The New Northern Central

[Scottl]

Years ago I did a photo backdrop from a large format printer.  I can't imagine anything short of adhesive backing to prevent ripples.  I used spray adhesive with a rubber roller to put it down and it worked well (with some help).   One thing I didn't do that I would suggest is some kind of sealing coat after it is mounted.  My backdrop was very unforgiving in terms of splashes of scenery material that left marks.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ed, being a photography guy and print guy (though not in your size, only up to 13x19), 24# is too light for that size.  20# is typically "copier paper" to give a comparison.  I would look for something at least 28# or heavier.  The extra cost is the paper only.  You will use the same amount of ink. 

I don't know any off the top of my head since I don't buy rolls.  Check Epson or Canon.

Interesting. I really hadn't thought of that aspect of the equation. I got that stuff because B&H had it and it was cheap enough to not feel bad about "iterating with". At your recommendation I might get something heavier for the final installation. I might also try mounting it to some vinyl flashing I have to see if that works.

That said, the better craftsmanship of the previous installation yielded far better results to the point that I'm not sure it'll really be worth it. Maybe I'll play around and see what I find.

Thanks again for the insight though!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Years ago I did a photo backdrop from a large format printer.  I can't imagine anything short of adhesive backing to prevent ripples.  I used spray adhesive with a rubber roller to put it down and it worked well (with some help).   One thing I didn't do that I would suggest is some kind of sealing coat after it is mounted.  My backdrop was very unforgiving in terms of splashes of scenery material that left marks.

One thing I had found was that gravity was actually doing a pretty decent job of dealing with ripples when I had them. I only affix the top of the backdrop and let it hang free. That creates a tension that seems to help.

As for splashing scenery material on it, that's another reason I just got my own printer. I figure if I screw something up too terribly I can always reprint it for a minor incremental cost. I've also made sure to leave a small gap between the scenery and the backdrop. This makes it easy to jam some sort of protective barrier in there (I've used paper, card stock and cheap styrene sheets). I can see a situation where significant scenery misting might be an issue but, then again, that's why I've created a situation where I can just replace it pretty easily.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Last post in February, eh? Wow.
I haven't been nearly the slacker that interval would indicate.

Here's the most photogenic update though.

Some of you may remember my old "Kidney" layout that was my first foray into Dead Season Modeling.

https://conrail1285.com/category/layouts/kidney-on-a-door/



It yielded photos like this.



I've come to realize that I keep rebuilding a few scenes over and over and have decided to embrace it on my "temporary" return loop. I'm using this as place to experiment with some stuff, including my first use of sculptamold (verdict: useful, but no replacement for lightweight spackle) and the Woodland Scenics road system.

I had gotten it carved and sculptamolded a few weeks ago, then messed up my ankle so progress stopped.
Somehow, walking, eating and drinking my way through Portland Maine got it in good enough shape to spend some time moving things along after we got back. Who knew The Holy Donut could perform healing miracles?

Anyway, here it is.





I'm not in love with the terrain on the "nothing" side, but it's good enough for something temporary.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

A couple more.

[garethashenden]

I had a similar eating and drinking tour of Portland with my cousin last weekend. I didn’t know I needed to be on the lookout for though.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I had a similar eating and drinking tour of Portland with my cousin last weekend. I didn’t know I needed to be on the lookout for though.

Oh *****! Nice!
Where'd you go?

We waited the 3 hours for Eventide (and killed it in that semi-nearby).
We also made sure to get our Duckfat (the frites shack), and Hardshore distilling.

Did you get to the Holy Donut?

[John]

I always avoid Portland.   Especially during tourist season.

[garethashenden]

Oh *****! Nice!
Where'd you go?

We waited the 3 hours for Eventide (and killed it in that semi-nearby).
We also made sure to get our Duckfat (the frites shack), and Hardshore distilling.

Did you get to the Holy Donut?

We started with the Maine Oyster Festival in Freeport, then had lunch in an adorable place called Smalls. It might seat 10. Then Apres for hard seltzer, which isn't really my thing but was an interesting experience. We went to the frites shack while waiting for Izakaya Minato across the street. Then walked around downtown getting a view of the scene before heading to the Press hotel for more cocktails and dessert. Sunday we went to Holy donut and Standard baking company. Then we checked out some of the dog friendly shops. If you saw what looked like a couple with two pitbulls and something that looks like a miniature husky, that was us.

[Point353]

I had gotten it carved and sculptamolded a few weeks ago, then messed up my ankle so progress stopped.
Somehow, walking, eating and drinking my way through Portland Maine got it in good enough shape to spend some time moving things along after we got back. Who knew The Holy Donut could perform healing miracles?

Were there any Maine narrow gauge therapy sessions?
https://mainenarrowgauge.org/

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Were there any Maine narrow gauge therapy sessions?
https://mainenarrowgauge.org/

Not this time. I couldn't handle the uncanny valley of this again.

http://railfanning.kapuscinski.net/2018/08/half-a-ge-44-tonner-in-portland-maine/

[Bob]

Hey Ed - what do you use for ground cover?  I like the variation that you have and would like to try something similar.  Your winter scene has always stuck in my mind - you never see that time of year modeled (well, almost never) so it really stands out.  Bob

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Hey Ed - what do you use for ground cover?  I like the variation that you have and would like to try something similar.  Your winter scene has always stuck in my mind - you never see that time of year modeled (well, almost never) so it really stands out.  Bob

Thanks! It was one of the things I initially had to figure out but think I've gotten down pretty well now.

It starts with a mix two colors of unsanded grout to represent the earth. It's 50/50 of some brown and black.



That mix is a thing you'll want to play with and figure out for yourself based on the soil color where you're modeling. In this case I painted the scenery with brown craft paint first, let that dry, then dampened everything with some sprayed water and sifted on the mix.


When that was sifted on I let things dry out, then, and this is freaking annoying, but important, brushed everything that didn't stick off with a cheap chip brush.
In the photo you can see the tray I made out of some dollar store poster board to catch everything I brushed off. The photo of the bucket above is actually a photo of what I removed in this step. This step is key to economically using the stuff but, more importantly, yields the fine texture of REAL earth. It's also the reason having a smooth scenic base is important (and why I prefer lightweight spackle over sculptamold).



I then sprayed this all with water again to settle it down and even out the brush strokes.

For the grass areas I used a combination of a handful of ground foams colors:
Woodland Scenics Yellow Grass
Woodland Scenics Burnt Grass
Woodland Scenics Earth
Woodland Scenics Weeds
Scenic Express Desert Dust - https://www.sceneryexpress.com/DESERT-DUST-FINE-32-oz/productinfo/EX855B/
Scenic Express Light Brown - https://www.sceneryexpress.com/LIGHT-BROWN-FINE-32-oz/productinfo/EX830B/
Scenic Express Earth Blend - https://www.sceneryexpress.com/EARTH-BLEND-32-oz/productinfo/EX889B/
And a handful of others.

I look at these like artists paints, I use them to build up layers and vary coloration. It's really helpful to have a wide selection of them to capture anything you're looking at.
I sprinkle them on from a decent height to get good dispersion. There's a decent amount of technique to it all and all I can say is to practice to develop it. Oh, and work from photos!! Scenery is a model like anything else, and you wouldn't build a model of some piece of equipment from memory. Don't do that with scenery.

I was shocked at how green things are in December and how, for many of the scenes I was replicating, ground foam was a surprisingly better choice than static grass.

https://conrail1285.com/december-2021-ncr-winter-research-photo-trip-parkton/

[Ed Kapuscinski]

We started with the Maine Oyster Festival in Freeport, then had lunch in an adorable place called Smalls. It might seat 10. Then Apres for hard seltzer, which isn't really my thing but was an interesting experience. We went to the frites shack while waiting for Izakaya Minato across the street. Then walked around downtown getting a view of the scene before heading to the Press hotel for more cocktails and dessert. Sunday we went to Holy donut and Standard baking company. Then we checked out some of the dog friendly shops. If you saw what looked like a couple with two pitbulls and something that looks like a miniature husky, that was us.

Oh man, that's so funny! We probably walked right past you. How was Izakaya Minato? We had thought about hitting it up but ended up heading back downtown.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I keep struggling with fascia colors. Now that I have this moved along I figured it might be time for a test of my three leading colors.

Here's the three color chips.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Cast Iron
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Thunderous
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Night Mission
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Thoughts?