trackback
Sorry for not posting anything recently. I have too many projects on the go right now but I have started back on the railroad somewhat. I was able to stain the rock castings over the past few weeks, color the durabond scenery with a brown wash and completed the lift out. Here are a few images of the rock castings. There are a few imperfections still that will be easily hidden with strategically placed foliage, twigs, rocks, etc…
The lift out section on the mountain took awhile to complete as it had to be built and molded in several working sessions but is already paying off as I would have a really hard time reaching parts of the mountain and yard for scenery. I placed two small screws in the lift out utilizing two of the many small pieces of wood kicking around on the backside so I would have a means of lifting the piece without damaging the completed scenery. These screws will be hidden from view but accessible enough so I will be able to find them in the trees. The trees will also overhanging the edge of the lift out slightly as to hide the edge once in place so you would never know it was there. Here are a few images detailing the lift out.
I only had a short time to start some coloring but really helps to create a better visual of what it will look like. This is only the first of many layers of color that will be applied to the mountain. Although some spots that look a little lite on the color will be hidden by trees and foliage. The thin layer of earth green is just to tone down the brown within the trees and give some irregular ground cover. Most of the mountain will be heavily covered with trees but there will be a few bare spots that will need some more shades of green, yellow, and dirt coloring to create a realistic opening in the forest. Maybe a great spot also for some wildlife…
I will hopefully get more done over the coming days and will update you accordingly.
Thanks for reading and have a great day.
Looks good so far! Keep the pics coming. Are you using wire mesh under plaster soaked paper towels?
Thanks for the comments. I use a cardboard skeleton(M&M boxes work best) and I use durabond 90 as it allows me a lot more time to work with it than plaster. 90 minutes to be exact but I try to finish working with it in 20 minutes. I do not use paper towels as they tear and are too thin. I use utter wipes which are hard to find but if you know a cow farmer you will have an endless supply. They are like the brown paper towels in public washrooms but thicker and stronger so they are more supportive when wet and don’t tear. I use dental plaster on the castings as it is super fine to capture all the detail and it dries in 30 minutes. It accepts stains much better than durabond 90.
Thanks again and keep railroading.
Daryl
I’m looking forward to your updates!
Scott
I will keep them coming. Feel free to email an image or two of your layout an I will add them to my Hall of Fame Gallery.
Thanks
Daryl
Great stuff Daryl,
I totally understand the “too busy to post” situation. Though, you are way out in front of folks like me still inching toward actual layout space!
I like the colors on the rock work. It sounds like the ridge will be forested as well. I’m enjoying seeing the progress you’re making.
BTW, it would be nice to see a wide shot or two of the layout space to get a sense of where each locations is. (also a track plan
)
- Steve
Thanks for your comments. The mountain ridge will be heavily forested but there will be some sparsely covered areas and some bare areas for some wildlife etc… My track plans are on paper as I can use a pencil faster than a mouse but I will try to scan them or photograph them for the blog.
Thanks again and stay tuned for more updates as I started placing trees around the portal tunnel.
Daryl
Hi There;
Can please tell us more about your rock castings. They are real nice. Thanks.
Thanks for your excellent comment. I will keep this in mind for a post in the near future. I am working on castings now so I will put something together for the blog.
Thanks again and have a great day.
Daryl