When I started a new layout in summer 2009 an industrial theme in the Chicago area about 1950 was fixed. Dark brown ties, dark gray ballast and lots of dark buildings.


Some weeks ago I discovered the unique charm of the relative light colored box buildings present in any todays industry park. I build some from cardboard and liked them. Looking at the light and clean building reminded my on some pictures of Pelle's layouts located in the far west. Some time later I got some books from Lance Mindheim. The same light buildings but this time with very light colored ballast and located in Florida. Finally I got aware of Kurt's Miami 58th St. layout in this forum.

That was the moment when I did my "U-turn". All dark buildings went to the storage. The modern "boxes" became the primary choice. At that time all tracks had been laid but no ballast was done. Light gray granite ballast was the new choice. Light brown sand was used for general ground coverage. Some CSX engines (four GP38-2, two MP15DC) had been in my roster already. There is no direct prototype. It is a very free freelance interpretation of CSX somewhere in or close to Florida.

Here are first shots of my inspirations borrowed from Pelle, Lance and Kurt:






There is still a lot to do and a lot to improve. Light gray ballast on dark brown ties is a challenge for clumsy fingers . Each stone counts twice.. Also the placement of grass needs improvement. Look at Kurt's layout for the real thing.

More pictures are on my homepage http://rubpeters.ru.funpic.de/h020091/index.html

NICE! I admire your neat trackwork and ballasting and realistic ground cover!

Ralph

Far, I am in complete agreement with your assessment of colors. The layouts you mentioned, including Kurt's, typically use lighter shades for coloring. Another layout that comes to mind is DocWayne's. My taste is for the lighter colors.

I think one of the reasons for my attraction to the lighter colors is that generally our layout rooms do not have enough light to mimic the amount or quality of natural sunlight. Therefore, the darker colors are just too dark and seem to give off a "down in the darkest recesses of the basement" kind of a feel. Your layout looks good. Please share more!

Even though I know that "lighter is better," it is often difficult to execute, especially when weathering because black washes are such an important part. It is incumbent upon us to start our base colors in lighter shades than we think. I was reading an article by an artist who also did various types of models, and his method was to use a cream colored paint that he mixed into every color that he used. This had the effect of making the colors "fit" together and the final black washes to bring out the details did not overly darken the final outcome.

Another thing we have to overcome is that much of our pre-decorated stuff is really dark. For example, I am looking at an Accurail Chessie System boxcar sitting on my workbench and the factory blue paint, while perhaps matching the prototype, is way too dark for modeling.

While I am certainly no expert in any of this, neither the theory or the execution, I believe that it is better to start out too light than to start out too dark. It is easier to take something that is too light and make it darker than to take something that is too dark, and make it lighter.

I didn't mention it, but the other way to battle the "too dark" syndrome is to bombard the layout room with light. I intend to do that!

I like it!

Your doing some very nice work, have you given any thought to a backdrop?

LynnB Wrote:Your doing some very nice work, have you given any thought to a backdrop?

Lynn,
I read some articles and watched some videos about that subject. But I never felt comfortable to give it a try. There was never an urgent need as my first (Chicago) and second (Florida) choice did not require any kind of mountains or even hills. Actually the plain light blue backdrop is perfect for what I experienced most time in Florida. I would not be so nasty and model a rainy day in Florida...
However, I have a concern with the dark brick paper backdrop buildings. They have been bought for Chicago and do not fit really good with Florida. May be I can find something better somewhere.

Nice work, i like your buildings and trackwork, very well done!!

Here's a couple links for food for thought in case your thinking about it <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://lyonvalleynorthern.blogspot.com/2008/04/bytown-bobber-backdrop-clinic.html">http://lyonvalleynorthern.blogspot.com/ ... linic.html</a><!-- m --> and <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://lyonvalleynorthern.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html">http://lyonvalleynorthern.blogspot.com/ ... chive.html</a><!-- m -->

I really like the crossings...that may not be the most interesting aspect of layout creation, but an area that really makes a difference to creating an effective scene to me.

Really nice work so far!

Very nice! Your track work looks great. Your bench work is also very nice.

Last week two building have been replaced. The old building did not have the typical "flat" proportions found in todays industry parks.



The other task was to replace the backdrop brick buildings with lighter ones


And I did lots of cleanup of ballast sticking on top of the ties other than tracks at the loading docks and team track. The light gray ballast looks ugly on the ties of main track. I am waiting for the switch stands. The empty long ties at the turnouts look strange.

More pictures on my homepage http://rubpeters.ru.funpic.de/h020091/index.html I did omit the flash this time. The pictures are somewhat dark but the overall impression is more natural.

More great work!! That Pillsbury building is very eye catching, nice work!!

Reinhard, very nice layout. I like your new structures, especially the big one in the back.

Very nice work, Reinhard.

It's nice to see how you're willing to adjust the scenes until you get the appearance which you're seeking, too. The newer structures, in my opinion, make a big difference.

Wayne