Freelance 2011

[faraway]

The mock ups got roofs and I am even more amazed. I did start up to get some very simple and quick buildings for a case study. It turns out the high quality images have their very own charm. They are flat and "paper only" but they have a texture I could never create with styrene kits.
We had a discussion about using photos on building surfaces some weeks ago. These structures are quite interesting. May be my substandard eyesight misleads me but with a little distance is the visual effect impressive.

[Ralph]

"May be my substandard eyesight misleads me but with a little distance is the visual effect impressive."


No sir, its not your eyesight...the structures look excellent!!!
Ralph

[e-paw]

That looks great... How far are the mock ups from the layout edge? If used in the back ground you would never know the difference. Gan you go into more detail on How you made the photocopy mock ups ? You really caught my attention.

[BR60103]

Reinhard:
If there are no obvious problems with the buildings -- like white edges to the panels -- they are a perfectly good way to have buildings. Unless you will enter your layout in a contest!


The last company I worked for started a program called "Senior Executive Status". If you were senior enough, you could work a couple of months less each year until you didn't come in at all. Apparently, the board didn't think very many would take it; when every single eligible person went for it, it was closed off.

[doctorwayne]

The photo-copied mock-ups look very convincing.

Wayne

[faraway]

That looks great... How far are the mock ups from the layout edge? If used in the back ground you would never know the difference. Gan you go into more detail on How you made the photocopy mock ups ? You really caught my attention.

The layout is about 2 feet deep at that point. Viewing distance may be 4 feet.
I did build very simple three side boxes from card stock, made several copies of the same building and cut and glued them on the card board. I used my HP inkjet printer/scanner for the copy job. The single copy is restricted to the paper size but the originals need to replicated anyhow because they are to small.
The upper corners got a strip of wood to straighten the walls and to support the card stock of the roof.

This photo shows the original I used to made the skin for the right building. It should be no problem to scan and edit the skin with photoshop etc. much more in detail and print the edited result. That could also prevent the stupid repetition of some details. There is much more that can be done than the simple photo copies I did in one evening to get the mock ups done.



The inkjet ink/paint is a problem. It is ruined by water and water based paint immediately. That makes it impossible to fix the corner with some water paint.

It will be a real challenge to paint and weather an e.g. DPM styrene building placed side by side with the mock ups.

[MrBill]

Your prints look great! Got access to an alps?

[faraway]

Your prints look great! Got access to an alps?

No, is a plain old HP inkjet/scanner combination (HP Photosmart 2575 All-in-one)

[Sumpter250]

Those "mock-ups" photograph beautifully !!!!!
With a little bit of careful cutting and fitting, a lot of the "repetition" ( door-window-door, or brick color patterns ) could be avoided. Different windows/window arrangement, different doors/door arrangement. Fairly simple changes.
( I'm thinking cutting and fitting the printed pictures, as opposed to copying and pasting before print. even the brick pattern, between windows, could be swapped around, as the window edges, and course lines, are straight cuts. )
With a little detail, weeds, trash receptacles, debris, .........WOW !

[bnsffan]

Hello Faraway,

Amazing what you've done !!!
I'll follow your new challenge with a lot of interest
Daniel

[Brakie]

I don't know why but,those pictures remind me of a long gone area in Columbus,Ohio and just as rough looking-that wasn't a area where one would dare to linger to long after dark.

Great job!

[Russ Bellinis]

Reinhard, if you do a search of Vernon from Downey Road East and along both sides of Downey Road as far South as District and North to Washington, you will find a lot of modern buildings. Go West to Santa Fe Ave and look around and you will see a lot more older brick structures. Going south of District to 49th street and neighboring streets North and South of 49th and you will see a lot of older buildings.

Use overhead views as well as street views. The way Vernon is layed out, much of the city has streets in front of the buildings with tracks running between buildings and then more buildings facing the next street over. If you look at a street view, you will see little evidence of railroad tracks, but look down from the top and you will see the tracks running between the buildings.

[modelsof1900]

Reinhard,

look very great. And I'm sure that this will be a very fast and cheap method for adding new und very different buildings. If you should add a fire ladder ore small hanging roof about the doead doors - these would give a few more perspective to the buildings and will make the fine difference, I think.

[jonte]

Hi Reinhard

As an aside, but still on the subject of faced cardboard model buildings, perhaps you might like to have a look at the following video.

The layout won't be of interest as it's based on an old terminus in London, England at the end of the steam era (early to mid 1960s), however, the creator has used Adobe photoshop to draw the buildings to scale from photographs, which are then printed onto printer paper, cut out out and fixed to card. Further copies are printed and used as overlays to build up relief in the brickwork and acetate glued behind the window frames. Apart from that, there appears to be very little added detail apart from perhaps some weathering to blend the buildings with their surroundings, but the effect , in my opinion, is brilliant.

I hope this isn't a little random, however, I think you'll be impressed.

Jonte

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[faraway]

I admit I am the one who is most surprised by the new look. It was not my intention to start a new scenery now. I planned only a one or two hour visual check if I would like brick buildings and if and how they would fit my steamers. That was the plan and therefor I did not take any care to do the mock ups carefully. And I did of course not add any details like fire escapes etc.

In the light of the new possibilities I have to rethink the whole situation and decide how to proceed in 2011. My first reaction was to go to the north east as the "typical home" of brick building (Chicago, NYC, Boston etc.). Conrail GP15 are a good choice to switch the industry.
But when I look at "the patch" and at "the "rat hole" the LA area is very also a good location for older brick buildings. In that time (197x - 198x) I could run SP SW1500 and MP15AC very well.

However, I did make up my mind with respect of the time period for the layout. It should be as modern as possible when such brick buildings have been still around. I think that can be around 1980. 1980 is a great time because most modern engines (Sw1500, MP15, GP15 ...) and cars have been around already.

I think I need some time to make up my mind about the location. But might be I will continue to call it "freelance" and never decide

There is another basic decision to be done. Do I proceed with the current track layout and adjust the scenery only or do I build a new layout with an improved track layout? I feel the need for an improved track layout but available time will be limited this summer.

Jonte, that video is great and very much welcome. In case I proceed with paper based structures I have to start all my structure building skills from scratch. That is a nice challenge, isn't it. The video shows how much I have to learn... did I mention my age hock: