Asphalt Parking Lot

[SP1]

Ah, ok. Again learned something new.

[P5se Camelback]

Jens, actually the stripes match a prototype here. Most lines on pavement are sprayed, and they don't mask the edges so the edges are not real sharp. I have noticed on some new pavement they are using some kind of tape, but it is only temporary.
Charlie

Right on, Charlie! ...

... here In Southwest Florida, where road projects always get under way in conjunction with the start of "Season" and take several years to complete ...

... there's the ...[person]... who ... drive[s] ... through the fresh wet paint!

...

Edited to remove offensive content.

[Charlie B]

Our crews in Ohio do a darned good job, but then again, it must be a Florida thing to hire second grade drop-outs.
Charlie

[Ralph]

Wow Gary, that turned out so well!!!! It must be great fun to have recognizable local buildings on your layout. Any one who visits will immediately say, "Hey! I know that building!". And you make them so close to the prototype!
Ralph

[cn nutbar]

Gary---another work of art---beautiful

[Gary S]

Kurt, thanks. The stripes were done using blue masking tape as a guide. Of course, the masking tape for the curves and arrows were cut with a hobby knife.

SP1, thanks for that tip. I didn't think about it, but "drybrushing" several applications of color would be the proper way to do the stripes. I have to say you have a sharp eye though! Also, the stripes appear whiter in the photo than they really are. I'll keep your method in mind when I do more though!

lears2005, thanks for checking out the thread.

Charlie B, you're right, for road crews, they have a sprayer truck that puts the stripes down. At the intersections, I have seen them use a hand-pushed machine, kind of looks like an edger. No masking is done, but both the truck and the walk-behind machines spray a fairly sharp line. Awhile back I came up to an intersection near where I work, they were re-doing the stripes to mark the pedestrian crossings. When the light was red, they would, at a brisk walk, push the machine across the road, painting the stripes. Another guy was right behind him hand-spreading a white shiny powder on the fresh paint. It looked like sparkly sand. Anyway, after the light turned green, we all drove across it and we didn't even mess it up! I don't know whether the white sandy stuff was protection for the paint, or whether it was an amazingly quick drying formula.

Ralph, thanks for the compliment. I definitely have found that I enjoy building from the prototype.

Mr. Nutbar, thank you!

Now, I'm headed out to the layout room to do a test fit....

[SP1]

I have to say you have a sharp eye though!

Although I am not commenting much, you can bet I am watching closely what you (and others) do.
And I am hoping you dont't think I am a nitpicker...

[Gary S]

And I am hoping you dont't think I am a nitpicker...

Not at all! The first good thing is that you gave me an alternate method of doing the stripes. I appreciate that. To tell you the truth, now that you let me in on the secret, I am thinking "I should have thought of that!"

Second, I don't mind a discerning eye looking over my shoulder. After all, one of the goals of the layout is to have others come see it and run trains, so other people's perceptions are a good thing. I can't promise that I will always take the given advice, but I just might.

As an example, when I was building the layout room, plenty of people chimed in with advice in the "WooHoo, time to build" thread, and I am glad they did because they helped me save some time and make things better.

Now, from the layout room....

A bing view of the area:

   

And the model:

   

   

The real thing:

   

[cnw1961]

WOW, Gary, the whole scene looks fantastic

[nachoman]

When I was in my earliest modeling years (10-14 years old), I was just as interested in making roads and highways as I was trains, perhaps because of my parents' enjoyment of long road trips. It used to bug me when I saw a photo of a layout that had poorly-modeled roads. My biggest pet peeves were a lack of parking spaces and lines and lane markings that did not look like what I saw in real life. Back then I mostly tried using plaster for roads, but I also used dark gray poster board and joint compound. Gary, the 14-year-old in me says you are doing an outstanding job. The increased crack density toward the edges of the parking lot is a fantastic detail, and very observant of the prototype.

[Gary S]

Thanks Kurt. It is really coming along now. I'm very much looking forward to getting some greenery into the scene. On that, I am adding a couple of trees on the sides of the parking lot that actually aren't there - just to help hide the backdrop junction. One of these will be on the left side in the "curb planter box" at the sign. The other will be in a curbed area on the right side.

Also have to do some chain link fence, something I have never done before.

[torikoos]

That's a great looking scene, I really like the feel of the place too. Can't wait to see more of the area is done to gell it all together even more!

Koos

[Gary S]

Kevin, I have the same pet peeve. We typically make our pavement way too perfect. Solid colors, perfectly flat, no cracks and breaks, and edges as straight as an arrow. It is a definite advantage to work from the prototype. For example, the reason the multiple cracks are on the edge of the pavement is because they are really there on the real parking lot!

[Gary S]

Thanks Koos, appreciate the compliment. I'm gaining momentum on this as it comes together.

I have been invited to an operating session this afternoon, so no more progress until tonight, and I am taking a vacation day tomorrow, hope to make good progress.

[SP1]

   

That one is my favorite. Together with the bridge and the abutement walls.... WOW!