The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[Philip H]

Ballasting to be completed soon on this line

Right1  Who are your really? 

[davefoxx]

Right1  Who are your really? 

Haha!  You know me too well. 

DFF

[davefoxx]

I actually ballasted track last night.  Don't believe me?  Look!

BEFORE:



AFTER:



Well, it's some ballast.  I mixed ground foam in with my ballast before application, to give the track a less maintained look, since the ACWR (ex-original NS Ry.) line is/was not exactly Class 1 track.  This was about ten lineal feet of track ballasting, including one turnout (which is still working this morning!), and took me most of last evening.  The sheer amount of time it takes me to ballast is among the chief reasons why the simple art of ballasting is not one of my favorite things to do.  However, I will admit that the effort really does make a difference, as unballasted model track will never look realistic.

DFF

[CRL]

With the caveat that you must be able to reach the track for ballasting, to my eye, it makes sense to ballast the track after all the basic scenery has been put down. The end result looks more natural since, in the real world, ballast is applied on top of the existing ground.

[GimpLizard]

I mixed ground foam in with my ballast before application, to give the track a less maintained look

DFF

Now that's a dang clever idea. Wonder why I never thought of it? (You really want an answer to that, Gimpy? 'cause I could give you a few. - Doris)

[davefoxx]

The first batch of approximately ten trees with some underbrush made from poly fiber, hairspray, and green ground foam:





I’ll do further tweaking and maybe add another tree or two to this group.  For now, I’m going to let the glue and hairspray dry and see what I get.

DFF

[Point353]

The first batch of approximately ten trees with some underbrush made from poly fiber, hairspray, and green ground foam:



DFF

Another batch of trees like that one, installed on the piece of foam in front of the tracks in the far corner, could block the view of the drain pipe.

[davefoxx]

It’s funny that you say that, because just the other night, I had a brainstorm to build out the foam base in front of the vertical water main, to create an area to plant even more trees to hide the water main and further disguise the poop pipe.



DFF

[MDW]

It’s funny that you say that, because just the other night, I had a brainstorm to build out the foam base in front of the vertical water main, to create an area to plant even more trees to hide the water main and further disguise the poop pipe.



DFF

Great idea...... the latest batch of trees look great so the more, the merrier!

Michel

[Bendtracker1]

The first batch of approximately ten trees with some underbrush made from poly fiber, hairspray, and green ground foam:

Nice job Dave.
Adding the Polyfiber underbrush converts that small stand of trees to a look of a thick grove by hiding the trunks.
I've used the Polyfiber as well as some clump foliage to help fill in around the bases as well.


 

[davefoxx]

That’s hawt, Allen!

Thanks,
DFF

[davefoxx]

Underbrush and forest floor are complete for the next section.  Next, I need to flock a few more SuperTree armatures.



DFF

[Mike C]

 10 trees in 1 day ....You're on a roll there !   Can I suggest some trees covered in that viney stuff ?

[davefoxx]

Actually fourteen more trees accomplished today, so I can take two weeks off.    The next batch is in the ground:



Although a primary purpose of the trees is a viewblock, I’m being mindful of viewing angles.  I’ll keep openings in the canopy, where appropriate.  For example, I really like this angle of an ACWR train coming down the hill toward Aberdeen:



This last photo should give an idea of how I’m using trees as a viewblock in lieu of a backdrop down the middle of the layout.  I need a load more trees in this area, because twenty-four trees does not go far.  When I’m done, you won’t see the trains in storage in the background.  “Peekaboo!”



DFF

[glakedylan]

looking very awesome, Dave...your trees are outstanding and fit that scene so well.
your ballasting might not be your favorite activity
but, wow, you do it well.
thanks for sharing. always following along and impressed with each result of your work.


sincerely
Gary