stationmaster
Crusty Old Geezer
Anton, as I mentioned, my layout started as a diorama. Just be careful. You may end up with a layout with almost 1400' of track(like mine), spend 12 years watching it "evolve"(please, take note I didn't say the words "build" or "construct", I never consider my layout being "under construction, but "evolving"), and have to build a building, or basement, just for your layout. Voice of experience talking here......... But, it's been a fun "ride".
I just wish I didn't have so many ideas that I act upon. I'm STILL building, or have plans to build, more dioramas(read modules). Why? I don't know. I surely don't need to expand or add anything to the layout as it has a bit of everything, farms, towns, industry and industrial switching, a meat packing and icing facility, passenger car maintenance facility(from an article in from an old Model Railroader Magazine), (3) yards(one large sorting yard and two smaller switching yards mostly used for storing cars and such), a turn table, a transfer table, a few "whistle stop" depots, a coal mine, a car and engine "repair" facility, a large grain elevator terminal...... the list goes on. Maybe I'm just an obsessive-compulsive.
But, a lot can be said for the time I've spent just building. Maybe it has kept me young at heart, playing with trains.
As far as adding color to your diorama, I've found that rather than air brushing so much, that using pastel chalks does more for highlighting details. When I first got my air brush, I was going crazy, air brushing everything. I went back to my previous practice of using chalks. I found the practice to produce much more favorable results. An if I didn't like what I saw, I would just "wash" it off and start again. Just a bit of advice and input on finishing. When finished with the chalks, a bit of dullcoat, or satin, Krylon sealed the deal. You can be much more precise using the chalks and don't have to worry about overspray, which can happen regardless of how careful you may be. Having just a bit of "detail highlighting" is, many times, much more effective, and appealing, than having a lot. Being subtle with highlights has much to say for the practice of detailing than many would realize.
We have a lot of iron in the stone in my area. Adding a "splash" of rust, or reds, to a rock formation can be a hard detail to add. I've done it, and after much practice and futile attempts, have a couple of modules that, with subtle coloring, look very realistic. Again, using pastel chalks, allowed me to make mistakes, remove my work and have the opportunity for a "do-over" without having to rebuild the whole scene.
Just my $.02.
Bob
I just wish I didn't have so many ideas that I act upon. I'm STILL building, or have plans to build, more dioramas(read modules). Why? I don't know. I surely don't need to expand or add anything to the layout as it has a bit of everything, farms, towns, industry and industrial switching, a meat packing and icing facility, passenger car maintenance facility(from an article in from an old Model Railroader Magazine), (3) yards(one large sorting yard and two smaller switching yards mostly used for storing cars and such), a turn table, a transfer table, a few "whistle stop" depots, a coal mine, a car and engine "repair" facility, a large grain elevator terminal...... the list goes on. Maybe I'm just an obsessive-compulsive.
But, a lot can be said for the time I've spent just building. Maybe it has kept me young at heart, playing with trains.
As far as adding color to your diorama, I've found that rather than air brushing so much, that using pastel chalks does more for highlighting details. When I first got my air brush, I was going crazy, air brushing everything. I went back to my previous practice of using chalks. I found the practice to produce much more favorable results. An if I didn't like what I saw, I would just "wash" it off and start again. Just a bit of advice and input on finishing. When finished with the chalks, a bit of dullcoat, or satin, Krylon sealed the deal. You can be much more precise using the chalks and don't have to worry about overspray, which can happen regardless of how careful you may be. Having just a bit of "detail highlighting" is, many times, much more effective, and appealing, than having a lot. Being subtle with highlights has much to say for the practice of detailing than many would realize.
We have a lot of iron in the stone in my area. Adding a "splash" of rust, or reds, to a rock formation can be a hard detail to add. I've done it, and after much practice and futile attempts, have a couple of modules that, with subtle coloring, look very realistic. Again, using pastel chalks, allowed me to make mistakes, remove my work and have the opportunity for a "do-over" without having to rebuild the whole scene.
Just my $.02.
Bob
