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I have been away for a while, but wanted to post a recent unedited video going from Falls Village through Canaan, the Canaan yard, and past Specialty Minerals.
I have not done much in the way of layout work, although I did clean off my modeling workbench. That was done in preparation for my family Christmas party last weekend. We cooked and prepped for 30 people. It was a great day and most of my family had never seen my layout, so it was fun to show it off a bit and especially fun to watch some of the younger kids running a 42 car freight train around the layout. I am kicking myself for not taking photos of that! I did at least get a photo of my modeling workbench. I have the same LED lighting over my workspace, as I do over the layout, to help me with color matching.
Thanks gentlemen. Full Disclosure: It is not always that neat, but I do try to keep it somewhat organized. The folding table in the corner is a very new addition (of an old table). That allowed me to move those gray organizers with the clear drawers to the left and off of the main desk area, and the painting table about 2 feet farther left. The spray booth can exhaust out of the window behind it.
I am very fortunate that my wife suggested I use the second floor 13' x 21' bonus room over our garage for the layout and workspace. It is heated/cooled and it is nice to be able to get some fresh air and natural light from the fully functioning windows. The backdrop has sections that are removable to access the upper window sashes if needed and the buildings are removable. The space under the rest of the layout does have boxes and bins stacked under it for storage, but 1/2 of the room houses my workspace, a 65" TV and a bookshelf under the layout. It is definitely time to replace the carpeting, now that the bulk of messy construction is complete.
Unfortunately, I have not had any time lately to do any layout work. The residents of Canaan, CT, however, do seem to have some time for a nice breakfast at Collin's Diner, with a view of the old Canaan Union Station in the background.
The third photo shows the location I have modeled. I rotated the diner about 45 degrees for visual interest on the layout. The diner's concrete pavement base is not attached to the parking lot, so I can rotate the entire diner to make it more accurate for photography, if needed. I still need to add parking lines and some more details. The Google earth screen capture shows recent renovation work that was done after the timeframe I am modeling. The most glaring change was the removal of the old NH water tank, plus the CNE track, and diamond that was to the left of the station to make way for parking for the new brewery.
I have not posted overall layout updates in a while. There has been incremental progress on the N-Scale Housatonic RR layout, so I am taking this opportunity to post some very candid, high angle, state of the layout photos. These show where the layout stands as of March 1, 2023, warts and all. The photos show work in progress, unfinished buildings and scenic areas. There is a lot of detailing and finish work remaining to be done, but, there is a basic level of scenery on about 80% of the layout at this time. Not shown is the 2' x 11' closet annex that houses Sheffield Plastics and Mead Paper, in the Massachusettes portion of the layout.
Letourneau Gorge:
Pharmco (Brookfield, CT)
Stratas Foods (New Milford, CT)
Neeltran (New Milford, CT)
Neeltran & Kimberly Clark (New Milford, CT)
Kimberly Clark (New Milford, CT) (with roof warping and in need of repair )
Crossing the Housatonic River near the Bleachery (New Milford, CT)
Downtown New Milford, CT
Downtown New Milford, CT
Cornwall Bridge CT, with the old station
Becton - Dickenson (Canaan, CT)
Canaan, CT Union Station, with Collins Diner). This is the old New HavenRR and Central New England RR Crossing and shared station.
As I've said before Eric, your layout inspired me long ago.
I was bummed when you took time away from it years ago and it sat idle, I'm so glad you came back and are working on it again.
The level that you've brought to it in recent years has been even more inspiring.
Thanks for sharing.
Rule #1 of model railroading.
It's probably responsible for the greatest number of shoddy layouts because no one feels compelled to improve themselves. Meh, good enough...
After finally getting the nerve to pour epoxy resin water features on my layout, I have to say that I loved the outcome. One thing still bothered me though, and that was the mirror like finish of the smooth surface. I have been experimenting with adding ripples to the smooth resin surface. My experimentation was limited to the beaver pond at the bottom of my gorge and steel trestle scene. Here is a brief description of the 4 attempts:
1.) Woodland Scenics "Realistic Water." It went on OK, and I was able to add some surface ripples. It looked acceptable, until... 3 months later it began delaminating from the resin surface, even though I thoroughly cleaned the resin with alcohol to remove any residue or finger prints. I peeled that off and cleaned the resin again, with alcohol to remove any remnants. Never again!!!
2.) High-gloss Modge Podge. I applied this to the prepped resin surface, worked in some ripple detail and it dried nicely. It had the texture I wanted, but looked like dried glue. I was not happy with the outcome. So, I managed to scrub that off after soaking it with alcohol and scraping and scrubbing it with a micro-fiber cloth. High-gloss Modge Podge may work well for fast moving water effects in a stream or river scene, but not for slow moving or staionary water, in my opinion.
3.) The "Boomer" method. Allen suggested I take another look at the Boomer "River Road" videos, on his water effects. He used a combination of Golden Brand products, "Semi-gloss Gel" and "GAC Gloss Flow Enhancer." I ordered both, although I got the Gloss Gel, in lieu of the Semi-Gloss. Boomer applied his over a painted water surface, not over resin. His looks great in photos and video, but I was not happy with the effect over epoxy resin. It just looked too "frozen" for lack of a better term. It was the most promising, but I felt I really lost the look of "depth" in my water. I then peeled and scrubbed off this acrylic layer as well. (Seeing a pattern here...)
4.) Last night, I made my final attempt at ripples. I applied straight Golden Brand "GAC Gloss Flow Enhancer" with a fan brush, in a pattern intended to represent wind blowing across the surface. The next three photos show it right after application last night and how it looked this morning. I am pretty happy with it, yet nervous about trying the effect on the other two larger epoxy resin river scenes. This application dried nice and hard, without any tackiness at all.
*** I still need to touch up the banks, beaver dam and lodge, after the damage from the prior attempts and removal of the failures.
I look at the layout building process as a learning process. If it does not meet my expectations, I try to figure out why that is and then try something different. All it costs is a little time, some materials and a bit of effort.
I have to say, as much as my brain wants to add ripples to the main river scene in New Milford, I came across these when looking for reference shots today. The other really big thing is the bridges are not the same construction, but I think the models work for the intended purpose... Too much prototype fidelity is a rabbit hole I am not ready to plunge into at this time. (Yes, there are ripples, but very subtle.)
I may just leave well enough alone for now and revisit it later after my wife and I complete a total kitchen gut and renovation project starting next weekend.
Aerial view: (Actual photo is looking east, but the model photo is looking west)
Inspired by my visit to the Grafton & Upton engine shop yesterday, I was inspired to start detailing the shop area on the N Scale Housatonic RR. Here are a few in progress shots.
"Warren K
#71.2
Warren K commented
4 weeks ago
Looks great. What did you use for straps around the stacks of lumber? I need to build a bunch of those."
Warren, I can't take credit for the strapping. Those tie bundles are resin castings from "NZT Details." I have had them in storage for a number of years. It looks like the straps are fine black pinstriping tape, as they have some sheen to them. I just weathered the stacks with pan pastels to get rid of the resin color uniformity.
Ok, so I am not a fan of photo backdrops, however, I needed something to fill in the hole where the road should be leaving Specialty Minerals. There are two parallel tracks between the crusher/ scale house and the backdrop. Here is how it looked.
During lunch today, I used Google Earth street view on the roads by the actual Specialty Minerals in Canaan. I did a screen grab and added some foliage in MSPaint. I printed it at home and cut it out. This is how it looks just placed loosely in the exit area. I am pleased with how well my modeled asphalt color matches the photo with no attempt to blend it. This definitely helps this part of the scene. I still need to pave a ramp down from the truck scale.
That is a big improvement indeed and an amazing color match on the road. Even better that the photo came from an actual area nearby to the location that you are modeling.
Dayam Eric that looks great!
The only issue I have with it, is the the little thin white line at the top of the tree line.
Do you think that it might be possible to take a green marker or some thinned paint and try to color it so it isn't white?
I'm probably getting ahead you, you probably already have a plan, but regardless, that looks great!
Rule #1 of model railroading.
It's probably responsible for the greatest number of shoddy layouts because no one feels compelled to improve themselves. Meh, good enough...
Absolutely. That was just a quick attempt at proof of concept. The photo print is just leaning against the building and a tree. I need to back it and attach it. I will color that edge then.
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