Northwest Industrial Park Engineering Report

[SSW7771]

Yeah....We will have to see if they withstand track cleanings. 

[SSW7771]

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post. Last year was very crazy for us; we welcomed our first child in to the world in July and then health issues with my wife following child birth. We are blessed everyone is back to normal and healthy again.  A week ago was the first weekend in a very long time that I was home alone which allowed me to build a static grass applicator that I have wanted to do. I followed instructions online that can be found from multiple sources and was not difficult to put together. Once I got it finished, I gave it a test drive on a little diorama I built. The results are good; however the colors are different when under sunlight vs. layout lighting. I need to order more types and shades of grass to test with before invading the layout.

[SSW7771]

And here are the outside shots:

[Lemosteam]

Great scene.  I almost thought the table top was a pond until I saw the edge of the module.  You did a great job matching the color to your lawn!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but the outsdie pictures helped me to discover one thing I don't like about the grass products out there.  Its the shine.  Grass doesn't sparkle like that in the sun unless there was a recent rain.

Again this is not a slam on your modeling!

Why can't the manufacturers of these products do anything to dull the product down?  Any ideas what could help eliminate this?  A dusting of Dullcote?

[JoeD]

being a fiber they must be spun and to put a matt surface on the material might be an issue?  I give my finished grass a light spray of Micro-Flat using an airbrush and have it well thinned with alcohol.  This way you avoid matting...sure there are other techniques out there.

[SSW7771]

Great scene.  I almost thought the table top was a pond until I saw the edge of the module.  You did a great job matching the color to your lawn!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but the outsdie pictures helped me to discover one thing I don't like about the grass products out there.  Its the shine.  Grass doesn't sparkle like that in the sun unless there was a recent rain.

Again this is not a slam on your modeling!

Why can't the manufacturers of these products do anything to dull the product down?  Any ideas what could help eliminate this?  A dusting of Dullcote?

Thanks! I have not given much thought as to how to eliminate the shine. I was think of giving the grass a light over spray of diluted matte medium. BTW color matching with my lawn was a complete accident.

being a fiber they must be spun and to put a matt surface on the material might be an issue?  I give my finished grass a light spray of Micro-Flat using an airbrush and have it well thinned with alcohol.  This way you avoid matting...sure there are other techniques out there.

I might have to give this a try.

[Lemosteam]

being a fiber they must be spun and to put a matt surface on the material might be an issue?  I give my finished grass a light spray of Micro-Flat using an airbrush and have it well thinned with alcohol.  This way you avoid matting...sure there are other techniques out there.

Noted @Shipsure !

[SSW7771]

It has been a while! Between work and family it has been a tough year, but I have been able to squeeze some time to work on the layout. I used earth tone sanded grout for the dirt cover and white/platinum for the gravel lot. I also started ballasting. I might be able to get some static grass down before the Thanksgivings holiday.

I also have to get the layout moved to a new location as we are expecting baby number 2 in the spring. The layout current resides in the new baby's room so after some negotiation with the wife I got a new spot in the front room which is also my home office and a play room. More on the move later as I have to build shelving to support the layout but also storage of toys and such.

[Philip H]

kids will do that to a layout.

Whose Bathtub gons are those?

[basementcalling]

The track in the pavement is unsanded grout? Is that a thin covering over something else? Give up details.

[JSL]

Those are Duluxe Innovations Woodchip cars.

[SSW7771]

Whose Bathtub gons are those?

Like JSL noted these are woodchip hoppers from Deluxe Innovations

The track in the pavement is unsanded grout? Is that a thin covering over something else? Give up details.

The gravel lot with the track imbedded is white/platinum sanded grout. I will take a picture of the box when I get home to Texas from South Carolina tomorrow. I created a subgrade/base with sheet styrene that came up to the top of the ties. I then used some sand paper to rough up the styrene to get a good bond to the sanded grout. The sanded grout was installed like you would most scenery materials: spread white glue down, sprinkle the sanded grout down, smooth/shape, wet, and apply diluted white glue. I used some scrap styrene to smooth the sanded grout. For the track I used an old set of trucks to make the flange ways. Once everything dried over night I when back with a putty knife and razor blade to further clean out the flangeways.

[mstl 246]

Really like the gravel lot, actually looks like one. And thanks for the tutorial, will be needing to make one myself.

Great to see progress on this layout again!

Nat

[coldriver]

Like JSL noted these are woodchip hoppers from Deluxe Innovations

The gravel lot with the track imbedded is white/platinum sanded grout. I will take a picture of the box when I get home to Texas from South Carolina tomorrow. I created a subgrade/base with sheet styrene that came up to the top of the ties. I then used some sand paper to rough up the styrene to get a good bond to the sanded grout. The sanded grout was installed like you would most scenery materials: spread white glue down, sprinkle the sanded grout down, smooth/shape, wet, and apply diluted white glue. I used some scrap styrene to smooth the sanded grout. For the track I used an old set of trucks to make the flange ways. Once everything dried over night I when back with a putty knife and razor blade to further clean out the flangeways.

looks great Marshall - I might have to steal your idea (again).  Have you found a specific brand of grout that seems to work better than others?

[SSW7771]

Really like the gravel lot, actually looks like one. And thanks for the tutorial, will be needing to make one myself.

Great to see progress on this layout again!

Nat

Thanks Nat!

looks great Marshall - I might have to steal your idea (again).  Have you found a specific brand of grout that seems to work better than others?

Thanks! It is not really my idea to be begin with, but you are more than welcome to use it.  Here are the two products I have used. The earth color was left over from when I remodeled the second bathroom. I bought the antique white specifically for the layout. I previously noted the color was white/platinum but that was incorrect. I purchased both from Home Depot.