finally building layout

[Bigsteel]

ok,im back,playin with the am some more,this is the same car and diorama with a 1.5 exposure and in a new photo booth with better lighting and using the timer,instead of pressing the button.hope they look better --josh

[doctorwayne]

Oh, yeah, they definitely look better, especially the first shot.

Wayne

[Bigsteel]

thanks wayne, im glad i cant look at my pics and see the actual details and not just a big car shaped blur ,but its thanks to you guys for helping me out or id never be able to take a decent pic

[Trucklover]

Nice batch of last pics Josh!! That first pic is a beauty!! I love all the details you added in there, the tree stumps and sawdust really pull the scene together nicely

[Bigsteel]

thanks josh,you have no idea how many pics i took and just narrowed them down to the few best ones. i think i knocked off like 30 pics .glad you like them though,hopefully by the time im finished with the logging side of my layout the whole thing will look like the diorama.--josh

[Russ Bellinis]

What camera are you using, or more to the point, does it have an aperture adjustment? If it does, the higher the number, the smaller the lens opening will be. A small f-stop, 16 or even 32 if it is available will give you a better "depth of field." Large f-stops like a 2 will give you a smaller depth of field. Depth of field will determine how much of the picture is in focus. A picture of a piece of rolling stock on a plain back ground can be done with a large lens opening because you are going to focus on the subject only. If you are shooting a scene on a diorama or layout where you have objects up close, others in the back ground, and still others in between, you need to use a smaller aperture to get it all in focus. Of course a smaller aperture means either a longer exposure or a the use of flood light to allow enough light for everything.

[LynnB]

Pictures are coming through much clearer now. Any chance on a bit of an explanation of how the trees were made? They look like they were perhaps done with furnace filters. Also was the fuel tank on the high stand made from a tanker car tank?

[Bigsteel]

russ,the cam i have is a 5 mega pixel C-series by kodak.for some reason i cant find it on the web.but it was the package deal that came with one of the mini instant picture printers.its pretty nice but im not sure if it has or how i would access the field of view.


Lynn--my trees are made by first shaping a 1 by 1 or a 2 by 2 piece of cedar into a correctly shaped trunk.the cedar is great since it is relatively easily carved and already has the correct color of a redwood,(but it makes a huge mess).the foliage is furnace filters that have been first pulled apart form the "layers" and then teased into shape. i soaked the filter into diluted wite glue and covered it in cedar sawdust to represent dead needls towrds the trunk. then i used multiple timberline scenery foliage colors for the main filler foliage then sprinkled woodland scenics static grass to represent needles,its pretty convincing from about 2 ft but its going to be at the back of the layout anyway.the roots are just small branches that are planted at the base with latex caulk. for my close up trees ill be doing the very tedious job of planting caspia in the trunks for a better see through effect. but if you want really cheap nice looking trees,the furnace filter CAN make some good trees.

and yes,the oil tank stand is made from an old tanker car,ill get some new pics when i get home.i weathered it heavily with chalks and built the ladder from strip wood and the main stand from old paintsticks. the pump house is an old life-like lumber yard office that has had a very heavy wood grain and rotting board effect applied.the main piping is old sprue painted black.and if anyone has pics of the fueling end itself that was used to fill the tender please post pics! i havent found any and im not sure how to get the oil from the tank to the tender.

[Bigsteel]

here's some better pics of the fuel oil tank.as you can see its quite old by how horribly rusted it is.but it still gets the job done (just don't tell anyone its a 70's era tank car with CSX markings ,which was my reason for such a heavy weathering )

[LynnB]

Fantastic job Josh I could use a few on my layout. the roots look real as well. Somehow I can't imagine widdling down a cedar branch though to make these trees, do you get them out of the bush or do they actually sell them as a cedar dowal?
Nice pic of the oil tank on the stand. I think I have an article kicking around somewhere for building one up.

[Bigsteel]

and heres my baby,shes 2 ft long 10in wide and 1.5 in tall so far.its the main mill building to my sawmill operation.as you can see its far from finished.i started about a year ago and found out i was way in over my head.but now the my mediocre skills have advanced slightly i am going to finish it.i started on the floors again (all unstained is new) and ill tell you now....invest in freaking scribed board! ill never do this much floor board by board again!!! anyways heres the pics.--josh

[LynnB]

Looks like its going to be a nice sized sawmill, who makes the kit or is it a scratch build? I'm just finishing off my sawmill.

[Bigsteel]

Fantastic job Josh I could use a few on my layout. the roots look real as well. Somehow I can't imagine widdling down a cedar branch though to make these trees, do you get them out of the bush or do they actually sell them as a cedar dowal?
Nice pic of the oil tank on the stand. I think I have an article kicking around somewhere for building one up.

thanks Lynn, its really alot easier than it sounds.wood stores DO sell dowels but the cedar splits perfectly straight anyways,so there is no need to buy dowels.its VERY soft and is easily wittled with a hand planer and a wood shaver.and then texture is made by a hacksaw blade and a wire brush.plus there a hell of alot cheaper than buying 2 by 2 balsa!--josh

[Bigsteel]

Looks like its going to be a nice sized sawmill, who makes the kit or is it a scratch build? I'm just finishing off my sawmill.

its totally scratchbuilt from numerous plans found on the HABS site and visual reference.i have a layout of it in the "other" forum and a few detailed CAD drawings if you would like to see them.--josh

[Bigsteel]

my original diagram is missing ,so i copied and pasted from the old site to here.its pretty basic with the log loader to carriage then to the edger (or the cutoff saw for large timber) then through the end saw.and finally to the drying racks and loading dock outside of this plan: