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Comments
I had some time off for the holidays so I used it productively. I test fitted the train on the foam, started carving the foam with a hot knife, constructed the basic box for the display, got a good start on painting the locomotive, and started the "load" being carried into the woods. I also got an interesting reaction on the red paint for the loco roof. It is a red primer from Krylon. I had used a black Krylon primer to get both sides of the roof, then a day later did the top side with red. I got the cracking that you see here. I'm going to try to work with it to see how it looks. Worst case is to strip it and start over.
Phil brought up some good points in his recent post on his layout construction. 1) he used a Trackside Scenery backdrop. I plan on doing the same. I was leaning towards a fall scene, but am going back and forth. Either way I'll be using one of their backdrops. I think if I plan it right I can do the walls and ceiling of the box with 1 backdrop.
2) the bridge. Phil constructed a fabulous trestle which he said was out of place for his layout setting. So be it. I thought I would do a simple log bridge on this piece, but now I am reconsidering. I've always wanted to do a Maine style truss bridge. I'm going to mock one up and see how it looks here.
Back to reality tomorrow, traveling for work for a week.
Also got some more work done on the box and the foam. Backdrop and lights scheduled to be delivered on Wed so I may take some time to focus on getting the base scenery done.
Your diorama case, base scenery rough in, Dolbeer, modified Shay locomotive, log disconnects and saw filers car are/will soon become incredible stand alone contest worthy models. Once combined into a cohesive unit within a Plexiglas case featuring a day to night/night to day lighting sequence I think the compilation will become an unparalleled achievement and display in my modeling experience. Talk about raising the bar! It will be catapulted off the page.
I am especially interested in seeing how you achieve your lighting (fade sequence) for this diorama as well as the individual component parts necessary to make it happen. The daylight fade into night and back to daylight with the lights of the locomotive lit should be pretty awesome to witness.
At this point do we know if Brett will be able to include a "How To" video of the train and lighting fade sequence as part of your Into The Woods forum build or is it better suited in his Technique Videos?
Later, Dave S. Tucson, AZ
Dave, thanks for your encouragement and optimism. Setting up the lighting sequence has me a bit scared, but the company swears it will be easy. Maybe I will enlist a teenager to help me. This project sure has me putting my thinking cap on.
Pic 1 is a sample of the backdrop. The rock formation will be mostly hiddent by the foam base, but it will play peek a boo in a couple of places. This should help tie the background and foreground together at the ground level.
Pic 2 is the inside of the shadow box. The arrow points up as the box will hang on the wall. I found some really neat triangle shaped trim that I used to soften the right angles of the corners. I don't have the equipment or ability to perform compound miters so I got it close and filled in with wood putty.
Pic 3 I used some paper to cut a template for the backdrop. Notice the double line at the right...I drew a line where I thought it needed to be for the corner. Then thought that I needed to add 2 inches for the trim...hence the second line. The whole thing ended up 2 inches too long. That's why we practice (;
Pic 4 is a test install. Notice how the corners will overlap a bit. This way I can use either the top or side as the part that shows, whichever looks best.
I'll be installing with wallpaper paste to give me the ability to move it a bit without having the instant stick of a spray type glue. I'll plan on doing 1 side at a time to cut down on potential problems.
I'm going to think this through to make sure it is the best way to go about it before cutting the backdrop...which will give me some time to start playing with the lights which came today also.
Karl.A
I got the terrain roughed out. The rocks were made with pre-colored dental plaster. I got some air bubbles in them which is driving me crazy. Had no problems with it when I did the roof tiles. May try to fill most in and gouge some out so they are not round. The tall tree trunks are place holders here. I'll need to make a couple more trees. I'll have at least 1 big trunk up front that rises out of sight.
Got around to reading the instructions on installing the backdrop. Looks like I will be using a spray adhesive instead of the wallpaper paste. That will add a certain degree of difficulty, but I think it will be safer on the backdrop.
Lights turning out to be more complicated than I hoped for. I'm planning on continuing as discussed but the fall back is to manually tune lights to desired color.
Pulling out the wooden "Dueling" shack to get it's place set.
Seen here inside the box to test for height.
Carl, you always have good ideas. I think that would look very nice. My only concern is that the roof is already very low...lower than I would have thought. I cut the posts at 37mm just as the instructions said, but I think 39mm might have been better. I'll add some once the roof is on to see how it looks.
It got warmer than I thought today, its 50. I put a coat of the textured paint on the trees. The wire twists got covered nicely, bark texture not as heavy as I would like so I sprinkled on some N scale ballast. In the garage drying now, I'll put a dark brown spray coat over top of this then bring inside to finish the paint job. Post pics then.
Love how your giving progress shots on this project. Your work on those cars and loco are beautiful. It's working out to be a killer diorama.
Ken, once I'm done we may need to call the EPA also.
Dave, once again no smoke generator on this one, but what about this as an alternative?
In my December 2018 post I asked you if you planned on having LP on the saw car? You responded..."And of course there will be peeps. I imagine a full work crew hanging on for dear life as the train winds it's way into the woods."
You didn't disappoint us. Really like the "peeps" hanging on for dear life as evidenced in your attached photos above. The crew is a great addition to the train and overall detail of the diorama. As always thanks for all the photos of the locomotive and work train cars.
Later, Dave S. Tucson, AZ
One last update for now. I got the tree trunks painted and I'm liking the way they turned out. The one on the left is a bit spindly at the top, but I think that can be fixed with the foliage. I styled these after an informal upright bonsai as opposed to anything seen in nature as a personal taste. The texture on the bark turned out to be nice. I added foliage to the one that will be on the slope. This is about the orientation that it will be planted. I used Mikroflor mesh style foliage then added some leaves on top for accent. I recently ordered a maple leaf punch and was hoping to make leaves by the hundreds. My package came but that part was not in it. Ugh.
Terry