Tehachapi, BC

[ednadolski]

@GaryHinshaw  what is the tool you are using to carve the foam?

Thx,
Ed

[GaryHinshaw]

First off, your idea of using kraft paper as a temporary covering is brilliant.

Thanks @strummer but I can't take credit for the idea.  There are many layouts in the area that use paper on a temporary (or even semi-permanent) basis.  The immediate inspiration came from @mark dance a few posts up.  It really does make a difference!  And it took all of a few hours.

@ednadolski, the main tool is a Dremel oscillating tool, as noted upthread.  I also gave a clinic on this recently.  A much abbreviated version is posted here if anyone wants more details.

[GaryHinshaw]

I thought I would share a couple of process shots.  I work in relatively small sections at a time (a few sq.ft.) and do the carving on the bench for reasons noted below.  Here is a shot of two sections, from the fascia side, where the right one is still in progress:



and the same two pieces from the track side:



(Still a lot of work to do on the left piece.)  With the oscillating tool, I find I get the best results if I carve the natural landforms downhill ("follow the water"), so working on the bench gives me the ability to do that relatively easily.  It does mean that I need to be able to put two sections together when I'm working near a joint, so I get a continuous shape.   I won't attach these permanently until I run the signal bus and ballast this track.  For now they just rest in place.

[GaryHinshaw]

A conundrum.

I'm back from a brief trip to southern California to visit my daughter and meet her soon-to-be in-laws.  After the visit I took an extra 2 days to visit Tehachapi and take some new backdrop photos.  Overall it was a great trip - I took over 800 photos in a day and a half on the Hill and captured scenes that should fit the layout pretty well.

However, I was hoping that by mid June the hills would be in full summer mode: dominated by the dry grass that makes California the Golden State.  But this was an unusually wet winter in SoCal which has led to some unusual conditions.  At the lower elevations around Caliente & Bealville, there was a pretty robust crop of what I believe is Black Mustard weed which gave the hills a distinctly green cast.  Here is a pretty good illustration, taken along a fence line: (I assume cows were allowed to graze on the right side of the fence, but I'm not positive.)



The grass itself is golden, but the weeds really change the colour balance where they thrive.  My intention is/was to model the look on the right, but most of the hills I was able to photograph for backdrops looked more like the left.  Now I need to decide if I should return later in the summer, when the weeds have turned brown (assuming they will), or if I try to model this look to match the new photos.  My preference is to stick with the original plan, but that will require more backdrop work.

At higher elevations, around Marcel, there was a spectacular crop of purple wildflowers that I believe are purple phacelia:



These were more localized to the north-facing slopes and as luck would have it, they didn't figure too prominently into my backdrop scenes.  They were stunning to look at!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Well... was it a wet winter the year you're modeling? I'm guessing not (otherwise it wouldn't be a conundrum).

I'd say get started with these. Use what you can. Then put together a list of what you need to reshoot or fill in for the next trip.

BTW, I'm planning on working on an article soon about how to shoot good backdrop photos. It might be useful in case you need to deputize someone to do your reshoots.

[Cajonpassfan]

Hi Gary, a conundrum indeed. Who knew Tehachapi could be so lovely
It turns out photo based backdrops are a lot more work than one would think (ask me how I know).
I’m facing a similar challenge, and to solve it I realized I needed to commit to a specific time of year. Some years are wetter than others, or even atypical like this one. I’d make a call based on what appeals to you, and stick with it. ([I chose a typical “late spring” for my layout... heavy citrus traffic, a bit of water in the creek, snow still on the high mountains, lower elevations still a bit greener than the typical image of Cajon...but that’s me and that’s what appeals to me). And of course, your backdrop color range will absolutely drive the 3D scenery coloring, definitely a consideration...
If you do come down in the summer, make sure to stop by and visit (and study backdrop errors and challenges here firsthand )
Kind regards, Otto

[C855B]

... At higher elevations, around Marcel, there was a spectacular crop of purple wildflowers that I believe are purple phacelia:

Digging deep into dusty memory, I think they're "common phacelia". Purple phacelia are east of the Mississippi, and are a deeper purple. Close-up, the "common" variety is almost white, with the lavender hue mainly noticeable in thick patches like this. Amazingly dense in your pics, however; I had never seen them that thick. News from home was the poppy bloom was overwhelming this year.

In the late '60s SP would run wildflower specials, basically second sections of #51 and #52 (San Joaquin Daylight) between L.A. and Bakersfield, allowing a couple of photo stops.

[GaryHinshaw]

Thanks for the comments.  Could very well be common phacelia Mike. 

I was definitely planning to model the golden conditions on the right, mainly because it's my "primal landscape".  When I was a kid in the Bay Area, I would go cardboard sliding on hills that looked exactly like this.  (Yes, it was dangerous and terrible for the grass, but it was great fun!)  We are definitely coming back to LA in August for the wedding, so I just need to decide if I can take another day or so off to reshoot.  Assuming the new weed is Black Mustard, it should turn brown before too long (and pose a serious fire danger...) so it's probably worth a reshoot.  In any case, I'm going to stitch together the shots I took to make sure the compositions will work.  I think I got a pretty good archive to work with.

Where will you be sending the article @Ed Kapuscinski?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Where will you be sending the article @Ed Kapuscinski?

Not sure yet. But definitely your inbox if you need it.

[chuck geiger]

Gary these are pretty old:

[GaryHinshaw]

Thanks Chuck.  That last shot from Bealville nicely represents the conditions I'm striving for.

Just to illustrate what a difference a few years can make, here is a shot of the hills above Caliente in 2014 (a very dry year):



and the same scene earlier this week (under hazy skies):



If nothing else, the pans I get from this shoot ought to let me finalize the compositions for the layout.

[chuck geiger]

I found my photo files on Tehachapi on thumb drive. Will post all I got and a surprise for u. Early thought, I was going to do if I did the area, California Grass from SS. http://www.sceneryexpress.com/6MM-GOLDEN-GRASS-STATIC/productinfo/SF00635/ with speradic oaks. https://calscape.org/loc-Tehachapi,CA/cat-Trees/ord-popular/vw-list/np-0?

[chuck geiger]

Tehachapi 2006

[GaryHinshaw]

Thanks Chuck.  I really enjoy seeing how little the Hill has changed in over 10 years.

I see you snuck in the La Mesa club layout there.    Whose N scale layout is that?

[chuck geiger]

That was mine in 2007.