The scenery at Hanging Rock might only be half finished but that's not going to stop me from having a little fun with Photoshop! Creating images like this helps me to envision the story behind a scene.
Ready or not, here comes an end of the month update from Thunder Mesa! I haven't had much time for updates this month but scenery work has been progressing on the Hanging Rock section of the layout, and I'm nearly finished with the structure build for Olson & Furlow's Saloon. Even with several things half done, I wanted to share an update and video log on how things are coming along.
Hanging Rockwork
Rockwork and coloring has been completed in the little canyon nook where Olson & Furlow's will find its home. It still needs ground cover, vegetation and other details but here's a quick rundown on how the scene has come together so far.
The canyon walls and rocky ledges of Hanging Rock were built up with layers of 1" thick polystyrene foam insulation - the pink stuff from your local home center. Here the foam has been painted with my scenery base color to better help envision the final scene. There's also a view of the original paper mock-up of Olson & Furlow's, a structure that has evolved a lot from this plan during construction.
Once I was satisfied with the basic shapes, the foam was skinned with a layer of Sculptamold to further texture and define the rocky canyon walls. Sculptamold is a mixture of plaster and cellulose available from American Art Clay Co. at better stocked hobby and craft stores.
After the Sculptamold dries it's time for a coat of my scenery base color: Glidden "French Mustard" flat interior latex paint.
Then I darken the rocks with a spray of diluted black, letting it flow down into all of the cracks and crevices.
The final paint job is completed using artists' acrylics. The main colors used are Raw Sienna and Unbleached Titanium, with just a little Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber here and there for variety. The colors are lightly dry-brushed on right out of the tube, catching the rough texture of the rocks and letting the under-color and darkened shadows show through. The wooden retaining wall is a hydrocal casting from Woodland Scenics.
Olson & Furlow's
The main structure in Hanging Rock is Olson & Furlow's Saloon and Store, an appropriately character filled establishment built as a tribute to two of may favorite model railroad authors of the past. I'll be writing much more about this scratch-built model for an upcoming column in Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine so I don't want to give away too much here. Suffice to say that I wanted something with a lot of texture, charm and visual appeal to act as a focal point for the scene.
To show a long and storied history, I chose to design the structure with a Victorian wooden upper story built atop an older adobe base. Both the wooden walls and the adobe are modeled with illustration board. The base of the structure is 1/4" thick MDF, carved with a Dremel tool to simulate flagstone.
The colorful vintage signs and posters are a hint at the final super-detailing to come.
The old tarpaper roof on the store section has seen better days. The tarpaper was modeled using strips of 220 grit sandpaper painted flat black. The nail heads are tiny dabs of gray acrylic paint.
There's More on Facebook
I'm so humbled and flattered by those who choose to follow my efforts here on this site and also on social media. Thunder Mesa's Facebook page recently surpassed 500 likes and that's not bad for a quirky little hobby like this. If you like this site I hope you'll also come over and join the conversation on Facebook. There's a lot of new stuff posted there first, mostly about this model railroad, but also interesting stuff about the larger worlds of railroading, model building, themed design and Disney. Thank you.
That's all for this time, amigos. Thanks for checking in. Adios for now!
Once again, I'm back to work on Rainbow Caverns, bringing the "dark ride" portion of the TMMC to life. I'm currently up to my elbows in wiring, LEDs, and black light paint but plan on publishing a full step-by-step and how-to post in about another week. In the meantime, please enjoy this short video highlighting some of the effects in completed scenes thus far. Adios for now!
*Note: Original Disney soundtrack has been replaced by royalty free music from YouTube.
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.
Or Cabooses if you prefer. Today's post is all about painting, decaling, and weathering TMMC crummies #90 and #91.
#90 is a drover's caboose and sometimes takes the place of Combine #101, bringing up the rear of the Daily Mixed with passengers and mail. Freshly shopped caboose #91 often travels the branchline up to Big Thunder Camp.
Custom Decals
The Thunder Mesa Mining Company is a rather well-to-do little railroad that takes good care of their equipment. To reflect this, I've had some fancy gold decals printed by Cedarleaf Custom Decals. I supplied Stan Cedarleaf with camera-ready artwork and he printed up the water-slide decals on his ALPS printer. Stan also offers layout and design services for those who can't do their own.
A sheet of Thunder Mesa's custom gold water-slide decals.
I liked the Bachmann factory color scheme on the drover's caboose, so I applied the decals to it without further modifications. The red caboose started out as a Bachmann Colorado & Southern short caboose. I removed the original C&S decals with acetone, then disassembled, primed and repainted the caboose with a satin-finish spray enamel called Colonial Red. A smooth satin or gloss finish is always best for applying decals.
Applying Decals
There's nothing revolutionary about my decaling techniques, more like "tried-and-true." Getting things properly aligned can be the hardest part so I usually mark locations for decals very lightly in pencil before beginning. Some modelers prefer small scissors for cutting out decals, I usually use a sharp hobby knife. The trick is to cut as close to the edge of design as is practical, thereby eliminating as much of the decal film as you can.
I have all of the tools and materials ready before getting any decals wet. A dish of warm water with a couple drops of liquid detergent to improve flow, a soft brush, paper towels, tweezers, a hobby knife and decal setting solutions are a must. The Micro Set helps to stick the decal in place while the Micro Sol is used to soften the decal so it will snug down over details. Both are from Micro-Mark.
I pick up small decals by poking them with a hobby knife. Then I dunk them in the warm water for no more than 4 seconds - just enough time to loosen them from the backing paper and activate the adhesive. Then they are laid on a paper towel to soak up the excess water.
After wetting the decal, a little Micro Set is brushed onto the area where it will go. The decal is then positioned and very carefully slid off from the backing paper and on to the model. Sorry I couldn't get a picture of that step but it's really as straightforward as it sounds.
If the decal is not exactly where I want it, it can be repositioned with a soft brush or even a finger. Care must be taken though not to tear or wrinkle the decal. Yes, I've destroyed more than a couple this way and that's why I always have extras printed on a sheet. Once the decal is in position, I dab on a little Micro Sol to soften it and help it snug into the details. If too much is applied, I dab around the edges with a dry paper towel.
It's important to proceed slowly and carefully and not get in a hurry. When doing multiple decals like this, I let each one set up for about an hour before proceeding to the next. Then I let the whole thing dry overnight before tackling the other side. Yes, it can take awhile, but that's why I usually try and decal several models at the same time. That way, I can be working on one car while the other car is drying.
Reassembly
After decaling, the caboose was reassembled with new clear acrylic glazing for the windows and repairs made to the interior lighting that had not worked in some time.
Watercolor Weathering
Both cabooses were weathered using colored chalks, dry-brushed acrylics and watercolor washes. I wanted the yellow caboose to look as if it hasn't seen the inside of a shop in awhile - a little dirty and faded but still well maintained. The roof is weathered with chalks while the car sides got watercolor washes.
Watercolor weathering works particularly well on scribed walls. I mixed up a dark, warm-grey wash with Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine and then applied it generously to the car sides, letting it run and fill the scribe lines between boards. Once it was dry, I went back with a wet brush and washed most of it off, also dabbing here and there with a paper towel. The end result was a grimy look in the corners and crevices, much like this type of equipment gets in the real world.
The watercolor washes can be brushed on and washed off again and again to achieve the desired amount of weathering. Individual boards can be picked out with a wet brush and scrubbed "clean" here and there for a varied look as I did here on caboose #90.
I wanted caboose #91 to look as if it was recently shopped so I kept the weathering more subtle. I don't usually bother, but the chalks and watercolors can be fixed in place with a light spray of Testor's Dullcoat.
Final Thoughts
Both cabooses still need marker lights, figures and other details but they are complete enough to call them done for now. A magazine photo-shoot with a looming deadline was the impetus for getting off my keister and getting them finished and I'm glad that I did. Questions and comments are welcome below. Here's a final shot of caboose #90 from that shoot that wont be used for the magazine. Adios for now, amigos!
Engine #6, on a caboose hop near Lone Rock. I wonder what could be happening on the tracks up ahead to cause the train to stop here?
The Lone Rock diorama was built to demonstrate rock carving and coloring techniques, and also to serve as a model stand for outdoor photography.
The Lone Rock diorama began with an email from Joey Ricard over at Trackside Scenery. When Joey's not working on his fantastic On30 Spruce Coal & Timber Co. layout, he's producing an awesome series of how-to modeling videos that you can watch over on YouTube. So when Joey asked if I might be interested in contributing to an upcoming video about modeling rocks, I was more than happy to agree. Joey's videos are always fun and informative, focusing on both tried-and-true and new-and-innovative techniques. Just my kind of project.
The idea for a stand-alone diorama that could be taken outdoors for photographing models had been percolating in the back of my mind for some time. Joey's video suggestion was just the push I needed to dust off the idea and get to building. I could document the build with video and photos as I went along, and wind up at the end with the photo-diorama I'd been daydreaming about. I wanted something simple and scenic, with a short length of track and one distinctive rock formation as center of interest. Most of the build is covered in the resulting video (below), so today's post will focus mostly on additional details. Here's how it all went together.
The 12" x 24" diorama started with a simple frame of 1" x 2" MDF and three layers of 1.5" white polystyrene bead-board. Some 1" thick gold polyurethane foam (Balsa Foam) was roughly shaped to form a single, towering butte. 1/2" plywood was cut to shape for track sub-roadbed and glued in place atop the foam. The white foam was shaped with a hot-wire cutter, and a small stone culvert made from Balsa Foam was created to bridge the gully. I used Loctite Power Grab construction adhesive to glue everything together.
The butte was carved from hard density Balsa Foam. This is a commercial version of the same gold urethane carving foam used by Walt Disney Imagineering and Hollywood special effects model builders. It's available through better stocked art and craft dealers.
A short section of the 1/2" plywood sub-roadbed was cut away and a chunk of 1" thick Balsa Foam was used to form a small stone culvert. The arch was created with sandpaper wrapped around a small bottle, and the stones were carved with a hard 5H pencil.
Using photos of rocks from Monument Valley, Moab and Sedona, Lone Rock Butte was carved from Balsa Foam using mostly a #2 hobby knife. The butte was then glued to the base with Loctite Powergrab adhesive. Four bamboo skewers between the butte and the base add additional strength. See the video for more details on the carving process. My part starts at about the 8:40 mark.
Sculptamold was used to blend the butte into the base and to form an embankment along the sub-roadbed right of way. A soft, wet brush is handy for smoothing things out.
Since there would be scenery below it, the stone culvert was finished early and installed flush with the sub-roadbed. It was painted with acrylics and the mortar lines were filled with spackling paste.
Midwest HO scale cork roadbed was glued down with yellow carpenter's glue before just about everything on the diorama was given a base coat of golden-tan flat latex house paint. Then a length of Peco On30 flextrack was cemented in place with Powergrab adhesive.
A wash of diluted India ink was sprayed onto the butte to darken cracks and crevices before final painting was done. Inexpensive craft acrylics were used to complete the paint job. Colors like raw sienna, red oxide, burnt umber and unbleached titanium were applied wet into wet, working from darker to lighter tones. See the video for a more complete rundown on the painting process. Painting and finishing starts at about 12:45 on the video.
The track was painted and weathered using Joey Ricard's easy techniques featured in this video from TracksideScenery.com. First the track is painted flat black. I masked off the diorama for this and did the painting outside with some Krylon spray paint. Next the ties are painted with a light tan acrylic. I used Apple Barrel "Khaki." Then the rails are painted with rust colored chalks suspended in 70% isopropyl alcohol. The final step is to give everything a good dusting with black and dark brown chalks. There's no power going to this track so I didn't bother to clean the paint off of the railhead. On powered track I'd use a Bright Boy or paint thinner to clean the railhead after painting.
The basic ground cover is Polyblend Sanded Grout. I mixed it up with a little water to form a thick paste and then just stippled it on with a cheep paintbrush (don't use a good brush for this! You'll never use it again). The erosion lines were pressed in with a pencil. The grout does a good job of representing soil while also filling and smoothing any remaining gaps in the foam base. This color is called "Sandstone," appropriately enough, and it dries a couple of shades lighter than it goes on. The wet grout generally stays where you put it but I also wet it down with a misting of diluted matte medium to lock it in place.
Once the grout had set overnight, the final coloring was done with light washes of acrylics to blend and unify the grout layer with the rock carving.
Real dirt and rocks were sprinkled on and then glued in place with white glue and diluted matte medium.
The track was ballasted with local sandstone, held in place with diluted matte medium.
Woodland Scenics "Field Grass" was used to make clumps of desert grasses and weeds, held in place with dabs of Aleene's Tacky Glue. Any loose fibers were later cleaned up with a shop vac.
A few more bushes and desert plants finish the diorama. The juniper bushes are Super Trees from Scenic Express covered in Noch dark green foliage. Clumps of gray sage were made with Woodland Scenics medium green bushes, lightly sprayed with gray primer. The prickly-pear cacti are castings from Pegasus Models. Lastly, the 1" x 2" frame was painted flat black to match the fascia on the Thunder Mesa layout.
Building the Lone Rock diorama was a quick, fun and rewarding project. Even if you don't have room for a full layout, I encourage anyone to try their hand at a small diorama like this. It can be finished in a week or so, and it's a great way to learn new techniques or to experiment with scenery ideas. I'll close out today's post with the finished video that Joey and I put together, and with a few photos taken outdoors in beautiful Sedona, AZ.
Set-up for photos in Sedona, AZ.
A small diorama like this is great for photographing models outside in natural light.
That's it for this project. Questions and comments are welcome below. Adios for now, amigos!
