A new dirt road

I've been working on a short dirt road which I've made from water putty.

It leads out to the grade crossing, and I felt it might make a nice lead-in for photos.

To cut a long story short [I have thousands of photos of it ] this is it after puttying and painting, with pastel dust rubbed over it as well

   and again after I added some grasses and other plants along one side so far

 I'm thinking it's maybe a little bit long, so I might snip it back in places.

 How it looks so far...

Mike

Nice!

That scene looks very nice, Mike. The texture of the ground, the colors and the foliage all work very well together. The scene looks cold! Is that a photo backdrop beyond the grade crossing? Regardless, it looks great and really blends in well with the surroundings.

Like Joe A., I've admired your photos in the WFP thread and it's great to see some more photos of your layout. Please keep them coming!

Tom Patterson

Thanks Tom

for your kind words. Love your shots on WPF too. I'll check out your blog soon as well.

Re the back scene - I painted it with acrylics. Recently I drilled tiny holes through it and attached LEDs to represent distant lights. 

I have a couple more that will get the same treatment.

Mike

So real

That I can hear those cars rusting. Superb job!

You PAINTED that?!?

Wow!  Like Tom, I thought you were using a photo backdrop.  Even in the closeup, that distant town scene still looks realistic enough to be a photo.  Outstanding work Mike, and I love the LEDs.  That scene really gives the feeling of those cold winter days I remember as a kid, where the sun never stays around as late as you'd like.  I'm really glad to see you starting your own blog.  I plan to check back frequently.

Now I'm homesick

Mike,

We meet again! I know I've told you on a different site that those pictures are spot on from my childhood trips to New England to visit family. But I don't mind saying it again.

I'm typing this from Afghanistan where it was a 113 degrees (45 for you Celsius types) today. Of course even if I was home it still wouldn't be winter and as I understand it the East coast and New England is having quite the heat and humidity this summer. 

Matt

very effective

I particularly love the night scene! Very effective with the distant LED lights. Looking forward to more Mike.

What's the story?

Santa Fe in New England?   :> )    Love that artwork on the backdrop BTW.  ........ .DaveB

Santa Fe in New England?? Absolutely!

Guilford picked up quite a few ex-ATSF SD-26's in the 80's IIRC.

Its makin me shiver just

Its makin me shiver just lookin at it Mike.

just about done

I've just about finished the track and surrounds, so i thought I'd post a couple more pics

I'll paint some of the rock scatter to help marry it to its surrounds. I've rubbed plenty of earthy grey pastel dust over the grasses to settle the colour down.

Thanks to all who have commented and to all who view.

Mike

Love the colors

of the scrub grasses and the way you've avoided monotone dirt textures without having it look like a mess. Awesome! Reminds me of why I hated that time of year in Vermont. (That's a compliment....)

Marty

That's some pretty impressive

That's some pretty impressive scenery there Mike. Please share more. It looks awesome.

Randy

Short tour

Thank you Marty and Randy.

 Some photos in lieu of a track plan - I'm no good at them

The layout is H0, L shaped, built on hollow core doors. The long leg is 2 x doors and the shorter leg is one. I don't consider any part of it to be completed at this stage. I also have planning permission  to further extend around the corner from the far end of the short leg of the L, although it'll only be shelf-width.

This is the loco shed end, modelled as closely as possible on the old Maine Central Calais Yard. Looks like Guilford didn't close it down after all, and they installed a sand tower.

The yard is only small, with three tracks

Just past the yard is a bridge/causeway across a 'tidal' inlet...

More to come before too long.

Mike

Really nice work!

Love the water effects. Great looking layout!

Great!

I love what you're doing Mike.  And I have to say, your figures are some of the most realistic I've ever seen in HO.  What brand are they?

Wow

Mike ... you've certainly shown some exceptional talent here ... it is no wonder that you have gotten permission to continue on around the next corner!  

A wonderful layout you have there.  Beautiful scenery and fantastic backdrop.  Thanks so much for sharing.

Very nice work Mike. You've

Very nice work Mike. You've captured the look of the area especially with the night scene of the yard and the tidal inlet.

I'm modeling the Bay of Fundy area, but creating a freelance version of a coastal village that has a branch line terminus.

Keep posting.

A true artist

Mike, you are a true artist, Every one of those scenes are spot on. Being from New England myself it sure looks like home to me. I model New England also, and judging from your photos I'm sure I can learn a lot from you.

  Great Job,

  Sam

WOW

I can't say enough, ditto to what everybody else has said

the New England Railway

well, I'm not sure how the Santa Fe wound up on a New England Railway but my B'n& SF ( Bangor 'n Santa Fe can handle it.  Being from New Mexico, The ruts are just perfect!

Thank you...

..everyone for the kind words.

Joe  the figures, four- and two-legged - are Preiser.  I bought a couple of sets of unpainted figures several years ago. I really don't enjoy painting them, and the one in the dark jacket needs retouching - again. They get posed all over the place.

 I use acrylics, and they don't seem to cling on as well as enamels. The dogs are pre-painted but I've brushed watery black over them.

Pete  Back in the 1980s Guilford bought several SDs from Santa Fe. Ever since I saw the photos I wanted one.

Mike

No land is absolutely flat

In my view, the true reason for the reality in your scene is that the scenery drops from the background to your track  and on through the foreground to the edge of your layout.  The land on the far side of the road slopes down to the road and shows evidence of erosion.  The road edge has a berm that is usually there to prevent rain run off which will erode the downside of the road.  Even dirt roads have them or erosion will form gullies across the road.  Then the land continues to fall from the road edge to the edge of your layout.  It also shows signs of erosion with grassy patches and gullies that keep the whole area from being washed away.  I suppose that you do not live in a big city.

The only flat land on this earth is on the bottom of dried up lakes.  That is the large salt flats of Utah and our Mojave desert where supersonic planes are tested. The only other flat land is man made and it still is not flat.  There has to be a slope for drainage.   It's the little things that make it all look real.

Paint Reality

This is reality. Save the planet, sustainability, and all the rest of the eco-friendly marketing spin aside, waterborne coatings (what you call acrylics) in their most technological advanced versions are just now beginning to equal solventborne coating performance in some properties. The paint industry is still quite a ways away from when waterborne will exceed solventborne performance. Hobby paints sadly are not the latest and greatest in technology. Quite the opposite actually. Hobby and craft paints are one market where paint companies can milk old technology cows. I do not find it at all surprising waterborne acrylic hobby paint doesn't stick well to your plastic figures while solventborne does.