Ya know, you just never cease to amaze me Gary. Next time I find myself in Houston for work again, I'd love to see not only that fine layout, but that model railroad building of yours too. How's the building coming along anyway?

Gary,
your bridge is a really wonderful project, fine modelling work and extraordinary fine and seldom modelled details!
Wish you more such ideas, time for realizing und success!

That is crazy - insane - great! (Insert admiring applause here!)

I'm not sure how you got the colors to look that close, but it sure looks spot-on perfect. The drainage cut out and sidewalks look terrific.

Wow - what great work...really amazing.

First, let me say I really appreciate all the encouragement from everyone. Thanks for taking the time to check out the bridge. Was a very busy week, didn't have hardly any time for Big Blue or for working on the bridges. After teaching class today, I did finally find some time to make more progress. Got all the sidewalks on, still needs some touch-up paint in places. Tomorrow I hope to catch up on Big Blue and get the road/sidewalks glued to the foam under the bridge, and maybe I can even get the bridge in place, lay some track, and run a train across it.

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Gary,

Very Very Nice!!!

I like the lanscapsing in the sidewalk...so you should have trains running by Sunday night and the rest of the landsacping done?

Thanks Greg. Don't know how far I'll get, but will give it a good effort. Still, will be watching the Texans versus the Giants for part of the day.

In the green area just to the front of the gutter, there will be a warning sign/light which is on the prototype.

One issue I have is that I cut too much foam out. When I was doing that, I did not allow for the retaining walls on the sidewalk, so I'll have to build those areas back up with plaster or EasySand 20.

Gary, I've come to expect as "normal" the abnormality of what materializes in that building that sits behind your house. But lately, the miniaturization of visual reality exhibited on this Forum as existing inside that building is literally scary!

Gary, how did you do the street markings? I found it very hard to match old faded out markings. Decals are useless but fairly deluded white and yellow paint can provide an imagination of old street markings. The prototype photos of 69th street you posted are a good example.

ps. Your building became a real beauty with the bricks!

If you're not careful, the city of Houston is going to hire you to re-do all their bridges and underpasses. I'd guess they figure, "if he can make 'em look so real the way they are, he can help us make them look better." Who knows...you might have a career budding here with an architectural firm building their models!


BTW...is that bridge anywhere near Hobby? I fly into there often and stay at a hotels nearby and swear I've seen that bridge before...or I suppose one a lot like it.

P5se Camelback Wrote:Gary, I've come to expect as "normal" the abnormality of what materializes in that building that sits behind your house. But lately, the miniaturization of visual reality exhibited on this Forum as existing inside that building is literally scary!

biL, I've really come to enjoy all this scratchbuilding. Of the three bridges I have done so far, the only kit components in them are the girders on the 69th street bridge. Everything else was built from plastic strip, sheet, and shapes, and some brass or stainless wire. I've really had a blast working on this stuff.

faraway Wrote:Gary, how did you do the street markings? I found it very hard to match old faded out markings. Decals are useless but fairly deluded white and yellow paint can provide an imagination of old street markings. The prototype photos of 69th street you posted are a good example.

On the stripes - After the washes went onto the sandpaper, I gave the street a good coat of DullCote. After that dried, I used blue painter's masking tape to set out the lines, then just used acrylic craft paint, the cheapy 98 cent a bottle kind. I only did one coat, and didn't try to get the paint "even" in the lines and stripes. In other words, the paint was thin in some spots, thicker in others, and this allowed the darker sandpaper underneath to show through unevenly under the stripes. Can't really see it in the low-angle photos above, but the stripes look a bit faded and worn on the model.

Another option would be to weather them further by doing a wash over the entire street, or by doing several layers of powder and dullcote.

Herc Driver Wrote:Who knows...you might have a career budding here with an architectural firm building their models!

One of the hobby shops I use is over by Rice University which has a top-notch architectural program. Even though the shop is rather small, they stock an impressive array of scratchbuilding stuff. Of course, the architectural students build alot of models for their various classes, and that helps keep the shop in business and stocking all sorts of components. If you need something, they pretty much have it.

Herc Driver Wrote:BTW...is that bridge anywhere near Hobby? I fly into there often and stay at a hotels nearby and swear I've seen that bridge before...or I suppose one a lot like it.

It is about fifteen miles north of hobby near where the Houston Ship Channel ends (begins?). And I work less than 2 miles north of Hobby. Hey, let me know when you are coming in, maybe we could hang out for a bit.

I glued the road down with PL300 the other day, and weighted it with paint cans for a few days. Then I used EasySand 20 to get the terrain in around the sidewalks and concrete. Tonight, I glued the bridge in, got the track on and connected, and then ran the first train across it.

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After the photos, I put the ballast down and glued it. It is drying as we speak.

Congrats Gary! Well done!!!

Gary,

VERY NICE

Will look great once you get hte scenery finished up around the bridge and really get things belnded togehter. Keep up the great work!!