A beginner's layout


PMW

Well-Known Member
I joined this forum about a week ago. Some of you said you would like pics of my layout in response to my introduction. I was hesitant because I'm a beginner with no previous experience with scale models of any kind. However, I like to see the pics you all have posted and I want to contribute too.

Very little on the layout is "permanent" and I know I have a bunch of things to tweak. Please feel free to offer comments and constructive criticism. I'm looking forward to your feedback!
IMG_0147.JPG
IMG_0148.JPG
IMG_0149.JPG
IMG_0150.JPG
 
That actually looks really good so far. Well done.

How are you planning to add greenery...ground foam? If so, you can often find 'oopsy!' paints sold at a loss at your paints store or paints section at the hardware store. Often it's a passable tan. You want acrylic paint, and you want a much lighter shade of 'tan' than you think you want. You can mix in some white or yellow glue to a small amount of the paint decanted into a yogurt container or whatever, and then paint it onto the parts that need to look like dirt and vegetation. Before more than about three minutes, because it will want to dry fairly quickly, you should be gathering some materials for scenicking the paint surfaces and sprinkling it on. A light coating of about two/three different shades and coarsenesses of ground foam will have it looking pretty good. Later, when it sets up, you can overspray it all with a light glue solution and help it all to bond with each other.
 
That actually looks really good so far. Well done.

How are you planning to add greenery...ground foam? If so, you can often find 'oopsy!' paints sold at a loss at your paints store or paints section at the hardware store. Often it's a passable tan. You want acrylic paint, and you want a much lighter shade of 'tan' than you think you want. You can mix in some white or yellow glue to a small amount of the paint decanted into a yogurt container or whatever, and then paint it onto the parts that need to look like dirt and vegetation. Before more than about three minutes, because it will want to dry fairly quickly, you should be gathering some materials for scenicking the paint surfaces and sprinkling it on. A light coating of about two/three different shades and coarsenesses of ground foam will have it looking pretty good. Later, when it sets up, you can overspray it all with a light glue solution and help it all to bond with each other.

Thanks for the advise. I'm a little intimated by scenery but also looking forward to "finishing" a scene on the layout! Thanks again for the info and I welcome others to offer their advise as well.
 
Looks great but you need to have the abutments low enough to get the bridge under rail height. What kind of bridge will you use, or should we stay tuned for the next update...

I have an Atlas bridge. Not fancy but I painted it and looks a little better now.

I'm afraid I don't know exactly what you mean by the abutments not being below rail height. I've seen other bridge abutments that look different than the ones I made but I'm not sure if they'll work with bridge I have (I'm probably missing something due to my inexperience).

I have the top of the abutments flush with the top of the roadbed and the track of course is on top of those. I have had the bridge in place so I could run some equipment and test the track. I will post a photo of the scene with the bridge in place tomorrow so you can see what it looks like.
 
PMW.....keep at and don't be shy. It's all good. We all enjoy seeing the work you are doing. It doesn't matter what skill level etc. that you are at. We all learn one way or another from each other.... you would be surprised what you can pick up tricks, techniques etc. that we all can learn. Just keep going I will be following your thread.
 
PMW.....keep at and don't be shy. It's all good. We all enjoy seeing the work you are doing. It doesn't matter what skill level etc. that you are at. We all learn one way or another from each other.... you would be surprised what you can pick up tricks, techniques etc. that we all can learn. Just keep going I will be following your thread.

That's one thing I love about this site. If a professional modeler logged on they'd get the same support that a 5 year-old with a Melissa & Doug wooden train set would (not entirely sure those can be converted to DCC... I'll have to put some thought into that...). As far as YOUR layout goes, it is looking FANTASTIC! No need, what-so-ever to be hesitant to post anything you're working on. You've got a great canvas to work with!

As far the a bride abutments go, what Rico is referring to how the bridge itself sits on the abutments. Typically, the bridge will sit ON the abutments and not just between them. Here's a couple of pics I pulled from the internet:
view


Dry-stone-Rail-bridge-and-culvert-2.jpg
 
Hi, all. I installed the rest of the reversing section today. I do not yet have an auto reverser so I have only pushed some cars and power through to test it. (with power off of course)...so far so good but I'm anxious to really run some trains through it.

I have heard not all auto reversers are created equal. I don't mind paying more for the most reliable one now instead of buying a less expensive one and then needing to buy the more expensive one.

The most reliable auto reverser is my goal. I use NCE Power Cab with the SB5 and EB-1 circuit breakers (I include in case it's germane). Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Paul
 



Back
Top