the MRH Forum

More scenery work on the layout Journals/Blogs
Reply
MRH Author 5,541 posts Michael Tondee MRH Author 5,541 posts
Michael Tondee

Have not accomplished much on anything else on the layout lately but have been doing more scenery work on the mountain behind the TT as the mood strikes. Added a Foam rock casting I had lying around and then did some carving work using patching plaster  and palette knives.  Painted on a base coat of gray I mixed to what looked right by my eye and then hit everything with an india ink wash followed by dry brushes of brown and light gray. Might still hit everything with a real light drybrush of white but I haven't decide yet. Added various ground foam textures and now I'm letting thing " percolate"  for a bit   before going further.  Still need to get to ground cover around TT which will mostly be cinders with patches of ballast  and maybe a light smattering of dirt and weeds. I have a Walthers cinder conveyor and ashpit kit  in my possession now but I've yet to build it. I'm thinking on scratching a water tank if I can find a suitable "everyday" material to make the tank body with. it's also time to start making some "Joe Fugate style" conifers. I have all the materials necessary, just got to find the motivation to dive in. Also, still to come is a "rock fence" between the TT and the rock wall which will be made by using scrap rail for post and some type of mesh for the fence. I'm still trying to decide how coarse the mesh should be. I have some scraps of fiberglass window screen but that may be too fine.

No....there isn't any prototype  area necessarily represented here, most of this is from my minds eye and imagination. I know that's not the way a lot of you do it these days but it's what works for me and what I like. Someone, can't remember who, once called model railroading "imagineering"  and I've always loved the term, made up as in may be....Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog.

Michael001.jpg 

Michael, A.R.S. W4HIJ

 Model Rail, electronics experimenter and "mad scientist" for over 50 years.

Member of  "The Amigos" and staunch disciple of the "Wizard of Monterey"

My Pike: The Blackwater Island Logging&Mining Co.
Reply 0
arthurhouston Prolific poster 1,154 posts
arthurhouston

Nice Clouds

All looks great. Like the clouds. 
Reply 0
David Calhoun Frequent poster 820 posts
David Calhoun

Prototype

Having been given a trip on the scenic Western Maryland railroad for my birthday, I've seen the prototype. The railroad actually ends at a turntable at the base of the city up on a hill. There is an abandoned tunnel and entrance just behind the turntable that took the railroad further in years past. 

I like the landscaping and agree that the "Mare's Tails" clouds are a good compliment to the scene.

Chief Operating Officer

The Greater Nickel Plate
Reply 0
kcsphil1 Prolific poster 1,235 posts
kcsphil1

So, I'm going to pick a nit . . .

ah_count.jpg 

See that vertical fissure in the cropped photo?  Out here in prototype land, fissures like that in stratified rock like you have (usually sedimentary stuff like shale) would indicate a water course of some kind.  It would probably be a groundwater seep where ground water flowing down hill would be forced to exit the slope due to the cut back done to put the turntable in.  Then, to protect the integrity of the turntable, the RR would have been forced to add a grated pipe of some kind at or near the foot of the fissure, and a pipe under or around the turntable to carry the water away from the site.

Do you NEED to do that - no, the scene is really great otherwise, and I'm a lone reed singing in a marsh on this.  But, I think it would be cool if you did . . .

Philip H. Chief Everything Officer Baton Rouge Southern Railroad, Mount Rainier Div.

"You can't just "Field of Dreams" it... not matter how James Earl Jones your voice is..." ~ my wife

My Blog Index
Reply 0
Michael Tondee MRH Author 5,541 posts
Michael Tondee

Access hatch

Wow....sharp eye!! Actually that "vertical fissure" is a joint where the curved rock face removes to allow access to track behind it. It's not very well disguised. Guess I need to work on that!! I've tried to avoid too much foliage around the joints of the removable section for fear of drawing attention to it but sharp eyes have caught me!! LOL!!! Michael

Michael, A.R.S. W4HIJ

 Model Rail, electronics experimenter and "mad scientist" for over 50 years.

Member of  "The Amigos" and staunch disciple of the "Wizard of Monterey"

My Pike: The Blackwater Island Logging&Mining Co.
Reply 0
kcsphil1 Prolific poster 1,235 posts
kcsphil1

No worries

being trained as an oceanographer i have more then a passing interest in what happens to rocks . . . its my uber-geek getting out I think.

Philip H. Chief Everything Officer Baton Rouge Southern Railroad, Mount Rainier Div.

"You can't just "Field of Dreams" it... not matter how James Earl Jones your voice is..." ~ my wife

My Blog Index
Reply 0
Patrick Stanley Frequent poster 595 posts
Patrick Stanley

I Doubt

that the plaster and foam will seep too much water. If it does he will probably need more than a scale drainage pipe to move it away. HA!

Nice work. I like the clouds as usually we (me included) tend to only do the puffy variety.

Espee over Donner
Reply 0
Michael Tondee MRH Author 5,541 posts
Michael Tondee

Clouds...

I've never been abler to do "puffy" clouds convincingly to my satisfaction so I don't try anymore.  Long ago I read that "if your sky starts blue at the top and fades to white at the horizon, it will be convincing" and I'm a firm believer in that approach. I certainly appreciate the compliments guys!

Michael

Michael, A.R.S. W4HIJ

 Model Rail, electronics experimenter and "mad scientist" for over 50 years.

Member of  "The Amigos" and staunch disciple of the "Wizard of Monterey"

My Pike: The Blackwater Island Logging&Mining Co.
Reply 0
Reply