Modules for SWARMTrak ( a T-Trak goup)

[arbomambo]

Hello all...
I've been building a number of T-Trak modules for the local multi-scale modeling group here in Coastal Alabama...so far 25' not including end caps, inside, and outside corner modules...
In addition to helping promote N scale in an area where HO and O seems to dominate, they've been allowing me to module 'other' types of topography, besides my 'favorite' Southwest style of scenery.
My emphasis has been on rural plains scenery, with the theme of a highway ( the 'Mother Road') alongside the double track main...

 Here are some pics of the first couple of modules I attempted to portray that 'feel'....lots of challenges to model (prototypically) in T-trak; namely the limited depth of the module (13-14"). One has to think of each module as a diorama or shadowbox.









I've added quite a bit in anticipation of the next local show....













Here is a contrast/comparison pic of the elevator module with the photo that inspired me to build something similar...




The T-Trak concept is allowing me to try scenery and build structures that would never see the light of day on my Kingman Canyon layout...
Bruce

[GaryHinshaw]

Beautiful work - especially the roads.  The outdoor photos are particularly effective.

[svedblen]

+1

I particularly love the first photo, and how the scene just goes on and on...

[GimpLizard]

Bruce, I really like your work. I've seen some awfully fine T-Trak modules. And I think yours are definitely at the top of the list. I especially like your roads. Very well done. Thank you for sharing.

[arbomambo]

did a little bit more scenery on the team track...I wanted to replicate the overgrown aspect of the team track compared to the mainlines

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Dats nice.

[arbomambo]

 



 



 

[Miles]

The modeling, especially the roads, is spectacular! I really love the detail you've poured into each module to make them truly realistic. The Grain silo is one of the most realistic small town elevators I've seen in a while.


However, those backdrops are detracting from that though. The colors and execution aren't meeting the beautiful modules in front of them. The DEEP kelly green trees are much too dark considering atmospheric distance and the random blob clouds on the flat medium blue without any horizon haze to indicate the sky has a gradient.

Would you be able to shift the color palette for the painted trees to a light olive or color match them to the trees you put on your modules with some of the sky blue mixed in to make them fade back?
Also, perhaps a clear day might be better, with a nice sky gradient from almost white to a nice sky blue, matched with color chips to the sky outside the hardware store.

I don't intend to offend with the criticism, I just want the backdrops to be as nice as your spectacular modules.

Cheers!

[tom mann]

I like this style a lot.  Almost like a retro-minimalistic style.

I'm not sure if you're looking for critical feedback, but I would think that the style of clouds would be indicative of a hazy day, and the painted tree line would therefore be more toned down.

[arbomambo]

working on a few detail/structure items...

Walthers Cornerstone Water Tower, with some photo-etched ladder added...





and a few of the Blair Line billboard kits for the highway along the SWARMTrak T-Trak modules...







Bruce

[arbomambo]

cranked out another Blair Line billboard for this stretch of highway...this item actually came  with the "Ernie's Service Station" although Dale offers it separately...

as I affix these and photograph them, I get challenged to complete the scene with details...road signs, guardrails, fence posts, bushes, and trees...and actual static grass, of course.

 



 

 

this is how the scene would look to a driver, crossing the tracks and heading for the highway T-junction...photos, such as these allow me to 'see' what needs to be done to bring more realism to the scene...

 

Bruce

[arbomambo]

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/m/mrr-layouts/2290516.aspx

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Nice!

[arbomambo]

added a few Showcase Miniatures details....

[arbomambo]

Busy weekend, so not much modeling time, but I did manage to finish a couple more Blair Line billboards for the stretch of the 'Mother Road' that is one the corner and grain elevator complex modules...

there is, still, so much more detail to add, but the billboards are helping bring these basic, rural modules to a semblance of reality and believability....