Erie Railroad Mahoning division HCD

[pedro]

One of the last N Scale of Nevada products, late '90s, were their pole kits. Similar to the Showcase Miniatures offering. Wondering if they are one and the same?

[Chris333]

This corn is hard to photograph 

I ended up spraying the whole thing with Testors green zinc chromate and misted some of the leaf green Krylon over it. Then I dry brushed some OD green. The tops are brushed with tan and a yellow gold color.




Thinking about trying a new backdrop image for the field behind the field.

[GaryHinshaw]

I think the backdrop image is good for that spot.  You might be able to get away with just changing its colour balance.  Here is your shot:



and a version with the backdrop turned way down in colour temperature:



You can see a wedge of model corn that has become very bluish-green since I just rebalanced a rectangular slice of the image, but the backdrop is now a better match to the model corn on the left.  I assume your sky is painted on and would not become turquoise in the process.

[jereising]

One of the last N Scale of Nevada products, late '90s, were their pole kits. Similar to the Showcase Miniatures offering. Wondering if they are one and the same?

I had a bunch of the NSN pole/arm sets - sold 'em to Jerry DeBene who is modeling the appropriate era (in my world it's all buried fiber).

They used just one length arm, a metal casting.  But you could of course mount as many arms as the pole would hold.  I don't think the SM are the same because of the two arm sizes and the transformers. 

And the transformers would not have been used on a code line, which is what most of us are trying to model.  They would appear only on power lines - which would not be spaced nearly as close together as code line wires.

[sirenwerks]

The color balance shift definitely picks up some of the slack.  I think blending in the corn to the surface will do a world of good too, getting rid of the green cement blocks the corn is planted in.  Some rough terrain at the field's edge will help distract the eye.


I'm not up on corn growth stages, but would some tasseling be appropriate in spring, maybe represented by some yellowish static grass at the tops of the stalks (if it's all possible to control such an application)?  IMO, that would blend it even more into the backdrop.

[Lemosteam]

Thinking out loud, the poles might be durable enough in the base nylon Shapeways product, which has a pretty rough surface.

@Chris333 , send me some dimensions of the Atlas poles, if you wish and I'll see if I can get to the material minimums for strong and flexible materials.

[davefoxx]

Thinking out loud, the poles might be durable enough in the base nylon Shapeways product, which has a pretty rough surface.

@Chris333 , send me some dimensions of the Atlas poles, if you wish and I'll see if I can get to the material minimums for strong and flexible materials.

@Lemosteam,

If you go there, I know I would be interested in this product, depending upon price.

DFF

[conrailthomas519]

Chris are you looking for the atlas poles?

[Chris333]

Chris are you looking for the atlas poles?

Thanks, but I have enough on the way.

[glakedylan]

as for corn growth
the old adage usually holds true
knee high for the Fourth of July
(that would be for most of Pennsylvania and would probably be true for Ohio, as well)
these look more like August
in height
fwiw...
very fine work Chris
keep it up
much appreciated!

[basementcalling]

Young corn (before tassling) often has some white highlights in the leaves, as the veins often lose color as the leaves age. Tassling  was a late June thing in NC to start, more often July.  If its been dry, corn goes yellowish, and eventually bleaches towards the fall color that this product comes in.

Also, not all stalks in a field look alike. Especially if the field has a low area, stalks will be shorter if it holds water after a rain. Stalks along the edge of the field will have more yellow in the leaves as they get no shade from an adjacent row.

Just a few observations from years of childhood memories playing hide and seek in the cornfield.

[OldEastRR]

What are your plans for signaling?

[Sokramiketes]

Young corn (before tassling) often has some white highlights in the leaves, as the veins often lose color as the leaves age. Tassling  was a late June thing in NC to start, more often July.  If its been dry, corn goes yellowish, and eventually bleaches towards the fall color that this product comes in.

Also, not all stalks in a field look alike. Especially if the field has a low area, stalks will be shorter if it holds water after a rain. Stalks along the edge of the field will have more yellow in the leaves as they get no shade from an adjacent row.

Just a few observations from years of childhood memories playing hide and seek in the cornfield.

Agreed on the stalks near the edges being malnourished.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Also Chris, how did the farmer plant that curve? I would stair step every ~6-8 stalks rather than each one. Pictures the seeding trailer width for each column.

[OldEastRR]

Agreed on the stalks near the edges being malnourished.
(Attachment Link)

Also Chris, how did the farmer plant that curve? I would stair step every ~6-8 stalks rather than each one. Pictures the seeding trailer width for each column.

Agree on both these points. Lived in Central Illinois for 20 years, right in the middle of corn country. That area in summer is the world's largest outdoor greenhouse (humidity).

[Chris333]

And I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids!

I can't even find a cornfield on Google Earth or Bing maps. Photos must have been taken before it was growing.