Very Nice

Chris,

I really like the static flock.... remember, its just a game flocker!

Your static grass applicator looks like it could make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end when using it. You got really nice results. I also like your bridge abutments a lot.

I can see what you are saying about your ballast. My only criticisim of it is that its too perfect a color. I would look at a prototype photo, figure out how much of each rock color is represented in a given area then mix together equivalent percentages of similar colours, then apply. I think it could add some "depth" to the ballast. Anyways, its a great start and you have laid more ballast than I have so take my advice with a grain fo salt... er...ballast!

Dustin

Thanks for the comments!

I agree. I have some brown which will be mixed in about 20:1 I am thinking to give that occasional rock with some iron content. Also, I have not painted or weathered the ballast yet. My plan is to tone it all down with an india ink wash then paint the middle with a grimy oil wash and paint the edges and around the rail with a rust color.

I think adding a base of cinders will go a long way to making the ballast look more complete as well.

Chris

Improving on you ballasting.

Hey Chris,

I'm a real fanatic about ballasting, but when I started out, it would come

out all lumpy, and uneven, and looked more like calm water than true to

prototype.

From what I see, it appears that your sub-roadbed is slightly wavey, and not flat

enough. For heavy mainline ballast where it is maintained to look almost geometrically

perfect, I like an overall look to be almost an exact trapazoid if you were to view it

as a 'section.' Spurs, and unused branch lines don't have that pristine look, but if

you can practice on your 'mainline' ballasting, you've pretty much tackled the hard part.

Try practicing on a 3' foot section of tangent (straight) track at first. You can worry about

the curves later. Make sure your 'practice section' comes with roadbed!!!!!

You don't want to glue it down, because you can retrieve the ballast again,

and start over. Practice, practice, and practice some more. Work from prototype photographs

as your guide. I use cheap foam brushes with beveled edges, and a plastic spoon. Get a foam

brush that is just slightly larger than the width of the inside between the rails. I like to tackle a

12"-18" section at a time, and move on to the next section. Start by pouring your ballast in the

center of the rails with your plastic spoon. Take your sponge brush and work your ballast

in between the ties until the ballast is just slightly below the ties. Don't worry about the edges, but

make sure you're happy with the center area first. If all looks good, and like your photo guide then

move onto the edges which is the easiest part, and finally the shoulders, which is the hardest part,

and where most modelers fail. And finally, you want the shoulders' edges to be parallel to the adjacent

rail for a professional look. If you're unhappy with the results, shop-vac your ballast using a nylon screen

to trap the ballast, and start over. You're not worried about the gluing stage at this point. I use a combination

of the foam brush, and my good ol' fingers to get the look I'm after. Some people use soft paint brushes, too.

But once you start to see nice evenly flowing ballast that looks like your photo, then you've done

the hard part, and the rest is cakewalk.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the tips

Larry, thanks for the tips! The line I am modeling is actually a branch line. Still.. any raggedness was by accident, not design. The subroadbed in this section is level (I went down and double checked after reading your comment..). Any appearance otherwise is an artifact of the landscape and the photograph angle.

I actually have no problem making a nice delightfully even and well shaped shoulder when the ballast is dry. What I found with the WS fine ballast in an N scale application is that after it got glued down it got lumpy. I  found that I could do a little shaping after the ballast got wet by using a sculpting tool. However, at the end, it still looked like hell.

I just got some foam brushes to do some rock painting with. I will try cutting one down to use as a spreader. I had some success with a block of foam but at the end I was still fussing with getting the ballast off the ties and having the light material lose its nice shape and jump around as I did it. Using a toothpick to move things helped a little.

Still.. it is encouraging that with practice I can get it right although I would like to know how you are able to get those perfectly groomed shoulders to hold their position when wetted down.. also.. what kind of ballast material do you use?

Thanks.

Chris

This might help...............

I 'cut my teeth' learning at a large model railroad club of which I

was a member of for 11 years. I just had this 'passion' for ballasting that

I felt most modelers were lacking in.

What I was taught to use, and still have success at, is:

1. Get the ballast looking correct BEFORE using any gluing mediums.

    I cannot stress the importance of using prototype photos enough to

get the look 'just right.' Once you're happy with your 'test section,' go to

to the next step.

2. Now, this is where you need a well ventilated area otherwise you are playing

with DANGER! Use a respirator, or if that's not possible, get a fan to blow out the

fumes and open all possible windows!

Get a quart of lacquer, and lacquer thinner at your local hardware store, and a small

'oil can' type of applicator with a long nose. Mix equal parts lacquer to lacquer thinner with wooden sticks,

at a 1:1 ratio, and lightly squirt it in between the tracks, the ends, and finally the shoulders.

The beauty of this method is that will not ball-up your ballast like other methods can, and will

look exactly like your ballast prior to gluing. There are other techniques out there, but this

one has worked for me. Use very light pressure with your applicator.

3. Let your ballast dry for 24 hours minimum. Now, take some Elmer's white glue, and mix

it at a 1:1 ratio with water, and add just a few drops of dish detergent to act as a wetting agent,

and to help break the surface tension. I like to use water-based artists brushes for this step.

But make sure you clean your rails of the lacquer thinner first, otherwise the combination of

both the lacquer, and the white glue will be a real pain to clean up.

4. Make sure you remember which section needs the white glue fixative, otherwise the lacquer

mixture by itself will begin to break up over time.

5. And finally, let the white glue fixative dry 24 hours before cleaning the rail heads,

BUT, DO REMEMBER TO CLEAN UP THOSE RAILS WITHIN 24 HOURS, otherwise it adds

to the clean up time as white glue is amazingly strong stuff after it dries.

5. I will then blend the scenery up to  the shoulders' edges, because you can get this

unsightly 'wet mark' just at the edges, and this looks like some hobos just peed all over your

right of way.

Good luck to you!

Progress

Chris, it's looking good from my house! You're flocker is a success, and the abutments look great.

You've already gotten  a ton of good advice on the ballast, but truth be told I'm having a hard time seeing the lumpiness, at least from your photo. For what it's worth in HO, i run my hand over it after the glue has dried, and break off any offending pieces, vacuum, and redo, I'm not sure if that would help you here.

Odds once the scenery creeps up to the edge, the issues you have with it may be less visible (read noticeable) even to your trained eye. I wouldn't get too hung up on it at this stage, a lot of this comes from practice.