I posted pics of my new trestle a couple of weeks ago just for fun. Well I got motivated and in a little over three weeks went from this:
to this:
I still need to add water to the falls and stream, and do the real “gardening”- I just sprinkled a little turf and planted a few trees to add some greenery for the photos. But… this is my first landscape in 25 years so pretty pumped to see it all come together. Actually breathing a sigh of relief (yes, I can still do this, and even better than before!)
Great looking trestle. I also know what you mean about how a little work with rocks, paint, texturing and trees makes a huge difference. Look forward to seeing more pics of your layout.
This is the first time I’ve used foam and found that like most things it has pros and cons. Since it can easily be carved and shaped I found it more precise than plaster cloth hardshell, which is good for a complex scene like this. But at the same time it seemed to take forever to get it shaped to my liking.
But yes once I got started, getting rid of the pink went a lot faster than I thought it would! Just had to dive in.
My rock faces, textures and shadings got better as I went along. No surprise since its been a long time since I worked plaster. And I had to “find” the right wash colors by trial and error using a bunch of photos I laid out as reference. So just happy that nothing stands out as being flat wrong.
That is looking great. I really like your trestle bridge, and need a similar one for my S layout. I better get to work and catch up with you, I am falling way behind.
Your scenery is well done, and I am hoping to get there soon.
Keep up the good work and photo sharing, it is inspiring as others have said.
Aflyer I am not sure you are behind me at all, just taking a different path. I only have the benchwork built for phase 1 of my layout, and this is the only corner that is starting to have a finished look. I am more of a modeler than an operations guy and was very eager to start “modeling”. We will see where we both are six months from now
Ahhh yes, the challenge of trees.
Even before carving any foam or laying any track I spent a couple of months in the workshop building prototype scenes testing an assortment of materials available. Electrostatic grass, water for streams, various foams and ground covers, even dirt from my daughter’s horse pasture. And I plan to transfer the new-found knowledge to this scene in the months to come. The trees are a few of the “prototypes” I made back then using Scenic Express supertree armatures and various adhesives and flocks. I really like the way these turned out. But I still need to figure out how to make bigger/taller trees to my liking. I’ve tried a few different natural materials and also pre-made armatures but not satisfied yet.
Ever read the “Trains of Thought” column by Tony Koester? In one of them he talks about approaches to model railroading, and playing catch-up. He said in essence that it doesn’t matter what other people are doing, and that if you play catch-up, you never will catch them. Model railroading is a personal hobby. Other people are great for inspiration, but it’s not supposed to be a competition.
I never read the column but this certainly isn’t a race, or any other sort of competition! I like to take my time at this sort of stuff especially since I find the building journey most of the fun, so why get in a hurry? But at the same time making visible progress is personally very satisfying, and fun to share. And I really find seeing the progress that others are making is very motivating. And via the forum we all learn from each other as we go along. It’s all good!
Here is what I have built so far, with the photos showing the top right corner.
Enough to get my feet wet, prove I can lay track and turnouts that are trouble-free, dip into DCC, wiring and controls, and work on my skills at scene building. But I am on a 5+ year plan. Here is the latest revision to my completed layout which you guys helped me with early in the year.
Just about ready to pull the trigger and order one of the Traincat double-track brass bridge kits since it is the keystone to the next phase, and I want to have it completed before finalizing the phase 2 plan. It should be fun, I never built anything out of brass before. See, its all about the journey!
Walt, quite the change from “pink”, nice wood trestle. If you would like some info for the waterfall, here’s a link to a tutorial (The whistle Post) Impressive results from this technique and w/ some common and inexpensive materials.
