Essex branch HO v4

[nuno81291]

Yes the valence I made before was convincing. At the same time I have seen plenty of well lit layouts without valences. Will have to crunch some numbers and see what it looks like with and without. If I can squeeze a bit of lightweight storage it would be a bonus for sure. Regardless lights will be a consideration. And for laughs here is the old layout space; converted into our new modeling workshop/bench areas. Still sorting the heaps of tools and materials and need to come up with some better storage solutions for small tools and frequently used paints etc. but for now it is a major relief to have better access to my air booth, tons of surface space for concurrent projects to be underway. Having a proper workbench area should be a shot in the arm and help me get more done a bit quicker than my previous situation. Happy camper here for sure. And to note, the lower level is my girls Lego layout, how cool is it we model together and she has her own layout? We are good at enabling each other 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Those lights are light enough that you can stick them almost anywhere too. Like, stick em inside the valance with some double stick tape.

[coosvalley]

I used LED strip lighting, and would recommend the ones with adjustable color-temp. The color-temp adjustability is really handy.

I think this is a good read on the subject:

https://www.model160.com/workbench/n-scale-prototype-modeling/scenic-subdivision-nscale-layout/scenic-sub-project-part-5-exploring-led-lighting-for-model-railroads/

[nuno81291]

Fooling around on the programming track diorama while thoughts of the valence and lighting stew. Figured I would give some summer scenery a go as I likely will build the layout as the winter/spring shtick. Still a bunch of details and the water to do but overall fairly happy for how it’s coming together. Wish I had some more types of vegetation but very limited on hand supplies. Will have to try some new products when it comes to doing the new layout.

[LIRR]

Nice work

[nuno81291]

Thanks!

Up next is the second structure for Essex. Working on these building kits while the hobby budget heals from benchwork.

Still need to do some more microsol on the decals, dullcote and some finish weathering. Otherwise I am pretty happy with how it’s turning out. This is my first decal attempt over a gloss coat so I hope I don’t have as much silvering or edge visibility as I have had in the past. Any advice with this? Also my glue (testors) is crap, what are people using for kits like this? I clean paint off the joints but have a hard time getting a solid bond even on simple corners  I don’t recall having this much difficulty with gluing plastic kits.

And side note; still loving the airbrush. Don’t know how I lived before it

[nuno81291]

Added a little bit to the diorama. Hope to finish a bit more water area stuff before pouring resin.

[wazzou]

I use Tamiya Thin Cement.

[nuno81291]

Progress on more abandoned buildings. Still have graffiti and more weathering to do.

[nuno81291]

Finishing up a few more structures.

[nuno81291]

Knocked out basic paint and assembly of a handful more structures. Only a few left before I start playing around with placement on the layout and roughing in some track configurations. Still waiting mulling some options on the valence and lighting front as well as the yard benchwork. Need to do a track inventory to see how many monthly hobby budgets it will take to realize these portions. It is nice to have a dedicated work bench area for modeling after years of it being treated as an afterthought. Much more productive modeling time.

[nuno81291]

For a bit of fun I started a side project; scratchbuilding our fishing kayaks and trailering rig. Ordered a correct model year suburban as the tow vehicle. Perfect? No. Happy for a first attempt at what I think is my first real scratchbuild. Still working on shaping the second hull. Also going to chop the trailer rails down, not sure what I was doing measuring those!

[nuno81291]

Lowered the rails a bit. On the layout front I received a shipment of cork for roadbed. Hoping to lay some down tonight in the staging yard. Leaning toward the variable white LEDs point out earlier in the thread. I certainly enjoy working under the led light st my workbench.

[nuno81291]

Progress on the staging yard. Cork down, track glued wired and painted. Just spray bombing this side with camo brown, probably will not paint individual ties. Will have plenty of fun with that on the rest of the visible layout. Also did some mild superelevation on the curves coming out of staging. Waiting to do the backdrop as I may cut it down a bit to line up with the shelf above the yard, just haven’t decided how I will frame that yet.

[nuno81291]

I got track on the 2 industrial branches installed, dropped feeders and painted. Feeling out the layout of the bridge scene and may extend the depth of it moving the backdrop to gain a few inches for my turn back radius over the lift out to the yard. Barely at 36” right now and could use a few inches of breathing room I think. Don’t know how this escaped me when it came time to building but just a minor inconvenience. Have to install switch machines for the rest of the installed trackage, will be wiring the track bus and switch machine power supply’s tonight. Still have some replacement ties to put in. Overall I am very happy with the overall feel of the layout and happily I can say it seems to scratch all of my railroading itches. I cut out and installed a base for the canal scene by the paper mill, and built a new walthers kit for this track. I will be using my older bridge adjacent to simulate an abandoned siding. I think the narrower depth of these scenes will help me progress to scenery very rapidly. I don’t enjoy the infrastructure work so much but I am doing my best to cross the t’s and dot the i’s so as to have no issues down the line. All pieces have feeders or are soldered together. The last photo shows the rickety bakery branch, this will need some more fine tuning to capture the feel of the prototype but I appreciate how much more in your face it is on the new layout versus the old where it seemed kind of far away. In fact the layout is more or less at chin level for me and I think railfanning will be awesome on the layout as it is really in your face and puts you sort of at ground level with the trains as opposed to many chest high layouts. Operating the yard will certainly need a step but will get to that when we are there.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ]