Unfinished Business

As 2015 draws to a close, it's only natural to look back at what was accomplished in the past year and to think about all that still needs to be done. The TMMC has come a long way this year, with the entire mainline now complete through the expansion areas, a more logical layout for the town, and scenic work well underway in Rainbow Caverns and Hanging Rock. Still, there's much yet to be done. So many projects in fact that at times it can be a little overwhelming and I start to wonder if maybe I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. Thunder Mesa isn't really a very big model railroad, but the high level of detail, scratchbuilt structures, animation and lighting effects means that progress can be rather slow at times. Still, my enthusiasm for the project remains high, and there are a number of projects that I'm looking forward to tackling in the new year.

So, without further ado, here's a look ahead at some of the TMMC's "unfinished business" that I'd like to get done in 2016.

Geyser Gulch

This lone, temporary trestle bent has been standing in for a real bridge over Geyser Gulch for longer than I care to admit. I've drawn up plans for the bridge, purchased materials, and even figured out a way to make "Old Unfaithful" geyser erupt in the background. I just need to make time to finally finish this signature scene.

Thunder Mesa Mill

Just to the right of Big Thunder Creek stands this paper mock-up of Thunder Mesa Mill, based loosely on the boarding area structure for Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland. This is where all of the ore from the mines at Calico and Big Thunder Camp gets processed before being shipped out to the wider world. As such, it's pretty important to the economic lifeblood of the railroad. It's also a signature scene that really helps to establish the story of the railroad. Replacing this mock-up with a fully detailed, scratchbuilt structure is high on my list of priorities for the new year.

The Backdrop

Don't be fooled by the pretty photos I post, most of the walls around the TMMC layout are still embarrassingly bare. I've been using temporary backdrops for most photos and Photoshop composites for the really arty ones. But help is on the way. The above image is a low-res version of a digital painting I created that will be printed upon 3oz vinyl scrim and then affixed to the layout room walls. This will give me a seamless sky backdrop that wraps around three sides of the layout. Landscape features like distant buttes and mesas will then be painted on 1/8" hardboard and mounted between the 3-D layout scenery and the sky backdrop. This should make for some dramatic scenes that look like they go on forever.

Thunder Mesa Town

Hoo-boy, there's loads to do here. Other than the depot and Big Thunder Saloon, nearly everything in town is still in the paper model mock-up stage. As usual, I'll have to take it one structure at a time and finish what I can. It's highly doubtful that I'll get all those little building done in the coming year, but I would like to make a good start on the scenery and ground cover and then tackle as many of them as I can. We'll see what happens.

Turntable and Engine House

Well, at least the water tank is finished (but that might be moving to Hanging Rock). The current turntable here is unpowered and a hold-over from an earlier version of the railroad. I'd like to replace it this year with one of the fine A-frame TT's from Kitwood Hill Models. The engine house is planned as a white-plastered stone structure to harmonize with the adobe structures of nearby San Lorenzo. Time will tell if that plan pans out or I decide to go with something else. Obviously, the turntable approach track and engine house tracks are waiting for more permanent structures to be built. All of the track in this area needs paint, ballast and final detailing.

Rainbow Caverns and Big Thunder Camp

These two go together because one sits right on top of the other. I've made some good progress on the interior of Rainbow Caverns this year, but as you can see the exterior scenery is still far from finished. I'd like to finish the rest of the interior scenes this coming year and complete the rockwork cave openings on the exterior. As for Big Thunder Camp, it's planned as a major mining scene with several scratchbuilt structures. Sounds like a good candidate for my 2017 list. In 2016, I'll be happy to get the final track laid up there and all the wiring done for the lighting and animation to come.

Natural Arch Bridge

This is the connecting bit of scenery between Hanging Rock on the left and Rainbow Caverns on the right. It shouldn't take very long to finish up this scene once the branchline track to Big Thunder Camp is laid across the top of the bridge.

Hanging Rock

This scene is still a little less than half finished, mostly because the plans are not yet 100% firm in my mind. Olson & Furlow's place still needs LED lighting installed and a few more outlaw figures. A small depot made from an old combine car is planned for the near side of the tracks, while an ore tipple, shack and water tank will probably be against the cliffs on the other side. There's much more rockwork to be finished and a couple of tunnel portals to detail too. The tunnel interiors will be a project all their own.

Calico

Last but not least is the portable On18 Calico mini-layout that so far exists only in the planning stages. This almost qualifies as a substantial model railroad project all on its own and I could probably spend most of 2016 working on it and nothing else. The latest plan, shown above, is slightly simplified from the earlier figure eight scheme proposed. It hews a little closer to the Knott's Berry Farm inspiration now while promising to be easier to operate. My tests with N scale/On18 mechanisms told me that they didn't much like the 6% grade I had in mind before. This flat, simple loop now gives me room for an underground "Glory Hole" mining scene and some animated blasting on the other end. I have no illusions about finishing Calico in the coming year, but I would very much like to make a good start on it and at least get some On18 equipment running. Once again, time will tell.

To 2016 and Beyond

Once again I would like to give my sincere thanks to everyone who has been following along with my modeling efforts on the TMMC. You guys are the best and I'm just getting started. I wish each of you all the blessings of the season, a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Feliz Navidad, amigos! Adios for now.

Building a Portable Backdrop

This new 3' x 6' portable backdrop will provide improved viewing and photo opportunities on the layout, especially for scenes where no permanent backdrop is possible.

Eventually, the TMMC will be surrounded on three sides by a painted backdrop that will extend the illusion of Thunder Mesa country far beyond the actual boundaries of the layout. Unfortunately, even then, there will still be some viewing angles where no permanent backdrop is possible due to the layout sharing space with my studio and workshop. My solution was to create a portable, "roll-away" backdrop that can moved into position for operations or photos, and then shoved back into the layout aisle when not in use. Here's how it went together.

The portable backdrop is basically a 3' x 6' sheet of 1/8" thick Masonite on an easel-like frame of 1x2s. Angled braces provide strength and stability, and swiveling castors screwed to the 36" long 1x3 feet make it easy to roll around the layout. The lumber is primed MDF trim board and it's held together with 1 1/4" drywall screws. Loctite Powergrab construcion adhesive was applied to the frame uprights and the Masonite panel clamped in place  to dry overnight.

One of four swiveling castors that make it easy to move the backdrop. The three foot length of the feet is just right for fitting down the layout aisles. One of these days I'll get around to painting the frame flat black.

For the base sky color, I chose Behr "Bliss Blue" interior flat latex paint. It provides a nice contrast with my red rock scenery and I will use it for all of the backdrop painting on the layout. The paint was applied with a roller, taking care to get the surface as smooth as possible.

I painted the clouds using artists acrylics, primarily Titanium White and Paynes Grey. The paint was applied with a semi-stiff filbert brush in a dabbing motion to create the cloud shapes. In some areas, I scrubbed most of the paint off of the brush and used a swirling motion to dry-brush transparent wisps of cloud. The Paynes Grey was used sparingly, just a few drops mixed with white to create shadows and contours.

With clouds painted, I went back and sketched in the basic landforms of a canyon country scene. I admit the scene is entirely invented and I was going for something like a cross between Grand Canyon, Moab, and Sedona. I paid special attention to where the horizon line would be and just how much of the painted scenery would be visible from different angles on the layout. In all, the canyon scene only covers about the bottom 8 inches of the backdrop.

Next, I blocked in the canyons and mesas with acrylics. It's a really good idea to mix up some large quantities of your basic colors in air tight containers ahead of time. My basic colors where a medium raw sienna shade for the rocks, a darker shadow color, and a medium and darker blue-green for the mesa tops. I used the same basic colors that I use for painting rock scenery on the layout, but added some of the blue sky color to grey them down a bit and to give the illusion of distance. The further away an object was, the more of the sky color that was mixed in. This is a simple way to create the illusion of distance and to keep the colors in harmony.

And here is the completed backdrop after a couple days of painting. My goal was to match the character of Thunder Mesa's scenery as close as possible without going overboard on the detail. 

With the portable backdrop finished, now it's time to have some fun. With the backdrop moved into position to block my workbench, here's a view of Ambush Rock that was never possible before (at least not without Photoshop).

Wheeled around to the other end of the layout, here it is backing up the depot scene.

Here you can really see the difference a backdrop makes! The bottom image is from almost the exact same angle but the cluttered studio in the background completely destroys the illusion.

Creating the portable backdrop was a fun project and a good "dry run" for the much bigger project of building a permanent backdrop around three walls of the studio. In the meantime, it will provide that much needed sense of place in the world of Thunder Mesa. Thanks for checking in, amigos. Adios for now!

Number 6 steams toward McKennon Arch with a short freight in tow. The new portable backdrop adds a great sense of depth and distance to this scene.

Jumping into Rainbow Caverns

"Now we're going deep into the earth to view the dazzlin' Rainbow Caverns! You'll see giant stalagmites, stalactites 'n colorful falls on every side..." 

- Recorded narration from Disneyland's Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland.

Let's Go Spelunking!

After a couple months away from working on the TMMC I figured it was high time to jump back in with both feet and get started on a major project again. Some version of Rainbow Caverns has been integral to the idea of Thunder Mesa ever since I first happened on the idea of freelancing a Disney-esque railroad. Until recently the Caverns have been an empty foam box that trains travel through, but now I aim to remedy that with scenery, animation, sound and lighting effects; creating a colorful underground world seldom seen on a model railroad. I won't try to recreate the Disneyland version scene by scene. Instead I'm going for something more like an homage that captures the feel of the original, along with a little of Knott's Calico Mine Train salted in for good measure.

Geyser Grotto in Rainbow Caverns on the Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland, Disneyland USA. © Disney

Cavern scene on the Calico Mine Train, Knott's Berry Farm, USA.

Planning the Caverns 

Rainbow Caverns will be constructed as two separate scenes, each one executed like a small diorama. The first scene will be on the original section of layout almost directly beneath the town of Thunder Mesa. A second, larger scene will be built beneath the Calico Section once track has been laid through that part of the expansion. Since the track and most of the infrastructure is already in place for the first scene, I'll be starting there.

The area for Scene 1 currently has the exterior scenery roughed in with pink foam and the interior painted flat black. The scene will be viewed through cave like openings in the cliff wall and a large hunk of this wall can be removed for access.

Scene 1 of Rainbow Caverns will be viewed through these cave openings in the cliff face.

Here a removable section of scenery has been placed to one side to enable work on the interior of the caverns.

A Backdrop for the Diorama

Scene 1 will be a classic "wet cave" with rushing waterfalls and a large chamber filled with stalagmites and stalactites. In addition to lighting and sound effects, one of the most important elements for making this shadow-box like diorama work will be a convincing backdrop. Since I'll literally be working "inside the box" in rather close quarters, it just makes sense to paint and install this internal backdrop before any more work is done.

I created my Rainbow Caverns backdrop on a 5" x 15" piece of  Strathmore illustration board. Working from the darkest shades to the lightest, I painted the cavern scene with artist's acrylics, using photos from Disneyland, Knott's and real world caverns for reference.

The completed Rainbow Caverns backdrop ready to be installed on its shadow-box diorama. The colors are intentionally over the top, nearly florescent, in order to show up well in the dim cave. They don't call 'em Rainbow Caverns for nothing!

And here is the scene with the backdrop in place. It's a little difficult to photograph without any lighting installed yet so I composited a couple of pictures in Photoshop to illustrate how it looks in person. The next step will be constructing some 3-D cavern scenery to blend with the backdrop. Just in front of the locomotive in this shot will be a ceiling to floor waterfall, animated by fiber optics lights.

Several LEDs will be used to light the interior of the Caverns, including some ultraviolet lights. A hidden speaker will provide the sounds of running and splashing water.

On Down the Line

With the all important backdrop painted I can proceed with building the rest of the scene. Next will come some unusual subterranean rock formations carved from polystyrene foam and painted to blend with the backdrop. Then I'll try and tackle an animated waterfall with twinkling fiber optics. Should be fun!

Thanks for checking in. Adios for now!

A Backdrop for the N Scale Pagosa & Southern

Greetings from N scale Colorado! A backdrop sure does help set the scene.

With the benchwork finished and the Kato Unitrack in place, the next project I wanted to tackle on the P&S was the backdrop. It's much easier to install a backdrop at this stage and having one in place early on really helps set the stage for the scenery to come.

For this project I designed my own backdrop in Adobe Photoshop, blending together several photos taken on trips to southwestern Colorado. Sharp eyed rail fans might be able to pick out a few well known narrow gauge landmarks like Red Mountain, Animas Forks and Lizard Head Pass.

This is the complete backdrop created for the P&S. It measures 15" x 90" and curves around two sides of the layout.

Once the design was complete, I sent the digital file off to be printed by a commercial firm that specializes in banners for trade shows and point of sale. It was printed on 13oz vinyl scrim making it waterproof and durable; important considerations with the scenery as yet unbuilt. Turnaround was fast, and the entire cost was much less than commercially available backdrops.

An even coat of 3M General Purpose 45 spray adhesive was applied to the plywood backdrop supports. Brown kraft paper was taped down over the layout and over anything else that I didn't want coated with glue.

With the glue nice and tacky, I rolled out the backdrop, lining up the top edge with the top of the backing board. Rolling out about a foot at a time, I used a brayer to insure good adhesion and to work out any air bubbles.

The backdrop was designed 2" shorter than the backing board. This causes a nice, natural curve or cove in the backdrop when glued into place. No further support for the curve is necessary. 

Getting the entire backdrop installed took a little less than an hour. (In fact, it has taken longer to write this post about it than to actually do it!) I'm really happy to have this done because it already adds so much to the railroad.

Starting on Some Scenery

While I was waiting for the backdrop to arrive from the printer, I went ahead and started roughing in the scenery around what will become Wolf Creek Canyon.

Soon a high country stream will cascade through this canyon. The scenery forms are carved pink Polystyrene foam insulation. The section of Unitrack over the gorge will be replaced with a scratch-built trestle.

Well, that's about it from N scale Colorado! Thanks for checking in. More progress across the aisle in On30 Thunder Mesa Country coming real soon. Adios for now!

More Expansion Progress and a Couple of Gadgets

It's another beautiful morning in Thunder Mesa Country as engine #4, the Earl Vilmer, heads for Geyser Gulch and points beyond.

It was back into construction mode this last week as new benchwork begins to take shape on extensions of the TMMC. The final shape of the layout is beginning to come into focus now and there's finally a plan for proceeding with the backdrop.

The Calico Section

Benchwork for the new Calico section of the layout is now complete and, with that, the layout has officially grown beyond its original "mini" status into a larger  around the walls pike.

The TMMC begins to assume a U shape with the original Thunder Mesa section in the foreground and the new Calico section under construction in the rear. The new section brings the mainline around the corner and begins the transition into the planned Tumbleweed section that will be built next where the bookshelves are located.

A closer view of the Calico section. The 1/2" plywood sub-roadbed for the TMMC mainline is in place, awaiting cork and track. A portable On18 Calico Gold Mine micro-layout will be built above this framework. Here one can also see my typical "box and stilts" benchwork method. The box-frame is built from 1x4" clear pine, held together with glue, drywall screws and steal corner gussets to keep things strong and square. The entire table-top assembly is built separately from the legs to make things easier to move should the need arise.

The leg/support assembly is built from clear pine and MDF; painted Krylon flat black. The box-girder layout section attaches to the top L-girders with 6 screws. Swiveling casters make it easy to roll out from the wall.

Old and new layout sections are leveled and then joined together with 1/4" bolts/wing-nuts. Strong and secure, but east to disassemble if need be.

Backdrop Plans

The TMMC was originally planned and built without any thought of a backdrop, but now that things are growing out along the walls of the room the obvious need for some kind of backdrop has reared its head. I have built backdrops before for other layouts, mostly from Masonite, with seams carefully taped, mudded and sanded to give an unbroken sky view. Two problems arise from this method, the first is that the final structure is not in anyway moveable (let alone portable), and the second is that those carefully hidden seams almost always split as the Masonite expands and contracts with the inevitable radical swings in Arizona's humidity (it's not aways a dry heat). I'd really like to avoid both of those problems this time around.

My imperfect solution will be to build the backdrop in sections, with each removable piece matched to a section of layout. They will all be painted to blend together but, unfortunately, some seams in the sky will be unavoidable. The good news is that the seams are barely noticeable durning regular operations, and can easily be Photoshopped out in pictures. Stay tuned for more on this as the backdrop plans develop.

Nifty Gadgets

I love coming up with simple and effective mechanisms for animations and operating functions on the layout. Some modelers jump straight to electric motors, servos and complex electronics to get things done, but I have found that the simplest solution is often the best and most reliable.

Operating Ore Dump

I wanted an operating ore dump to use with my Bachmann side-dump ore cars at the Big Thunder Mill in Thunder Mesa. The dump itself is a wooden grate cut into the platform where a below ground bin is located to collect the ore. The fiction here is that a conveyer belt inside the mill moves the ore to the upper levels where it can then be fed into the stamps and processed.

Looking closely one can see a short length of music wire rising from the roadbed to dump the car. The Bachmann ore cars are metal, and the weight allows them to fall back into place once the wire is lowered. A little oil on the moving parts helps with this.

Here's a quick video showing the simple mechanism for dumping the cars:

Hidden Wye Switch

Deep inside Rainbow Caverns is a hidden wye. Taking the right leg completes a loop back to Thunder Mesa and allows continuous running, while the left leg allows trains to continue on the main line. Switches inside tunnels can be problematic so I came up with a simple push-rod mechanism to remotely operate the switch.

A 3/8" hole was drilled into the roadbed below the switch throw-bar and a large paper clip was bent to shape, one end leading upright through the throw-bar hole, and the other bent through a hole in a 1/4" wooden dowel. A snug trench was carved into the foam scenery base to guide the pushrod and keep it straight. Note that this mechanism only works because the points on Peco On30 turnouts are already sprung. Other turnouts would require something a bit more complicated to maintain pressure on the points. 

The completed foam "sandwich" holding the pushrod in place. When the scenery is complete the end of the rod will be disguised as a rock. The track has now been completed through this section and the mechanism works flawlessly.

Okay, that's all for this time. I'm hoping to have more regular updates from now on, probably once a week on Mondays as work progresses. Thanks for stopping by!