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+--- Thread: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section (/showthread.php?tid=9423)
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - cnrglen - 11-14-2021
Thanks. I finished off the track work this afternoon.
It took a bit of unbending, re-spiking and adding a few new bits if rail, but I got it done.
My next project will be matching the ballast. I don't think it will be too difficult though, it looks like it was landscaped using Woodland Scenics products.
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - UP SD40-2 - 11-14-2021
Nice job on the track patch work
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - Schraddel - 11-15-2021
Very nice done trackwork Glen
Lutz
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - ezdays - 11-15-2021
I really have to give praise to anyone that hand lays track. Great job,
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - BR60103 - 11-15-2021
It'll take a bit of work to make the new track look as scruffy as the old.
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - cnrglen - 11-16-2021
Thank you.
David, thanks for reminding me to match up the track, I had almost forgotten in my hurry to match up the ballast. I'm trying to compare a few colors. I'm thinking airbrushing an earth color followed by a raw sienna. I'm also thinking of trying some chalks.
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - cnrglen - 11-17-2021
After checking some paint colors this is what I came up with:
These are some color 'patches that I made up. I figure I'll airbrush the ties in a base coat of the Earth Flat, followed by an overspray of the red earth. And I'll finish up with a dusting of a red oxide pastel chalk.
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - cnrglen - 11-20-2021
I did manage to blend/match the paint fairly well:
Hopefully when I ballast you won't be able to tell when the old ends and the new begins.
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - cnrglen - 12-11-2021
I did a bit more work before ballast and ground cover:
I made a small hillside in the back corner to get away from the billiard table look. It's just a piece of foam that I shaped with the Woodland scenics hot wire cutter and painted.
The larger project:
Our carpenter made this for me yesterday. I'll finally have a place to put Hemsley and get my layout space back. It will be at a good height that I can sit in my rolling chair to work on it. I'm heading to Lee Valley Tools today to get some casters so I will be able to roll it around. I'll also be painting it. I'll mostly be keeping it in my workshop and brought out for guests to see.
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - cnrglen - 12-15-2021
'Hemsly' Has a new home:
I spent the weekend cleaning the workshop out and then painting the new cart for the diorama. I also installed 4 caster wheels with brakes so I can roll it around but still lock it in place when I'm working on it. With the wheels on the diorama sits 35" from the floor.
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - cnrglen - 12-28-2021
More progress:
I ballasted the track that I repaired/ re-laid with Woodland Scenics Fine gray ballast. I decided to experiment with making my own scenic cement using Mod-Podge. I mixed it @ 1:3 ratio with water and added a few drops of dish detergent and it works great. It seems to have the same or better holding ability as Woodland Scenics cement but at less than 1/3 of the cost.
When the ballast was dry I added ground cover using WS earth blend ground foam with their grass blend sprinkled on top. I know it's not a match for the original ground cover but one of my goals was to lighten/ green the diorama up a bit. I sprinkled some of my ground cover in some existing areas to blend the two in a bit.
My next step is to add some static grass to give the ground a bit more of a 3-d effect and blend in the areas a bit more.
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - cnrglen - 12-29-2021
I added static grass to the diorama today:
I brushed on Matte medium to the areas that I wanted grass and used a Noch static grass tool. I used two different types of flocking, both from Woodland Scenics. One is their static grass at 7mm and the other is their static flock, which is shorter but lighter. I first shot the longer static grass, then ran my Shop vacuum over the area about an inch or two over the surface. This picks up any excess and also pulls the strands a bit more up. I then swap in my lighter flock and use it to fill in and patches where the taller grass missed.
I have noticed that the Noch tool works better with the flocking than with the heavier static grass.
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - cnrglen - 12-29-2021
I ended up covering the new hillside with grass. I think I'll add some bushes later.
I also found that using static grass can also cover other scenery flaws. There was still a seam between the new and old sections showing that became pretty much invisible after the grass went over it.
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - tompm - 12-29-2021
Looks great! The more and more I see of the static grass the more I want to use it.
RE: Rescuing and possibly restoring a Layout section - ezdays - 12-30-2021
You are doing the original layout justice, nice restoration..