Deer Creek Mine/My new Sierra West Layout

KCSTrains

I went ahead and painted the rocks. I experimented on some spare castings and found I like to brownish rock better than the blackish rock. I really like the big rock and you can see, I created a small line of rock to make the transition from the photo backdrop.



Next up is the application of the dirt (grout) using Karl's method. Phil

admin

Lots of fun to see this come together Phil!

KKarns

I love your choice of backdrop. See so many that have the tall pines of the northwest, refreshing to see a more typical eastern mixed hardwood forest. I assume that's going to be a road up to the WCS. Your initial coloring on the rock outcrop looks terrific.

KCSTrains

Thanks Brett. It has been fun. Ken, I love the background, but I need pine trees. However, Joey didn't have one. I plan to blend the two together. Yes, that is going to be a dirt road. Phil

Karl.A

That rock out copping looks great, I really like the colouring and the shadows, subtle highlights and the shape is great for the area you have placed it.

I foresee a retaining wall in your future, I'm sure you have it planned but a couple of base coats of a light tan on that pink foam will be your good friend before scener starts going down.

I think I like your 'rock' so much because the colouration is almost the same as the ones I used to do, it's going to look great with that dirt colouration.

You are also going to get some seriously nice pictures of the shack with that backdrop, nice work.

Keep the pics coming.....

Karl.A

KKarns

I guess I'm confused Phil...you mean your going to add pines to your diorama despite the backdrop not having any? Either way it's going to be a great scene and equally great layout.

KCSTrains

Thanks Karl. I get you on the retaining wall. Great idea. I made my first big mistake. I painted the first coat just fine. When I painted a part of the second coat, I started to put down the "dirt." It didn't go down well. I went back to your instructions and discovered that I have purchase unsanded grout instead of sanded grout. It was so powdery that it I couldn't work with it. Oh well ... back to the drawing board.

Ken, sorry for the confusion. I'm modeling middle Louisiana in the 50's. The sawmills, for the most part, were pine saw mills. I plan to have pines and pine forest for the layout. BTW, I make a killer pine tree. However, I couldn't find any photo backdrops with southern yellow pines. Therefore, I settled on a backdrop with hardwoods. It's not uncommon for both to exist. I will just need to blend the two together. Just another challenge. Phil

KCSTrains

I have corrected my "dirt" issue by purchasing "sanded" grout. As suggested by Karl, I purchased a lighter color (Bone) and a darker color (Sandstone) and combined the two equally to create my "dirt." After painting an initial coat, I followed with a second coat and used a sieve to distribute the "dirt" evenly over the wet paint. After drying, I used a soft brush to recover the excess "dirt" and then vacuumed the rest. What you have left is a fine layer of "dirt" that gives you some texture as your base coat. As Karl explains in his influential work of art, "Dirt, Details & Dioramas," the idea is to layer additional scenery onto this layer. You can see from the picture below that I've completed about 1/2 of the area.



Karl also recommends experimenting with ideas on scrap pieces of foam. As you know, I'm building a road to the Wood Cutter's Shack and I want to make sure I laid it out properly. The thought occurred to me that I could roll a truck across the "textured dirt" to break down the sand and create a great road path. Therefore, I did a little experiment on a piece of foam.






As you can see, it worked. Now I know the correct width of the road and I know exactly where the center of the road will be. Hopefully, I can transfer this knowledge onto the layout. Stay tuned. Phil

KCSTrains

Thanks Ed. I believe there are a lot of smart cookies on this site. Phil

KCSTrains

The scenery work continues. After consulting with Karl, we both agreed that terra cotta grout would be a great substitute for clay soil which is very prevalent in Central Louisiana. I didn't find the grout, but I found concrete color pigment. It is just like grout, but maybe a bit rougher, which works for my road.




As you can see, I have used a combination of various sizes of static grass, WS fine leaf foliage, branches from Super Trees, and stumps from Sierra Scale Models. This is the beginning of the road to the Woodcutter's Shack. It would be a dirt road and not a lot of pretty, groomed landscaping. You can see the pine tree stumps where they had already harvested the timber. At least this is the look I'm going for. Feedback would be greatly appreciated because this sets how I will approach the scenery as I continue down the Woodcutter Shack road. Thanks for looking in. Phil

Wes

Tell you what Phil. Thats looks good bud. My only suggestion would be a few bald spots in the middle of the road to break up the greenery a bit.

But otherwise it looks pretty darn good as it sits.

KCSTrains

Wes and Ed,

Very good suggestions. I will do that. My wife also wants me to put in some pot holes.

Phil

Karl.A

Looking good Phil. nice and random, as you get closer to the shed I would sugest making it a little less lush, thus showing more activity of people/equipment moving around and slowing down natures reclaimation of the area.
That terra cotta colour turned out perfect, great job on that one.

Couple more sugestions for you....

Some lumber debris scattered around, esp around the future stumps, I'm not talking details, more natural detail..... ie, broken limb or two, off cuts of unuseable wood, a 'pizza-slice' next to a stump, those guys didn't really clean up after themselves once they dropped a tree, scraps everywhere.
Do a google image search of 'logging camp' that will give you some great ideas of the devastation left in these areas. I'll dig out some reference pics if you need them in a few days also to show what I mean.

I agree with Wes on a few bare spots down the center of the road, and I'd also narrow it down to none existent as you get closer to the shack, those trucks wound be turning around, maneuvering and driving all over the place in that proximity, hence, no center grass.

I agree with Ed that something to break up the uniformity would be good, however I've driven down many many dirt roads and dont ever remember 'oil,fuel, grease' marks on any of them. Your wifes idea of a few potholes is excellent and would also break up the uniformity.
Pot holes in foam base such as theses are so easy, push your finger or thumb into the foam to make a divot, instant pot hole.

Add in some subtle dead grass to the road center in a few spots, if any fuel/oil leaked, it would occur in the center of the road, under the engine and kill the grass. also tall yellow grass, as you know happens.

Look at photos and keep playing out drastic ideas on those scraps, everything is coming on great.

Karl.A

KCSTrains

Karl, you and I are on the same wavelength. I thought about decreasing the amount of wild grass as I go. I'm really pleased with the terra cotta color. I'll work on the debris and I welcome any pictures. At this point of the road, the cutting would have occurred a while back, but I agree, as you get closer to the shack, it should get a lot ruttier. Thanks for all the suggestions. That's exactly what I was looking for. Phil

Karl.A

engine909 said:

I googled dirt country roads. Some had grass down the middle. Great reference.

Reality is one hell of a good reference, esp when you are trying to replicate it.

Karl.A

KKarns

Great progress Phil and you're getting top flight advise. Karl's road modeling is as good as I have ever seen. Check his "dirt, details, and dioramas" thread among others...killer stuff. The red dirt reminds me of Georgia.

Karl.A

Thanks for the kind words Ken, very appreciated.

In that thread, one reason that I use a light and a dark combined for the base is for depth and variation, as explained in the thread.
The 'blend' is used as the base layer, which gives a uniform covering, however...
a sprinkling of the darker colour adds 'low lights' shadows and depth, in the appropriate areas.
whereas a sprinkling of the lighter colour adds 'high lights' , pathways, dryer areas of compressed ground, or higher ground.
Because the base is a combination of the two, everything blends together nicely through tonal variations of the same.
Subtle and effective.

Karl.A

KCSTrains

I took all the comments and put them to good use. As you will see, I made the area less lush and I decreased the amount of grass in the middle of the road. I also added a lot more brush material. I can't make pot holes in this areas because it is on plywood. Once I get to the foam, I plan to add some pot holes.






Also, I attempted my first sage brush tree. I followed the Scenic Express instructions and found it to be pretty easy. I also concentrated on an area close to where I wanted the deciduous tree. I had a reference picture to follow, but I want a really bushy area. Also, I wanted the deciduous tree close to the woodcutter's shack to provide shade to those hard workers. Finally, you will see some pine trees in the background. The last picture, in my opinion, is the money shot. That's the look I'm going for. I can't wait to finish this area.




Thanks for checking in. Phil

sdrees

Hi Phil,

You got the hang of it. The whole scene looks great since you redid it. Nice job. I also recently made a deciduous tree from sage brush and I like them very much. Also, the stuff that falls off the sage brush and pieces of the sage brush works very well in the ground cover. What did you use for the leaves on your tree?

Karl.A

Looking great Phil. Coming on nicely.

Karl. A

nextceo

That's a nice looking twisted tree.

brownbr

I like the sage tree a lot.

KCSTrains

Thanks all for your comments. I have a question for all and I welcome your comments. The track you see is code 83 flex track. As you know, it's easy to put down. My question is - should I replace it with code 70 flex track (micro-engineering) or hand lay the track or leave the code 83 track? I have a great weathering technique for the track, so I can make code 83 look good. My biggest concern is hand laying track around a curve. If I can do it, is it really worth the trouble? I'm very torn about what to do and I value your opinion. Thanks. Phil

sdrees

Phil,

I used code 70 flex track on my layout. If I was building your layout, I would have used Code 70 rail. I wouldn't change it now. Trackwork is not my bag. I like to build models and the scenery. By the time you get your scenery done, it won't be that noticeable. George Sellious uses flex track.

KKarns

I would lay what you feel will run your trains the best and deal with the weathering as secondary. You'll have way more fun with well running motive and rolling stock. We'll all be checking out your SierraWest Scale Model structures anyway.

Karl.A

I'd leave the track, it maybe needs some cosmetic work, but after that work it will be just fine.

For dioramas I have always done hand laid with four spikes per tie.... I couldn't imagine doing that for an entire layout, It would just never get done. an 18" diorama with two or three tracks is bad enough.

But a diorama is a focal point, everything within that small area is scrutinized.... so...

If, I ever build a layout I would use a combination, good flextrack is easy enough to make look 'good', especially if its buried in the dirt and well weathered for a logging layout, but I'd still hand lay specific focal areas around structures etc where people would be looking at detail. Although, again, not completely necessary.

There are a few simple things you could do to improve the look of your track work without the need to pull it all up. After all, Troels uses standard HO flextrack on his ON30 layout, but because of the way he scenics, weathers, and lays it, its not an issue and very rarely gets noticed, the focus is mainly on the models and the scenery, not the track.

Karl.A

sdrees

May I ask who is Troels?

Slimjerkins

sdrees said:

May I ask who is Troels?

https://www.troelskirk.com/om-about-troels-kirk



Troels is a fantastic artist. Check out some of his works

Bill S.

sdrees

All that I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mario

One day I might finally do a build of a small shelf layout.
I like your work bench area