In the Northeast

[doctorwayne]

May be the mill complex on the left side is not mine but owned by CERN. Does CERN have a branch in Germany?

GERN already has one plant in Germany, but there's always room for more.

Wayne

[faraway]

A first shot of the new center of the layout.

[tetters]

That looks really good.

[steinjr]

Beautiful !

Grin,
Stein, who has spent all weekend so far shoveling snow down from roofs that has started creaking ....

[faraway]

In case there are any doubts. The new mill complex under construction is a GERN mill complex! (thanks Wayne).
The trees on the left hand will be axed soon for a new Swift packing plant. Swift had a bad argument with IC about the cost of reefer icing. At the end Swift build their own small icing facility for the new packing plant.


The center got more details. The new installed gates have been requested by the city. Same is true for the fences.


The large packing plant on the west side is also under construction (no ballast on the left track, lousy lettering etc.)


On the north side of the tracks continues the shopping area. There is also an older feed mill and the local freight facility.


IC has reduced the service as a first result of the upcoming depression (193x). The engines have been reduced from 2-8-0 to older 4-6-0. We are optimistic to get some more traffic from the new GERN mill and get bigger engines back on service.

A possible off topic remark: The Bachmann Spectrum 4-6-0 are poor performer out of the box. They are very stiff. They need a veeeery long break in time. I did run one of them today from 9am until 2pm and the engine is much better now. Another one is on the tracks now and may run until Dinner. That is important to know because the Spectrum 2-8-0 from Bachmann is a very smooth runner out of the box.

[doctorwayne]

Boy, Reinhard, you're certainly not wasting any time developing the industrial area and it's always nice to see the opening of a new GERN facility.

A possible off topic remark: The Bachmann Spectrum 4-6-0 are poor performer out of the box. They are very stiff. They need a veeeery long break in time. I did run one of them today from 9am until 2pm and the engine is much better now. Another one is on the tracks now and may run until Dinner. That is important to know because the Spectrum 2-8-0 from Bachmann is a very smooth runner out of the box.

You're certainly right about the Bachmann Consolidation, but I'm surprised by your experiences with the Ten Wheeler. I have two of them (currently "under construction" ) and found them to be nice runners right out of the box.


Wayne

[faraway]

... I have two of them (currently "under construction" ) and found them to be nice runners right out of the box....Wayne

Yes, some are fine, some are stiff. So do mine. I found the tip of extended break in in the Bachmann forum. I repeated it here in case someone got a stiff one and tries to "repair" it or sends it back for repair. In that case an extended break in should be tried first.
The GERN logo was a must this morning after I found the files in the mail. It's only temporary attached. I'm still seeking for a final outfit of the silo part. That simple white tubes are not satisfactory. The prototype has typical horizontal weathering marks from the way how the concrete is done in layers. Those "marks" are very well visible even if the silo is painted white. The silo should have a large GERN logo painted and weathered. I admit that is the plan only...

[doctorwayne]

I know the type of weathering to which you're referring, Reinhard. An easy way to achieve it, if you have an airbrush, is to apply strips of masking tape, horizontally around the silos. The tape should probably be about 1" wide: you don't have to cover each separate section, merely the area immediately above where each ring of discolouration starts. Mask-off the entire silo(s), then, starting at the bottommost ring, spray around the silo, aiming at the lower edge of the tape. Remove that tape, then move on to the next ring up, again spraying at the lower edge of the tape. The overspray will lightly weather the section below. Work your way up to the top in this manner - each spray will not only weather the section on which you're working, but the overspray will further darken the sections below, leaving the bottom one dirtiest, as it would be due to run-off. When you've finished, you can apply another light spray, working vertically, to soften the delineations between sections. I find that the paint mix should be quite thin, as with most weathering - between 70% and 90% thinner.
Here's a stairway enclosed in an unpainted steel - the rust from each overlapping sheet has bled down onto the sheet below, much like the weathering on the silos would:


Wayne

[faraway]

I like the idea with the masking tape. But there is another more basic question I'm thinking about.
What is the base color design?

a. The silo is white painted and weathered with some darker color
That would be white with a black wash
Example: http://home.flash.net/~n5vav/RSP/PlowboyRoscoe.jpg

b. The silo was white painted but the concrete is very visible at a lot of small spots
That would be white and concrete color (PollyS)
Example: http://www.oklahomafilm.org/photos/Kille...evator.JPG

c. The silo is not painted at all. It is concrete color with weathering
That would be concrete (PollyS) and aged concrete (PollyS)
Example: http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhand...1208B2.jpg

I prefer B but have no clue how to do that. May be similar to dry brushing with concrete color over white. Masking tape could be used to enforce horizontal pattern.
Second choice is C.

[cnw1961]

Reinhard, though your modern style buildings looked very nice, I think what you are doing now is looking much better. I love those big red brick structures and your GERN Plant is a real eye catcher ... way to go

[doctorwayne]

b. The silo was white painted but the concrete is very visible at a lot of small spots
That would be white and concrete color (PollyS)

c. The silo is not painted at all. It is concrete color with weathering
That would be concrete (PollyS) and aged concrete (PollyS)

I prefer B but have no clue how to do that. May be similar to dry brushing with concrete color over white. Masking tape could be used to enforce horizontal pattern.
Second choice is C.

For B, I'd paint the silo with the concrete colour first, letting it cure completely. Then you have at least two choices: you could paint over the entire structure with white, and then lightly sand it in some spots, or you could paint the concrete colour, let it cure, then randomly daub it with rubber cement or contact cement. Next, paint the white, then use an eraser to lift the contact cement, revealing the concrete colour.

If you're going to use paint as the weathering agent, try using a darkened version of the base colour as the primary weathering. For instance, paint the silos with "Aged Concrete", then use the same colour darkened with some brown for the weathering - this would work for the "ring effect" with the masking tape. If you want to add other effects, such as rust stains, do so after the initial weathering, then take either your darkened base colour or a mixture of the darkened colour and the original base colour, thin it with about 90% thinner, and overspray the entire structure. This will tone down the weathering effects, blending them together in a subtle manner.

Wayne

[Herc Driver]

Wow...really great! I like the embedded tracks around the buildings and the care you took with the turnouts. That backdrop looks really nice too.

[faraway]

We have acceptable temperatures since yesterday. That gave me the opportunity to do some paint spray work on the grain elevator silo at the balcony.

Airbrush is no option of that large building in my home office. I would need to repaint the room and possible start hunting for a new wife (after 37 years...).
Therefore the silo got a light gray base coat out of the spray can on the balcony. New was putting masking tape from the home depot in horizontal stripes. I used a more or less dry brush and and made vertical movements with PollyS concrete. After that the silo got a black and a PollyS aged concrete wash.

Putting a wash on such a large object is really a mess in the office.

I am not really satisfied with the result. It is somewhat better than on the pictures but.... have a look



The cheep masking tape did peel of some plugs of the gray coat displaying the former white base. The white lines between the elements are reflections of the camera flash.

[MountainMan]

Outstanding work! Thanks for sharing with us.

[faraway]

Last week has been used to complete the scenery in the background. All buildings got weathered and integrated into the scenic ground.

The west wing is dominated by the packing plant



The GERN mill complex is in the east:





And a part of a second class housing and shopping area surrounded by industry in the center of the layout