Woodcutter - O Scale - removable roof

James

or my air book?

Karl.A

James, revisit my "dirt,details, dioramas" thread. It should give you some good tips on working with the ground cover and placing details 'into' the scene. Particularly apt right now for you is keeping the dirt off the structures and settling the details in place to look natural. I explained how I do this in the thread, I'm not saying it's the 'right' way by any means, but it may give you some ideas to use or adapt for yourself.

Karl.A

James

Ah yes. I see that you did three things - build a separate foundation for the building so you don't have to glue it down when putting on the first layer - keep the layer around the building thin / flat once details are glued down fill in any gaps underneath them. Makes sense- I built the foundations into the buildings which means they had to be glued down first. The problem is not putting down the grout usually but getting some dust on fingers and then touching details and buildings as one puts the grout down. Would be way easier to do it as you did in that thread! I'll have to go back and clean some of the grout off.

James

For those looking at the poly blend dirt method - the good thing is that once dry the grout is dust free and very tough - but do it the way Karl does it to avoid clean ups. The stuff sticks to everything before it dries (and tough to remove afterwards). Also - next time I'll use a small paint mixing spoon like Tamiya makes (which I have) to place grout between ties and between buildings to avoid having to dump and wipe grout- even when dry it will get into things like scribed wood ties.

JohnM

Looking good James. Keep the pictures coming . . .

James

managed to get a bit more done. Added doors to shed (still need some AI etc.), pinned down some track and "test fit" some logs etc.



The round in the middle is the wood cutter's block (still to be weathered). The base for the small log crane is at the bottom. The table saw is in the shed but you can't see it here. It would be used to cut small bolts etc. for firewood. One of the next steps is to add some gravel between the ties- I was going to mix the gravel with some of the Polyblend mix to colour match the soil.

James

ah- I guess photos only post in landscape format. Sorry about the sideways shot then...

James

here's a non sideways shot:

KKarns

Looking good James, I really enjoy this part of the build. Like the wood with the tight growth rings.
Ken

James

Thanks - yeah once one starts looking for "logs" it can get a bit obsessive. People were beginning to wonder why I was picking up sticks and such. So now I've enlisted my daughter to gather sticks for my inspection.

KKarns

Do you know what species of tree the wood came from? The shed doors look really nice and love the two different configurations for the doors. Ken

Karl.A

Looking great James, some really nice progress.
Go out and prune some bushes, I find bush twigs more appealing than tree. The bark is thinner more like a skin and the rings are tighter. Azalea, boxwood, photinia, silverberry, etc.

Karl.A

James

Yes I recall this discussion on another thread - I have one lame azalea which wouldn't yield much. I think these are Douglas fir or cedar - but not sure- I've picked up lots of different types. Even hibiscus. The thing about the species in the shots above is the heartwood is really pronounced on some pieces - not too realistic. I've always though laurel bushes have great looking cut ends and the bark is really thin - but the bark is really dark almost black in colour. Sometimes things which look promising when you find them don't work in the end. Birch is an example- you'd think it would good ... But no...

Karl.A

If the only thing wrong with the Laurel twigs is the colour of the bark..... recolour the bark with some medium/light grey chalk. If all else is good, that colour change would be easy enough.

Now I have to go find a Laurel....

Karl.A

Incidentally, I wasn't saying that your logs look bad, they look fine, I was more responding to your post about obsessively hunting twigs with your daughter.

James

Oh no issue - that is what I was thinking. I remember the thread somewhere where this was discussed - why spend time scrounging for sticks when one can harvest one's own batch. And what looks good on the ground doesn't always translate into good on the diorama. The ones I put on the dio are my favourites - I have lots of duds. The other thing about harvesting them is they'd be more consistent. But I must admit that while hanging around the playground with all the other dads, looking for good sticks can help stave off boredom.... Even if I get stares ...

James

Speaking of playgrounds and such old bark mulch is a good source for wood debris. Dig down for the small stuff at lower levels and then let dry. I threw a bit on the ground in the photos above but will spread more around once the chopped wood is ready to be placed, as the instructions note.
Collecting bark mulch also gets stares.

MikeM

That almost match the look on the store clerk's face when you ask for the cheapest coffee grinder he has--to grind up tree leaves, bits of bark,...

JohnM

James, it sure is looking real! Great job . . .

John

James

Thanks for comments. Yeah, but a confused store clerk is better than the face of one's spouse when she finds out you used the blender to mince up dead leaves for ground cover...

Actually I may have been wrong about the laurel. I scoped out some walking to work today and they're not quite what I was thinking of - I'll have to find an example. Anyway, I think the idea is that bushes might yield better "logs" than trees...

MikeM

I found (and then lost) this link a long time ago and now have found it again since it seemed pertinent to this discussion. I haven't tried this process myself yet but have plans to do so: http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/logs/

James

very cool! thanks for posting. Worth a try!

brownbr

Thanks for reminding me of this link. I have always wanted to try this but had forgotten about it.

James

Here's the bush I was thinking of. I'll see if i can snag some branches:


Here's my first attempt at ground cover and a bit of ballast. I have no idea what I'm doing but it's fun! I'm just going to let this bit dry before seeing what it looks like. THe idea is to build up a bit of encroaching growth/ brush but not too much.

James

OK second photo didn't post. Here it is:

JohnM

I'd say you've got it! Show us more as you progress. In particular, I need to learn . . .

Respectfully,
John

Karl.A

The scenery and ground cover is looking great. The layering of the different materials is really giving depth and realistic texture. The pathways are nicely defined and show 'traffic'. I look forward to your next layer, that will bring it all together.

Karl.A

James

more ground cover:


I see the woodcutters breakfast plates have fallen over. Another reason to use epoxy.
rear area - idea is that this is on the edge of a recently cleared forest area so lots of wood debris with new growth starting to pop up…


next is to start gluing down final benches, drums, boxes etc.
I was thinking of making a small log roll like the one in this cropped image, but I don't think I have enough room...:

BTW the loco in this shot, a Baldwin built in the 1800s, still exists.

Karl.A

The scenery looks fantastic, so much depth, variation and texture. Excellent result, very nice work.

Karl.A

Karl.A

That log roll scene is great, but, I think it would make a great scene on it's own a little way down the track. ie: logs are unloaded from the cars with the rollway as pictured and then cut into rounds and moved to the woodcutter to chop up. I think it would be better as an addition and not 'squeezed' into the current scene. Just my thoughts.

Karl.A