Bean Field Module: Terrain

The landscape work is mostly complete on the Bean Field module. The roadbed for the 2nd track was buried in drywall compound to try and give it a secondary look. The ballast will be slightly different, and less of it along with grassy shoulders and weeds. Drywall compound was also used to build up the shoulders of the highway to prepare them for gravel and weeds.

For making the furrows in the field, I used a home made scraper cutout of a for sale sign on my wife's Silhouette cutter. It worked very well. First I smeared a fairly even layer of drywall compound on the foam and then drug the scraper through it as evenly as my shaky hands could. It worked very well I think.

The foreground terrain was done with Celluclay, a paper mache like goop. The pink foam is very very very flat, and even the flattest farmland is not that flat. The goopy mixture was troweled on with a spatula and patted down for a smooth but lumpy finish. I had some difficulty getting it to stick to the pink foam board, next time I will rough the surface to give it some tooth. Once dry it is stuck well, just the smearing and spreading was iffy. Celluclay was also used to give the drainage ditch between the highway and bean field some character.

Also at this point I mixed some black paint and plaster together to "pave" the highway. A very thin layer was used. It is a little light for asphalt, but in my experience (which is limited) it's easier to weather the crap out of stuff and make it darker than it is to make it lighter. This should be a good base for a blackwash, oil stains, and patches.

Bean Field Module: Track and Road

I was able to spend some more time on the Bean Field module this week. I rebuilt the frame with 1/4 sanded plywood instead of the MDF. MDF was to wobbly and didn't take nails or glue very well. It is just as light now but 10x sturdier.

The track sections are attached with clear latex caulk. Since I'm using foam for the base of the scenery there was nothing to pound nails into, and I find nail heads to be pretty ugly anyway. I had some concerns about the caulk being strong enough to withstand connecting modules together but it seems to be pretty solid. Spoiler alert: I'll be ballasting also so the white glue and rocks should also help hold it down, not that it really needs it.

I also used latex caulk to attach the Funky Foam highway. I smeared the caulk on the base foam and shaped it to have a slight crown, then laid the road material over and lightly pressed it in. The road width is 2" which should scale out to 12' lanes, with a little extra on the shoulders. The shoulders will be built up next to the road with spackle before applying some gravel.

Bean Field Module: Part 1

For my first foray into T-Trak I'm building a Single that will have the signature double track main, a stretch of highway, and a bean field. Very simple, very generic. Hopefully I'm thinking small and simple enough that I'll actually complete it.

I chose to use 1/4 MDF for the box, and pink foam for the base. The fascia box is 2" deep, which is not the RP for T-Track, but I read a compelling article on using a 2" fascia and it sounded like a good idea. There are 2"x2" square blocks of 3/4" plywood in each corner of the box for strength and mounting for the adjustable feet. Feet are 1/4" carriage bolts screwed into T nuts smashed into the plywood blocks.

Kind of at a stand still now until the track and a few scenic supplies arrive.

The Ndecisive Modeler

The need for more space in the house is upon us, and has required I rethink my layout plans. I no longer have space for a permanent layout and the River Valley Central has been abandon, the right of way turned back to the planning commission. I peeled up all the track, fortunately I had not ballasted much yet so most of it was salvageable. The pink foam was reclaimed, and the bench work sawed into fire pit size chunks.

I'm staying with N scale however. Throughout my layout planning I gradually moved from switching operations which turns out I am not at all interested in to a railfan type plan that is much more suited to my interests. I've also discovered that i really like building models, maybe more so than actually railroading. I like building structures, painting and weathering freight cars and locomotives. I do need some kind of layout though for the occasional therapy session and photography. The stark white work bench top is a great work surface but a terrible photo backdrop.

Armed with these "givens and druthers" and having seen some neat T-Trak modules from a couple of different clubs, it seems T-Trak might be a good way to feed my inner layout monster for a while. They're easily broken apart and stored, Kato Unitrack is bullet proof, each module can be it's own scene for photographing models or connected together for some railfanning, and each section can be completed independent of other sections helping relieve the "Oh god there's sooo much to do" procrastination.

All that said, I bring to you now the Ndecisive Modeler so you can follow along as I waffle between projects and ideas.

Teaching Myself Illustrator (Spoiler Alert)

The past week or so I've been teaching myself Adobe Illustrator for laying out custom decals for the DME 2nd Hand project, and others. Nothing terribly fancy, just learning to use layers and how to have text follow a path. Here's a preview of the sheet I'm working on. Spoiler alert: There are some markings on this sheet for a couple future projects, I figured if I'm going to have decals printed I may as well get a bunch done at once. There is a little more to add yet though, so I'm not spilling the whole thing!

DME 2nd Hand Diesels: Paint Shop

Both units went through the paint shop. I used craft paint sprayed with an airbrush on both, specifically Apple Barrel Pale Daffodil, Kelly Green (with a drip of black), Apricot, and Black (with a drip of Pavement). It went on very smooth and even, I was quite impressed. At less than $1/bottle it was a real bargain. I've just about moved entirely away from "model" paints, there just isn't any value in a $5 teeny jar of paint I have to drive 100 miles round trip for. To get it to blow out the air brush I thinned it just a bit with Windex, until it was about whole milk or maybe chocolate milk consistency. I did forget to give the nose of 555 the 'bandit' treatment, and did the top of 6606's nose with green though it should probably be all yellow. Those should be easy to fix. All in all quite pleased so far!

DME 2nd Hand Diesels: Fiddly Bits

A package of fiddly bits arrived from Fifer Hobby. Inside were BLMA cut levers, MU hoses and snow plows. I'm not sure I'd bother with the cut levers again, they are so thin and dainty compared to the hand rails and other details you almost can't see them. They are also a real bitch to bend and install. The MU hoses are a nice touch though, and the plows essential for these units.

Also arriving from Canada were a pair of Miniatures by Eric winter hatches. These are very nice cast brass pieces with very little flash other than the casting nub. They also came with very fine wire mesh for the openings.

That should about do it, after fighting the cut levers I'm not going to bother with lift rings or grab irons and stuff. My eyes just don't see that stuff when it's rolling around the layout, but my fingers somehow manage to bend and break stuff anyway. I do have horns to go on after painting is over and I'm done man handling them.