The Canal Line

[coosvalley]

Do briks covered with grime, oil, moss. etc. sparkle? The sparkle is good effect for the upper, ungrimed bricks along a waterway, tho.

OK, but I like the sparkle, so I am going to do my best to preserve it! In fact, I am quite happy with the canal, and with a few more coats of India ink/alcohol(it's already gotten 1 more coat than I've shown), I'm calling it done. Some vegetation will come along, when I make a scenery material purchase...

Speaking of....Static grass, or no static grass? I realize most static grasses are oversized , and I won't be going for a hayfield look, but a weed grown (yard) area is something I've always wanted to model...

Also, I have not picked a season. Late summer seems best, but if I move to early fall and the grass could be more brown....Hmmm

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Speaking of....Static grass, or no static grass? I realize most static grasses are oversized , and I won't be going for a hayfield look, but a weed grown (yard) area is something I've always wanted to model...

I'm not a huge fan of the stuff. I see its applications, but like you said, it's often too big for what people are trying to do with it. Do you have some good reference photos for what you're trying to recreate?

[coosvalley]

I'm not a huge fan of the stuff. I see its applications, but like you said, it's often too big for what people are trying to do with it. Do you have some good reference photos for what you're trying to recreate?

I thought you'd never ask!...My apologies to the original photographers, I cannot tell you who took these..

I'm thinking grass tufts would work better, and although tedious, it's not that big of a layout.......thoughts?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Very helpful indeed.

So, I think, in some cases there, static grass might be useful, but you're also going to want to use a good bit of just fine ground foam and some tiny bits of super tree.

There are also static grass "clumps" that might be helpful as well too.
http://www.sceneryexpress.com/SILFLORETTES/products/1041/

[coosvalley]

Very helpful indeed.

So, I think, in some cases there, static grass might be useful, but you're also going to want to use a good bit of just fine ground foam and some tiny bits of super tree.

There are also static grass "clumps" that might be helpful as well too.
http://www.sceneryexpress.com/SILFLORETTES/products/1041/

Those are what I meant by tufts. I actually have some on the layout, but not as scenery, but instead to hold cars on this siding, as there's a slight dip to the right and a free rolling car will roll out onto the switch. It actually works quite well. But, anywho, here's a pic of the "tufts" in place, to give a sense of size.

I agree about the variety of materials, and have a whole batch of supertrees made up, big and small...Ground foam will be used as well, probably more so than the grass...



And while I'm showing stuff, here is the current state of the canal walls(and the layout), compare to earlier photos on previous pages for reference. I like this darker shade better, and am going to go for at least another coat.

[metalworkertom]

Static Grass Tufts may work well for you too.

[nuno81291]

Based on the photos I would agree with Ed that a variety of products and techniques should be used.. some of the tall grass or weeds in the photos definitely looks like static grass. The other variable being color; enough variation of material will look more natural than an area that is too uniform, I helped break up the monotony and tone my static grass by dry brushing with acrylics and misting dull cote when necessary. This helped mix and blend the three or so shades and lengths of material I was using. Looking very Holyoke there!

[coosvalley]

I spent the weekend doing some scenery work, some is good enough to keep as is, some will get more work done to it. I will also be adding a small concrete(styrene) "fence retaining wall" on the edges of the canal, drilling holes in it to install some BLMA fence later, once pretty much everything else is done. I fear that if I do it before that I am more likely to damage the fence along the way..

Other than the concrete lip around the canal, I am hoping to acquire some Neolube to paint the point area of the turnouts with. After that is done I will add some Woodland Scenics ballast to the point areas of the turnouts. I did not ballast these areas yet. I used a combination of Highball z scale Cinders, real sand/dirt, and dark brown unsanded grout for the scenery work that is done. I will use the WS stuff in the turnouts because it does not contain any real dust. These areas will not be glued, and if they layout ever gets moved or vacumned they will need to be touched up, but I find glueing ballast around points to be a bigger source of problems than a little missing ballast. The front of the layout, and a few small areas along the canal will get some static grass, but I've been having good luck with the  Silflor tufts. Then it is on to pavement , but I need to acquire and build some structures first....

Anywho, the pics...

[coosvalley]

[central.vermont]

, I am hoping to acquire some Neolube to paint the point area of the turnouts with.

Joe check your PM's about the Neolube.

Jon

[SSW7771]

This is looking good. Definitely starting to take the look of the prototype.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Yep. You got it.

[coosvalley]

Thanks guys!

I tried to get a couple better shots , I need a better camera for photographing this tiny stuff!

I have also been forgetting to mention, I bought a Fantasonics sound CD , their "two, or possibly 3, small factories" . I will say it adds quite a bit to the overall scene. Hearing machines start and stop, crows, things being dropped and other stuff is kinda cool, and not overly "gimmicky". I would like to change a few things, though, and I think I can do it myself, as I have some pretty good audio mixing equipment. One thing missing is some normal city sounds, such as sirens and church bells or even car horns. Another thing is that during the hour it takes me to switch this module, 5 "shifts", marked by horns(which I don't like), go by. I will eventually try to get some of their other Cds, and see if I can mix something I find more appropriate for the scene. But overall, it addresses the sense of hearing, and really fills a gap in the overall model RR experience.  Another downside, however is now the trains themselves seem too quiet!..I think I'll need to address that someday soon....

Anywho, here are some slightly better pics..And , I gotta say,as a DC, not DCC user, I love these little SW-1s, switching with these is nice because of their slow start, and their minimum sustained speed, which is excellent. My Atlas S2s , however, are a bit on the jackrabbit side of the scale. I wish they were better for switching!

[nuno81291]

My only suggestion is if it were my layout I would put some more of the taller vegetation per the photo photos posted in this thread. Especially around the canal looks like it would be perhaps a bit more scrubby but YMMV. What is down does look great. Shame on the S2 though, good looking units that would be perfect for this sort of setting.

[coosvalley]

My only suggestion is if it were my layout I would put some more of the taller vegetation per the photo photos posted in this thread. Especially around the canal looks like it would be perhaps a bit more scrubby but YMMV.

I agree!..I was holding off until I get, and install, some styrene strips for the concrete which holds the fence.

Which brings me to my next question for you guys. What size styrene strip should I use?..Looking at this photo you can see the concrete: