Seaboard Central 2.0

[davefoxx]

We're rolling back the clock to the 1960s tonight on the Seaboard Central:

DFF

[davefoxx]

In anticipation of the arrival of the Mike McGrattan Memorial Train in the not too distant future, I need to do some scenery work.  So, I worked on some trees today.  I prepared fifteen armatures but only had enough leaves for ten trees.  D'oh!  Order placed with Scenic Express tonight.

Meanwhile, ten trees are drying on the clothesline:



DFF

[GimpLizard]

Meanwhile, ten trees are drying on the clothesline:



DFF

I only count 9. (Yea, I'm an  )

They do look awfully good, though.

[casmmr]

Numbers are for accountants, can Dave convince a jury that they see 10, that is what counts.

[davefoxx]

I only count 9. (Yea, I'm an  )

They do look awfully good, though.

Numbers are for accountants, can Dave convince a jury that they see 10, that is what counts.

Count the clothespins.  The third tree from the left is hiding behind the fourth tree from this angle. 

DFF

[eric220]

There... are... TEN... trees!

[davefoxx]

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!  Well played, sir.

DFF

[Chris333]

 

[davefoxx]

Nice, Chris, nice! I love that movie.

DFF

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ok, I need to start making better trees with my SuperTree stash. Adam, what are you doing to prep them? Are you doing the glycerine thing? Tell me about that.

[davefoxx]

I don't know what Adam does, but I don't do the glycerine thing.  I separate the armatures from the SuperTree mass in the carton, stick about a dozen armatures into a scrap piece of 1" foam, spray paint them a brownish-gray, and let that dry.  Then, I dip the armatures into matte medium and sprinkle on the leaf flock.  Hang them to dry, using additional clothespins as weights to help straighten the really crooked trunks, and plant.

I'm excited about this progress.  If only I hadn't run out of leaf flock yesterday, I'd have fifteen trees to plant tonight instead of just ten.  But, the way I see it, more than 50% of the trees I need have been planted and the layout is 100% ballasted.  Hell, yeah!  Oh, I guess I'll have to get around to finishing the structures.  D'oh.

DFF

[C855B]

... the layout is 100% ballasted. ...

If the urge strikes and you can't solve it by chewing a special gum, I'll have at least couple of hundred of feet needing ballast by month's end.     

[wazzou]

I separate the armatures from the SuperTree mass in the carton, stick about a dozen armatures into a scrap piece of 1" foam, spray paint them a brownish-gray, and let that dry. 

DFF

At a dozen per night, by the end of a week, you'll be 14 ahead of Ed's pace.   

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I don't know what Adam does, but I don't do the glycerine thing.  I separate the armatures from the SuperTree mass in the carton, stick about a dozen armatures into a scrap piece of 1" foam, spray paint them a brownish-gray, and let that dry.  Then, I dip the armatures into matte medium and sprinkle on the leaf flock.  Hang them to dry, using additional clothespins as weights to help straighten the really crooked trunks, and plant.

I'm excited about this progress.  If only I hadn't run out of leaf flock yesterday, I'd have fifteen trees to plant tonight instead of just ten.  But, the way I see it, more than 50% of the trees I need have been planted and the layout is 100% ballasted.  Hell, yeah!  Oh, I guess I'll have to get around to finishing the structures.  D'oh.

DFF

I don't know why I thought it was @mu26aeh's post. Duh.

I was wondering when the straightening took place. Have you found that that's enough to keep them straight?

[davefoxx]

I was wondering when the straightening took place. Have you found that that's enough to keep them straight?

The weights (I use additional clothespins) do help straighten the armatures somewhat during the drying process.  Once dried, either the soaking process or the dried matte medium does seems to hold them where they are.  However, you'll never get the really crooked trees perfectly straight.  That said, none of the trees on my layout have seemed to relax into a more crooked shape since planting months ago.  If you go out into nature, you'll see that most real trees aren't straight anyway.

DFF