Weekend Update 3/27/22

[garethashenden]

Latest off the workbench.    The Highball Graphics decals have evolved so much since I did the first one of these about 4 years ago.   Just excellent stuff.

I agree. Highball Graphics decals were ok a while ago. But recently they got a new printer and have been updating the base designs and the quality has gone way up.

[peteski]

Otto:  I see your point, but at this stage, I think I'll leave it.  That building probably dates from the late 1890s or early 1900s, so could very well have been intended to look European!  At the time, it was probably the highest-class accommodations in town.  In the 1970s, it is probably STILL the highest class, which doesn't necessarily mean much, for an ex-mining town trying to become a tourist destination.

That series of structures (there were several) was in fact models of European buildings (IIRC, either by Faller or Pola), repackaged as Model Power.  They have very typical features of European buildings (including the windows).  Many of the Model Power N scale structures in Model Power boxes were of European prototypes.  DKS' N scale history web pages have a lot of good reference material showing the origins of many of "American" kits.

While there in the U.S. some brick buildings finished in stucco with ornate details, the muntin arrangement in the windows are clear indication of European architecture. I also understand that at this point you are ok with them as they are.

[Bendtracker1]

I took a little time away from the layout and scenery as I wanted a break and I decided to wrap up a couple of locomotive projects that had been collecting dust since the fall of 2019.  One is a prototype and the other is a foob.

Thanks to the tip from @bbussey, I also downloaded the CameraPixel Lite app and played with it for the following shots.  I set it to shoot 10 images and dumped them into Helicon Focus them cleaned them up in my editor. 

 



I think I'll reshoot this images once I get some trees planted around the bridge.
I also need to get them weathered so I can tone down those colors! 

[nkalanaga]

Peteski:  Those kits have probably been around longer than Model Power, as they were once sold by AHM, and likely were some of the earliest N scale building kits made.

[dem34]

Spent the weekend getting the base scenery of the module done, and took the time to make the track look pretty to get it out of the way.

Still needs a filter pass with an airbrush but atleast the most tedious stuff is out of the way.

[peteski]

Peteski:  Those kits have probably been around longer than Model Power, as they were once sold by AHM, and likely were some of the earliest N scale building kits made.

Exactly!  The original German manufacturer made them probably in the late '60s or early '70 and they were repackaged by multiple companies (like AHM, and later Model Power).  Still, they based on European structures.

[peteski]

I took a little time away from the layout and scenery as I wanted a break and I decided to wrap up a couple of locomotive projects that had been collecting dust since the fall of 2019.  One is a prototype and the other is a foob.

Thanks to the tip from @bbussey, I also downloaded the CameraPixel Lite app and played with it for the following shots.  I set it to shoot 10 images and dumped them into Helicon Focus them cleaned them up in my editor. 

 

I think I'll reshoot this images once I get some trees planted around the bridge.
I also need to get them weathered so I can tone down those colors! 

Very nice!  Yes, Helicon Focus is a very useful tool.  If possible, I would like to suggest taking the photos with the camera placed closer to the "ground".  Even though your photos are in focus, the angle they were shot at makes them look like they are photos of model trains. Unless of course that is your goal.

[Bendtracker1]

Very nice!  Yes, Helicon Focus is a very useful tool.  If possible, I would like to suggest taking the photos with the camera placed closer to the "ground".  Even though your photos are in focus, the angle they were shot at makes them look like they are photos of model trains. Unless of course that is your goal.

I follow what you're saying Pete, but due to the contour of the landmass in that location and the angle of the shot I wanted, it was as low as I could get there.
As you can see in the image below, my phone was sitting on top of the ground just to the right and in front of the bridge.  And my lens was towards the bottom of the phone.

[nkalanaga]

Petski:  Being originally German models, I'd be very surprised if they weren't based on European prototypes!

[peteski]

I follow what you're saying Pete, but due to the contour of the landmass in that location and the angle of the shot I wanted, it was as low as I could get there.
As you can see in the image below, my phone was sitting on top of the ground just to the right and in front of the bridge.  And my lens was towards the bottom of the phone.

I suspected that you had a good reason for that camera location.  I wonder how the photo would come out if you moved the camera closer to the train and use a wide angle setting/lens (if your phone has that capability).

[peteski]

Petski:  Being originally German models, I'd be very surprised if they weren't based on European prototypes!

You do have a point here.   

[bbussey]

I follow what you're saying Pete, but due to the contour of the landmass in that location and the angle of the shot I wanted, it was as low as I could get there.
As you can see in the image below, my phone was sitting on top of the ground just to the right and in front of the bridge.  And my lens was towards the bottom of the phone.

Try the same thing I told Dave — position the cellphone on the track, brace it with wood blocks, and focus bracket from that position. That should give you the perspective of an N scale rail fan standing next to the right-of-way.

[Maletrain]

This discussion of photography angle reminds me of how much I value photos of real railroad equipment that is not taken from the perspective of ground level, where the vast majority are taken.  Those few elevated vantage point photos help me see details on the tops of locos and cars that I want to model, because that is the perspective from which most models are most often viewed.

So, I tend to look for photos taken from bridges over the tracks, hilltops, and even towers. 

Taking pictures of models from these types of elevated perspectives would not look "modelish" to me, even if there is no bridge railing or brushy slope in the picture.  So, at least thinking about how the photo could have been taken by a scale sized photographer makes sense.

But, "helicopter" photos were not a common perspective in my modeling era of the mid-1950s. So, yeah, they do say "model", at least to me.  On the other hand, if I were modeling the present, drone photos would be expected, looking straight down on a train with a wide angle lens, sorta like me with my throttle during an ops session.

[davefoxx]

Try the same thing I told Dave — position the cellphone on the track, brace it with wood blocks, and focus bracket from that position. That should give you the perspective of an N scale rail fan standing next to the right-of-way.

@Bendtracker1,

Following @bbussey's advice, I centered the phone on the track with the phone sitting directly on the rails and the lens at the bottom right.  Since it was getting late at night, I improvised and used a small clamp and a block to hold the phone steady.  I'll find something a little more substantial next time, but it worked.



Nice!

DFF

[amato1969]

Love that "railfan" perspective (and focus) @davefoxx  !!!

  Frank