Bridge at Mason Park

[nachoman]

I know exactly what you mean, and thanks for that comment. There isn't any spectacular scenery in Houston, and I am okay with that. I'm thinking the layout will be somewhat unique in that respect - no beautiful scenery, just trying to mimic what I see around here.

In my opinion, that sometimes makes the best layout. Sometimes the spectacular is overdone. I often think the same is true in life. Sometimes the best vacations are in unknown towns and cities that the tourists forgot.

[ocalicreek]

Reinhard has got it in one. You model the ordinary VERY well. That realism goes a long way towards operating enjoyment. And I'm saying this as a person who generally believes you should try and cram as many exciting and fun things into a scene...balanced with the right amount of plain/ordinary structures, of course. And that 'right amount' is going to vary from person to person.

Anyway, lookin good!

Galen

[P5se Camelback]

Gary, your layout is becoming beautiful because of its protrayal of "common" surroundings!

That is an uncommon goal ...

... Beautiful!

[Gary S]

Galen, biL, Kevin, thanks! My goal all along has been to have an industrial type switching layout, so I knew it was going to be all flat for the most part, with structures being served by the railroad. I also want to include tons of details such as pallets, oil drums, trucks and trailers, junk, all kinds of industrial stuff that you see around buildings. At the conception stage, I had not planned to do a lot of prototype structures. Then an innocent trip into the industrial sector of Houston led me to the bridges, and from there, the scratchbuilds. And now that is going to lead to scratchbuilding many of the buildings around where I work. I'm happy with where this taking me.

Again, thanks to you guys for following along.

[Sumpter250]

....And people who don't know, laughed when I told them that sheet, strip, and shaped styrene, stripwood, carpenter's glue, and liquid plastic cement, twisted wire, and ground died foam, were my "brushes and oils", and a "layout" was my canvas.

The exchange of compliments, for my part, comes out of a respect for the skills, execution, and vision, that I see through the eyes of one who understands the level of creativity, and the talent required, to build models of quality.
There are never any bruised egos, where one can praise the work of another.......and learn from that work.
My learning started with the works of John Allen, and his Gorre and Daphetid, Feb. 1959 Model Railroader.

That said, just keep on impressing us.

[Gary S]

I am humbled by the wonderful comments, sir. To have an accomplished modeler such as yourself admiring my work means alot to me. Sometimes it is hard for a person to critique or praise his own work, but the comments from Big Blue et al mean I must be doing something right!

[modelsof1900]

Gary, this is the finest what you can. Searching an object in reality and building a model after it.
Congratulation for this extra fine modeling job of a very seldom modeled water bridge of this type. Wish you good time for a good finishing.

[Gary S]

Thanks! Tonight, I'm doing some painting on the other bridge, but may get a chance to start carving out the foam on the banks. Should have the bridge in this thread completed in a few weeks I would think.

[Gary S]

Got the banks carved into the foam and then smoothed things out with EasySand 20. Have to say I like that stuff alot. I am finding it somewhat difficult to do the banks as they are in real life, mainly working from 2 dimensional photos to get a 3 dimensional model. Some of it is easy, but the large flattish areas are difficult for me to tell exactly how they are sloping and such... so, I just carved in what seemed to be right. :? I think it'll be okay.

Next will be to put some paint on the banks. Now, for the water, I want a little fine "wind ripple" on it. The foam is at the level ofthe water, will use the EasySand 20 to skim coat over that, then will sand it smooth. Then paint the water, then perhaps some ModPodge or whatever it is called to do the ripples? Any thoughts from you water modelers?

Note: the washouts on the right hand side are from the prorotype.

   

   

[tetters]

I wonder if you could use some Golden's Gel Medium to create the ripples. It's stuff you can add to paint to make it stiffer and give a painting that heavy brush stroke look. I picked up a small container of it up at Micheal's a while back for when I'm ready to start making some water. Basically I was going to pour some Magic Water let it dry and then use the Gel Medium to create waves on the surface. Once the medium dries completely you can then brush a clear coat over top of it to make it appear more uniform in look.

I'm sure you could use it to create some ripples moving across the water surface...might take some time and I'd test it out first...just to be safe. :?

[Gary S]

I remember hearing of the gel medium before. I'll have to make a trip to Michael's and get some. Definitely experimenting first!

Also, I am somewhat nervous of using the foam as the under-surface for the water. I mean, the foam does give some if weight is put on it. If some visitor or myself were to inadvertantly lean an elbow or weighted hand on it, it might upset the finish. Still, it seems like the easiest thing to do, just skimcoat the foam and them build up the water with paint and gloss varnish, of course with whatever I end up using for the ripples.

[doctorwayne]

You could also try introducing the ripples using your drywall knife after you've levelled the EasySand 20 but before it's dried. Just lightly drag the knife over the surface, "wobbling" the blade up and down slightly as you go. The speed and degree of "wobbling" coupled with the speed of the pass will determine the height and spacing of the ripples. You could try a test run on a piece of scrap foam.
I used a similar technique to create some semblance of motion in the river scene below, although it's probably a little more pronounced than what you're after.


Wayne

[Gary S]

DocWayne, the ripples in your river definitely give the feeling of moving water, and I could certainly be happy with something like that. On the other hand, I'm going to try for the "wind ripple" look ofthe prototype, maybe even do it as in this photo, where the water near the banks or smooth, but the middle has the ripples. Do y'all think it would look strange if I did it like this? I mean, would a visitor be wondering why the ripples are only on part ofthe water?

   

But here is a photo from a different day, with the ripples across the entire bayou. Could try to do this too.

   

Sititng here brainstorming, I wonder if I should glue a piece of sheet styrene on top ofthe foam and work with that as the base for the water instead of using the foam. Thoughts?

[doctorwayne]

DocWayne, the ripples in your river definitely give the feeling of moving water, and I could certainly be happy with something like that. On the other hand, I'm going to try for the "wind ripple" look ofthe prototype, maybe even do it as in this photo, where the water near the banks or smooth, but the middle has the ripples. Do y'all think it would look strange if I did it like this? I mean, would a visitor be wondering why the ripples are only on part ofthe water?

Well, a copy of the photo taped to the layout fascia would silence any critics, provided you do a credible job on the ripples, and there's no reason to doubt that you could pull it off.
The application of gloss medium can look very effective, although I've never tried it. Based on its properties, though, you should be able to get a similar ripple effect by painting on a generous coat, then, starting at the farthest away point where you want the ripples to begin, use a 1/2" brush, with its handle almost parallel to the surface, to dab at the wet medium. Work your way across the water course, then return the brush to the same side where you started and repeat the process, each successive pass being closer and closer to the viewer. You could, I suppose, work back and forth, but I think that by keeping the direction constant, any slightly missed or overlapped areas will look more like a variation in the wind than if you were to alternate the directions. I'd do a test to see what you get. You could also try using a much wider brush - this may make it easier or may make it appear too uniform or too heavily rippled. Depending on the "body" of the medium, you may have to keep repeating the dabbing action as it dries, or simply wait for it to thicken, then hope that you've a long enough window of "working time" to complete the job. Gloss (or matte) medium goes on milky white, then clears as it dries. I'd keep the water's surface painted, and apply the medium un-tinted - that may give it an extra dimension of "depth".

But here is a photo from a different day, with the ripples across the entire bayou. Could try to do this too.

Sititng here brainstorming, I wonder if I should glue a piece of sheet styrene on top ofthe foam and work with that as the base for the water instead of using the foam. Thoughts?

Well, ya gotta ask yourself one question here. Do you get some gloss medium and make a few tests, maybe one on EasySand 20, one on painted styrene and anything else that springs to mind? Or do you just go ahead and do that bayou with a product you've never used before? So, are ya feelin' lucky, pal?

Personally, based on your performance as demonstrated repeatedly in these pages, I'd say go for it, but there's no shame in trying a few trial runs, either. My "water" effects were all first time attempts and, while not perfect, look pretty-much how I hoped they would. It never occurred to me to try the method on a smaller scale - I was prepared to scrape everything out if it started going south.

Another option, if you can find it with proper-looking ripples, is to use rippled glass. Paint the water surface as usual, then overlay it with the glass, ripple-side-up. This would require, I think, a re-working of the banks, though.

Wayne

[tetters]

The gloss medium comes in different consistences as well. Something along the lines of light, medium and heavy. I would suggest trying out the light and applying it as Doc Wayne suggests I'm guessing it will give you that subtle wave but busy looking wind ripple effect across the water.

Please post up progress shots and let me know how it goes. I'm anxious to see how this works out for you so I can use the techniques to model my own water feature.