The wife's HO Atlas layout...

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wombat457 said:
Mike,

Have found them on the internet and will get her one in due course. Over the week end she decided to buy a crane and work caboose as well. Looks like I am going to have to knock a wall out for the extensions I will need for all of her engines and rolling stock :)
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Hey! You remember that TV program where they swapped wives? I'm up for it. (dunno 'bout her though) (or yours for that matter).
 
Hey Tony,
Nice job on the water!!!! What did you use for it? I want to put a small river and a small lake or pond. Looks like everything is moving along nicely.

Scott
 
tootnkumin said:
Hey! You remember that TV program where they swapped wives? I'm up for it. (dunno 'bout her though) (or yours for that matter).
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A wife swap huh??? Let me get back to you on that ... :)

FM C liner said:
Hey Tony,
Nice job on the water!!!! What did you use for it? I want to put a small river and a small lake or pond. Looks like everything is moving along nicely.

Scott
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Thanks Scott. I used Behr flat paint from Lowes (sample pots) and Liquitex Gloss Varnish Medium.

How I did it: Put down a thin layer of plaster to cover the foam then brush painted the colors I wanted. Before it fully dried, I "dry brushed" the colors into each other then poured a thin layer of the Liquitex over the whole lot, letting it flow as it wanted and dragging the not fully dried paint with it.

If you make a mistake with the coloring, or it doesn't look right, you can re do it before or after you pour the Liquitex. Obviously, if you want to change the look of the color (as I did) then you will need to wait for the Liquitex to fully dry. In that situation I would allow 48 hours.

Once that had dried (24 hours) I kept pouring layers of Liquitex to create the impression of depth. The layers of Liquitex should be kept thin, about 1/16 - 1/8th of an inch, and allowed to dry for 24 hours between layers. At the moment, I have about 12 layers of Liquitex on the lake/river with another one or two to do after I locate the small jetty and boats. The Liquitex will act as an adhesive for those items.

Rocks, weeds etc can be placed at any time then covered with Liquitex.

If you are just doing a small river, I would suggest shaping your river bed with a BBQ lighter, burning the river into your base layer of foam then covering that with plaster cloth or plaster, which ever is easiest. Then paint and blend the river colors followed by the Liquitex.

Burning in the river bed will give you a very nice, almost realistic river bed.

If you choose to use Liquitex, keep in mind that it pours like water so it will flow like think water. When it goes on, it will look creamy white but dries to a deep clear gloss finish. If you pour it too thick, you can spread it with an old paint brush. Also remember that if you pour the second layer before th first layer dries, you will end up with a "milky" look to the finish. Also, Liquitex can be "SLIGHTLY" thinned with water BUT no ore than by 10%, even though Liquitex says it can be diluted up to 20%.

Hope this helps.
 


Thanks guys and yeah, that little bridge turned out half decent I thought. Now I have to put in the other two bridges. The other two will most likely be trestle bridges, although I don't think the height of the bridge closest the front of the layout is going to be enough to warrant a trestle.

I'm also glad to be back on track and I think the next update will show much more progress. Fingers crossed on that though.
 
Lakeside Update....

Morning All,

I finally got around to taking some shots of what has been done thus far, at least on the Lake side of the layout. I think you will agree that some progress has been made there.

I have; however, hit a bit of a wall where the scenery for this area is concerned. What to put where, scenery wise, do I do the ground in gravel and dirt or turf and weeds or a combination of both? What to add to the area in front of the cliff face, if anything ... so many options and not sure what would look better.

Would be interested in anyone's ideas and thoughts on that. But, here are the shots:

Img_0133_zpsf853f70d.jpg


Img_0134_zps2c94e72e.jpg


Img_0136_zpsff3d9a87.jpg




Img_0135_zps8efd3e8b.jpg


Well that is it, for the moment. Should add that I have "almost" completed laying the track for the inner line. Am just having a "B" of a time getting things to line up while retaining good joins where I cannot solder the joins, ie: insulated joiners.

Once I have it all down, and there is only two more sections of flex and one turnout to go in, I will get something running and post the next update.

Might also take this opportunity to remind people that the "What to call my Railway" omp is still on and has less than two weeks to run before the eventual winner s announced. I haven't settled on the prize for the victor as yet BUT I can tell you, it will be worth your while :)
 
I think a bit of blending in of scenery from the base of the cliffs (extra moisture would run down the cliffs to grow plants) to soften the transition, finishing with mixed earth/gravel near the buildings. Link to the contest please tony, haven't seen it.
 


The only thing that is determined (by the Chief Engineer) is the name of the town - "Tootsville", other than that nothing is definite and no particular company is being used, in fact, we are also working on a Logo and Color scheme for the main train.

I also think tootn's idea is pretty much spot on. I will probably do a little more to the land form so it isn't quite so flat and boring as well.
 
wombat457 said:
Morning All,

I finally got around to taking some shots of what has been done thus far, at least on the Lake side of the layout. I think you will agree that some progress has been made there.

I have; however, hit a bit of a wall where the scenery for this area is concerned. What to put where, scenery wise, do I do the ground in gravel and dirt or turf and weeds or a combination of both? What to add to the area in front of the cliff face, if anything ... so many options and not sure what would look better.

Would be interested in anyone's ideas and thoughts on that. But, here are the shots:



Img_0134_zps2c94e72e.jpg








Well that is it, for the moment. Should add that I have "almost" completed laying the track for the inner line. Am just having a "B" of a time getting things to line up while retaining good joins where I cannot solder the joins, ie: insulated joiners.

Once I have it all down, and there is only two more sections of flex and one turnout to go in, I will get something running and post the next update.

Might also take this opportunity to remind people that the "What to call my Railway" omp is still on and has less than two weeks to run before the eventual winner s announced. I haven't settled on the prize for the victor as yet BUT I can tell you, it will be worth your while :)
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This is a great shot. I like what you've done with this area. The water looks especially good in this picture too.
I think the only thing I would add would be a dirt/gravel path or one lane road with a wood crossing by the passenger platform, that winds past the house and the bait shop and which ends up at a small wooden pier or dock ( to fish from) which could be used to tie up a couple small canoes or row boats. my choice would then be a ground cover around the structures and weeds along the shoreline, and I would make the entire area heavily populated with trees. I think it would be visually interesting if at an HO person's eye level, you could view the scene through the trees. I would put trees between the paved road and the track and I would even put a few small trees between the bait shop and the track.
You have room to add another small structure such as a small cabin or a rustic looking pub or restaurant, but it really isn't needed. Sometimes less is more, so keeping it to just the three buildings gives you more room to make the scenery convey the feeling of an isolated back woods fishing retreat area.
But be careful to choose trees that are too dense with foliage to be able to view the scene through around the road and path and around the structures.
 
Jim,

...I think the only thing I would add would be a dirt/gravel path or one lane road with a wood crossing by the passenger platform, that winds past the house and the bait shop and which ends up at a small wooden pier or dock ( to fish from) which could be used to tie up a couple small canoes or row boats...
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You are a mind reader! With the exception of the path across the tracks, everything else you have mentioned is what I planned on doing, seriously.

I have also ordered 450 custom made tree's from Scale Tree's, 400 small and medium Deciduous and 50 small Pine (for the moment). Because they are all hand made, I don't expect to receive them for a few weeks. The tree's are my biggest concern and I think you hit the nail on the head when you said, sometimes less is more. The last thing I want to do is "overly crowd" the area with too much, BUT also don't want it looking under done either. Trying to find that compromise is going to be an interesting exercise.

The idea of creating a "secluded retreat" feel is pretty much what I wanted. A place to get away from the "real" world for a while and to just relax. Some where where you could imagine sitting back and hearing nothing but the birds and wildlife. I am not sure how I am going to create that feel, but that is the end aim here.

I also have a couple of "out houses" coming from Wild West Scale Models, so they will be included in the area some where. Right now, I'm not sure where exactly but suspect they will find pride of place around Mo Skeeters or perhaps in the "cutting" down near the lake some where.

Thank you for your comments regarding the water as well. The picture you liked is the best I have of the water and it's color and I do think it came out well. I have a couple of more layers of Liquitex to pour though, layers that wont be done until I have the little jetty in place and have decided where to position my wife's "canoes". Yes, she does have two canoes for the layout :) I think I also need to add some reeds around the shallower area's of the lake - not too much, but enough to "hide" some little things in. I don't know about the yet for sure though.

The last thing that I am considering is putting a wooden walk way that will lead from the main area, in the top of that photo, around to the left where I may put in a viewing platform of some description.

I have so many ideas for that part of the lake, but don't want it to look cluttered. As mentioned, vegetation is my biggest head ache at the moment. The trees and veg around the Finger Lakes Lakes is semi dense and goes right down to the waters edge of the lakes. That was the look I was hoping for for my layout as well, but, as you mentioned, you still have to be able to see the scenery.
 
wombat457 said:
Jim,




The last thing that I am considering is putting a wooden walk way that will lead from the main area, in the top of that photo, around to the left where I may put in a viewing platform of some description.

I have so many ideas for that part of the lake, but don't want it to look cluttered. As mentioned, vegetation is my biggest head ache at the moment. The trees and veg around the Finger Lakes Lakes is semi dense and goes right down to the waters edge of the lakes. That was the look I was hoping for for my layout as well, but, as you mentioned, you still have to be able to see the scenery. [/COLOR]
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If you have a path around to the far side of the lake, then you need a good tree to hang a tire swing on for the local kids to swing out and jump into the lake from (that'll scare the fish away).

Scenic Express probably has a few more options than Woodland Scenics for clumps of tall grass or weeds that you may want to run down to the water's edge. Or you could just cut lengths of twine, die or paint them the color of choice, add a dab of glue at one end to hold the end together and provide an easy stem to "plant" in a hole poked or drilled into the foam. Fray out the other end of the piece of twine and maybe trim it a bit and you'll have cheap clumps of tall grass or weeds. For Cat Tails frequently found at the waters edge, cut short various lengths of small diameter solid wire (after removing the insulation), and paint it the shade of green of your choice. When dry, dip or roll the tip in glue or nail polish and let dry. When dry, paint the tip tan. If its going into foam the wire may even be stiff enough to make its own hole in the foam without drilling.
Disclaimer: I have not tried these methods myself, but long heard that this was how to make this kind of vegetation.
 
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Thanks Jim.

I did look at the Scenic Express stuff a little while ago but must have been on my "other" planet that day as I more or less discounted it as a make. After taking a second (closer) look this evening, I see why you would suggest them as a supplier for ground cover and so forth. It does look very good and would save a lot of work.

In short, that will be next on my list of things to get.
 
Thought I should add to this so people don't think I have given it away, because I haven't. For the past week though, I have had a darn "bug" that has kept me away from anything creative and the layout. Aside from that, I am waiting on a few things to complete the layout and am reticent to do anything further until those items arrive, as much of the remainder that needs to be done will be done around those things.

Anyway, for those who are keeping tabs on this - am still with it, it is still in "production" and hopefully I will have a few more updates in the near future.
 
Hi Guys,

It has been awhile since I updated this thread, mainly due to nothing to update of any significance. Today, however, I received my new SC2, cables and Servo's thanks to the generosity of Suzie X. As you may know, the SC2 is not available in the US as yet, hence my getting it through Suzie from the UK.

As a result of the above, work will resume on the layout with the setting up of the new gear and starting the full wiring for the track, electronics and accessories. Due to what I intend doing, this is going to be an "on going" job and wont be completed over night. I will then be able to finish laying the track and gluing it in place, so keep an eye out :)
 


Hi All,

Well after 2 months of doing virtually nothing on the layout, I have rekindled my need to get back into it and get it up and running at least.

Right now, I have so much "stuff" on it I need to clear that out (being done this evening) and am going to start on fixing the track to the road bed and getting that darn wiring done.

I will be posting pictures (obviously) of the gradual progress so for those who followed this build it is starting up again!
 
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