It was one year ago today that this site first went live, telling the story of the Thunder Mesa Mining Co. Though the layout itself is actually a little older, April 1st is as good a day as any to celebrate the "birthday" of the TMMC. Progress is coming along much more quickly now than it was in the beginning and I am thankful to all who continue to stop in for a look. There's still an awful lot to do but things are getting more interesting as the primary scenery construction is nearing completion. Here's a quick "before and after" to show how far the layout has come in the last year.
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April 1, 2012
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April 1, 2013
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Still lots to do in the coming year, hope you'll come along for the ride!
Dave,
ReplyDeleteI went back through most of your posts and could find an answer to one of my questions. What do you make your cacti out of? And in On30 what is the average scale height of a cactus?
Peter
I haven't posted my cactus making method yet, Peter, but they are carved out of balsa wood using the old John Olson method. I carve the basic shapes and then scribe them with a razor saw to add the lines, then drill holes and make other irregularities that are found in nature and glue the arms on where I want them using fast setting ACC. Then a paint them a dark brown, making sure to get paint into all of the crevasses. The final step is to dry brush them with a nice medium olive paint (I use sap green mixed with unbleached titanium) and just a tiny bit of yellow for the highlights. In nature, saguaro cacti can be well over twenty feet tall. My tallest ones are between 4 and 5 inches.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I have tried wire and clay with poor results. I enjoy woodcarving so will give it a try. I thought you were using the basla foam so i am glad i asked. My Dragon Flats RR might be getting so much needed cacti
ReplyDeleteGlad I could help. You could use Balsa Foam too, especially the harder density stuff. If you use balsa wood just remember to go with the grain.
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