jeffrey-wimberly
Dr Frankendiesel
Do I have to start this again?
Looks like the boys at the Fuerst Matthes plant won't be getting their safety award this year!
A bit of both. The ballast was done after the rails in this case, but I now suggest that people do the rails last so that the ballast gets the bleed-down look near the rail foot.
I used Joe Fugate's technique of mixing plaster of Paris with tempera powder, dusting the ballast liberally with it, and then spritzing it with water to fix it all in place. I mixed black and brown tempera powder, mostly black, and about equal measures of plaster powder and the tempera mix.
I use a larger artist's brush, scoop up a half teaspoon of the mix, flop it onto the ballast, spread it maybe 6 inches down the ballast, and then do the spritzing after I have done a section of about 2-3 feet. I always wipe the rail tops with a damp clean cloth after the spritz.
The oil slick down the middle is simply a mix of black acrylic craft paint in the small plastic bottles from Wally's, a lick of Burnt Umber, and gloss medium (Mod Podge).
Thanks for your compliment!
-Crandell