This needed to be a gravel road running along side the tracks and along the edge of the woods. The first two shots are from the company copter and the third at ground level I had to move to the left some because of a hill.

I'm adding this fourth shot from the same angle as the first two shots as it wasn't clear to some on another forum that the third shot was indeed from the same area as the first two.

Tyson, your scenary just makes me feel the warmth of summer, hear the cicadas, and want to get an iced tea to beat the humidity. Lush, realistic, and mighty fine!
Ralph

Thanks Ralph, and you have no idea how much I wish it was summer outside!

As always Mike, you did a great job on your scenery. I really like it.
I'm still busy for the convention, starting in 2 weeks. There's a lot of stuff to be done for the show, but I guess I'll get all the work done just in time.

Keep up the good work !!

Cheers, Gerd

As you know Mike, your work has always been an inspiration to me starting a long time ago. Seeing what you've done over the years always makes me want to do better myself. I don't always comment here, but I am looking and am truly in awe.

I thank you for this impressive thread...

Thanks guys, the kind words are much appreciated ! Don I honestly believe that if I take the time on the ground covers and vegetation it helps to make up for my so-so modeling in other areas.

Tyson Rayles Wrote:Thanks guys, the kind words are much appreciated ! Don I honestly believe that if I take the time on the ground covers and vegetation it helps to make up for my so-so modeling in other areas.

You are right Mike, much of the scenery around us is vegetation, I need to do more of that and with a bit more patience and possibly, I can come close to what you do.

"Tyson Rayles wrote:Thanks guys, the kind words are much appreciated ! Don I honestly believe that if I take the time on the ground covers and vegetation it helps to make up for my so-so modeling in other areas."
" Ezdays wrote: You are right Mike, much of the scenery around us is vegetation, I need to do more of that and with a bit more patience and possibly, I can come close to what you do."

And, I have been, both in Bryson City, and the Phoenix, Az. area, and I know what the "vegetation" looks like in both.
Mike, you have a lot more "green" to model than Don does! Don, you have a lot more rocks and sand ( "visible" rattle snakes), and cactus, to model than Mike does!
What I've seen so far is that you both model what you see, very well !

Sumpter250 Wrote: And, I have been, both in Bryson City, and the Phoenix, Az. area, and I know what the "vegetation" looks like in both.
Mike, you have a lot more "green" to model than Don does! Don, you have a lot more rocks and sand ( "visible" rattle snakes), and cactus, to model than Mike does!
What I've seen so far is that you both model what you see, very well !

Uh, you're probably remembering that rattler that was on our back patio when you where there. Modeling the Arizona desert isn't that difficult. Put down some sand and sprinkle a few rocks around and there you are... Doing what Mike does, now that's difficult, and he does a flawless job too. 8-)

"Doing what Mike does, now that's difficult, and he does a flawless job too. "

Pete thanks for the nice comments and your point is very valid about Don and I modeling totally different types of areas and I agree Don is doing a great job with the desert SW. Thanks Don but it's really easy once you get used to it and you could pick it up in no time I'm sure if you ever decide to relocate your layout to Appalachia!

I finally took the time to go through this thread ,Mike, and glad that I did .

You've done a superb job of making a fairly small layout look much bigger with your track planning , use of colours and textures , great variety of trees , shrubs and weeds , and the sensibly placed structures and vehicles . I like the touches you've put on each building too. I also noticed how your various shades of green give a much larger look to everything .....really a good looking result to your project .

Terry

Mike,Just your usual impressive modeling. :mrgreen:

Thanks guys! Terry you have no idea how much work went into planning the land forms and track plan . But it has paid off as I'm happier with this layout then all my previous ones combined. One of the things that made a big difference was downsizing the layout so I wouldn't feel pressured to get it done. Now I take my time and the scenery is coming out a lot better. I can expand off of both ends or just stick a staging yard on both or either end if I want so I didn't box myself into a corner either. Most everything you read says to start small, in my case staying small was the way to go.

You make some very good points about working within a manageable size ......all of us , experienced or not , should take heed .

I tore down my steel mill layout a couple of years ago . It was , admittedly , too big for me to finish . I work alone on the layout and was not wanting to admit " failure" for a while but finally did face reality ....GO SMALLER !

Your N scale makes a lot of sense for a lot of people but , as much as I admire N scale results , it's not comfortable for me to work on . I have good eyesight but find that even HO details are hard to work on after an hour or two .

Terry