Building the Pinnacle Creek Mining & Timber Co. RR

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Short up date. I bought a sheet of plywood yesterday. 4'x6.5' which when I got it into the trainroom was way to large. I will cut it to 6' today and see if that makes a difference. I'm planning on 18" radius curves. Jim :confused:
 


Bill, Check out page 292. It is a bit narrow, mine will be around 4'x6'. Each square is 1 foot. I didn't make the plan wide enough. Now this may seem like a plan where somebody should be starting his first layout instead of a last layout. Trust me, when finished it will look like this plan, but be WAY different. Jim :)
 
Thanks for jogging my memory. I don't know how I overlooked that. My wife always said I was absent minded. lol Looking forward to the next step. I know it will be a masterpiece. Bill:o
 
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Speaking of 18" radius curves here is the latest on the new layout. Kind of crowded here. I'm trying to get all the track on smoothly, tack it down, and see if all my locos will negotiate 18" curves. I'm pretty sure they will, but I have a hunch I may have to use two 15" curves to make this work. I want the dip in the track on the opposite side of the 'straight' side of the layout. I'm a firm believer in practice stuff like this so when I do build permanently there will be few surprises. Jim:)

IMG_7990_zpsurh6uruc.jpg
 
Wait a min, did he say "PERMANETLY" ?
Is that for real, are you really going to build a permanent layout ? lol :rolleyes:
T.C.
 
T.C., Funny. Actually, what I meant was final building of any particular layout. As I'm now 70, I keep getting all these thoughts about retiring from the modeling game. I'm tired basically. This last one will be the last one, and may be permanent in that being just 6'x4' could actually out last me sitting in a corner! How's that? Jim :eek:
 


Jim, I really think the "permanent" part of your layouts are the fantastic photo's you take.
Those, my friend will live on long after all of us have passed on to a better place.
T.C.
 
Seems like the new layout is taking form, Jim :) In the meanwhile may I ask a question: what material will you use to cover the styrofoam? I remember that on your "Rocky ridge" layout you used only sand but then - that was a part of that setting. Will you use plaster cloth or just plaster this time? Or perhaps some kind of acrylic putty?
Igor
 
Igor, Good question. Like most modeling situations the choice of covering in this modeling era is plaster cloth over everything then continue with your landscaping. Back in the day it was paper towels dipped in plaster covering screen, today cardboard webbing or foam is generally the accepted practice. Regardless plaster cloth is used by most these days. Acrylic putty is okay, but I would use it to affix rock casting to the plaster cloth before using it as a substitute for plaster cloth. The basic problem with it is that it does not accept colored washes like plaster cloth, thus leaving a shiny after effect. I realize plaster cloth may not be readily available to you. Plaster is and you can find paper towels. Or, better, you can find plaster cloth at your nearest medical facility or medical supply store. Basically it is the same product.

As far as my next layout yes, I will use plaster cloth whether I use foam, hard to find in my area, or traditional webbing hills and valleys. Jim :)
 
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Thanks, Jim! Plaster cloth is available here in the form of medical plaster bandages with wide variety of sizes. It is cheap too. I tried it (and also pure plaster or rather alabaster/plaster of Paris) as well as acrylic putty on test pieces of styrofoam and here are my observations:
- pure alabaster is strong but produces crumbles. It also dries quite quickly leaving you less time for terraforming :)
- plaster cloth is also strong and dries overnight but threads are visible on the surface - probably that's because it is really bandage :)
- acrylic putty is ok although it dries very long (several days if you put a decent amount of it)
All of them stick well to styrofoam so there is really no difference in that respect.

I have not tried painting the surface afterwards, so thank you for pointing out that there might be difference there. My initial understanding was that acrylic putty should work well with acrylic paints but we'll see :)

Thanks again! Igor
 
No worries Igor I'm glad to help. Here are some thoughts on paint and washes. I do use acrylic paints well watered down to color many things. Some folks use a cheaper method using latex paint. I've done the tests and acrylic washes you make on your own or buy from Woodland Scenics is much preferred by me than the result of using latex paint. Latex, even though it is mixed with water, covers an area with such a complete coating that additional treatments on top of the latex just don't come out looking as good as surfaces not covered by latex. Latex paint dumbs down a surface and robs it of a natural look. Good modeling is done in different layers. Sometimes I have 5 to 8 layers of coverings over any given area to produce a 'realistic' looking area. Latex always seems to show through and folks do notice it is not as 'lively.' Painting plaster cloth or even putty is not recommended by me. You didn't mention latex, but others read these words so I thought I would add my thoughts on the subject. Another thing folks don't realize is that while few people are color blind, many, many, more are 'shade' blind. So to them colors are muted and dull. Latex produces muted and dull colors for a small price. A better price is diluted acrylics for covering anything white on our layouts. Jim:)
 
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Thanks, Jim! I also prefer acrylic paints over latex or (God save us) enamels. In my plastic model practice I always used acrylics exactly for the reason you specified - it gives you much better control on color mixing and washes. The only thing which is not clear to me - you say that "Painting plaster cloth or even putty is not recommended by me". What do you mean? Do you color plaster/putty/... before laying it? Or do you use some other technique? (I remember you mentioned that you do not use airbrush). Igor
 
Igor, Woodland Scenics put out a paint/wash called Earth. I completely use this color to first cover everything white on a layout. Look back toward the beginning of this whole thread on page 2 and you will find WS Earth coloring the plaster cloth between the rocks in post 17. I add water to the WS Earth color and it goes farther. Even if I know I will completely cover and area later I still paint it with this wash. I want no white, no dull latex, showing through. Real earth is brownish for the most part and I want my underneath coat of earth to look brownish as well. Above I meant painting with latex or even undiluted acrylics.

No airbrush for me. I have colored plaster and putty before using and it is not worth the headaches. I use a brown wash less diluted for plaster and putty. I like to keep scenery simple and see what I can come up with in the way of realism. I'm not a fan of real dirt, so I try to perfect my own clean dirt! Jim:)
 
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Jim, have you tried a technique using "scenery goop"? Is a mixture of Celluclay, vermiculite, brown paint for color and white glue? You spread it out using an artist's spatula in a thin layer and apply your layers as desired. Then you apply diluted white glue and let it dry. Makes excellent dirt roads and as a basis for ground cover. There is a good article in a recent issue of Model Railroader magazine. After ground cover is applied and before the glue is applied you can with whatever structure you're using push it down into the goop and then take it out and finish the area as required. After its dry put the building back in and it looks like it is built in not on. I've used it for the first time and it works quite well. If it's not going to be used right away some Lysol disinfectant can be mixed in and the mix can be stored indefinitely in an airtight container. I'm working on a small scene now and will post a pic when finished. Bill:)
 


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