Building my first mountain/tunnel and would like honest answers as to whether this will pass for rock. I really had doubts as to asking because I think I already know thw answer but let me have it.
Bob
Don't Ever Give Up
Uh, yeah, it looks pretty awful. But most things do, sitting on blue foam.
One thing, it looks flat. And the applied colors don't relate to the implied forms.
It seems that with scenery, if you keep trying new ideas, one finally works and you're home free.
What little I've learned about scenery has come about through experimentation. If'n it don't work, try something else.
Somethin' else: thinking about the hows and whys of rock, dirt, plants, trees is always productive. Way too many layouts have acres of death-defying verticalness. Railroads don't work that way--we're talking rock and mud slides. It's fun to wonder how an engineer will decide what dirt should go where, and to what extent rock blasting works.
I'm just getting into scenery after being a model railroader most of my life. It's REAL different. And also REAL interesting. And, ya know, kinda fun. And messy.
Good on you for being brave,
Ed
Do a Google search for "tunnel entrance" images. There are a number of tunnels with steep (near vertical) cliffs on both sides of the approach.
In the photo, the "rock" looks too uniform and dark. Is it really that dark? I suspect it isn't. I lightened the photo in an photo editing program and it looked much better and showed more detail and variation in color.
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
FLAT is OK...
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I squeezed a tunnel with timber portals into my 5x10. layout. I used cardboard strip and/or layered pink foam for the hillsides, adding rock where I wished. I didn't try carving foam for rocks but have seen videos of such. I tried and liked making plaster mold rocks for most of mine but the part on the left below is flexible rubber rock I painted the rocks with a grayish dilute paint, then blackish wash, then dry brushed colors like siennas, umber, tan, ochre, whites for color and highlights. I think that worked well, so your biggest issue is probably the flattish shape IMO.
My areas so far look sillly where they tend to be 100% earth or rock. I think they will look 100% better when the earth / rock areas are blended a bit when finished with ground covers, gravel/talus, shrubs, trees, etc.
I have seen some good related videos on the MR site, in the layout project videos I think. One was about creating hillsides and painting rocks, by David Popp.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
I agree with Ed, it doesn't look like much sitting there on the foam. Work it into place with scenery around it, it will make a lot of difference.
Also, as mentioned, trial and error is a common teacher in scenery methods. What works for some, doesn't work at all for others. Keep trying, keep learning, just keep your trials fairly small until you begin to see what you are after.
Good luck,
Richard
As you can tell from my post I had doubts about my rock sample. I've made some horizontal rock outcroppings that looked pretty good but didn't get the same results on a vertical surface. I'm going in a new direction using more conventional methods.
Thanks to everyone for your imput. It has steered me from a mediocre result at best.
In the future you would probably get more and better opinions if you provide a better photo of the 'subject' being discussed. I looked at your photo and had a hard time telling what I supposed to being reviewing because of how 'busy' the photo was and the small size of the 'subject'.
Modeling an HO gauge freelance version of the Union Pacific Oregon Short Line and the Utah Railway around 1957 in a world where Pirates from the Great Salt Lake founded Ogden, UT.
- Photo album of layout construction -
superbe As you can tell from my post I had doubts about my rock sample. I've made some horizontal rock outcroppings that looked pretty good but didn't get the same results on a vertical surface. I'm going in a new direction using more conventional methods. Thanks to everyone for your imput. It has steered me from a mediocre result at best. Bob
Looks like marble.
I make all my rocks from Woodland Senics rubber molds. Then I use water color paints to color them. The water color paints soak into the plaster, but not evenly. This gives light and dark areas. I usualy mix 4-5 different colors including burnt umber, green, and some blue. I use black and dark brown as the "base" colors. Rocks come in a variety of colors, including brown and red. It depends on what part of the county you are modeling.
South Penn
Rocks usually have facets, where they break along the cleavage, usually in horizontal lines caused by different layers of sediments. Your breaks look too random. There are rock carving techniques where you cut lines into the rocks. Or buy a couple of plaster molds. The old guys used to take a chunk of coal and use it for a pattern for making their own molds because it simulated the lines of the layers.
I 'carve' my rocks into wet SculptMold, usually putting large crevices/cracks at various angles and as it begins to harden, I do more detailed 'carving' when the material is less likely to stick to my detail tools. When it gets very hard but still 'damp' I may even go in and put finer crevices or steps. I let it dry over night and then put a base/seal coat of grey or beige latex wall paint over everything. When that is dry I start with different washes and just paint until I like what I see. Try to keep some unity with the colors, but throw in shades of purple or rust occasionaly to creat streaks of strata in the 'rock'. Just have fun with it and if you don't like the colors, repaint it. This phase of the hobby takes a little experimentation and studying of real rock formations, but is one I thoroughly enjoy.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
rrebell You do not state what your base material is but if plaster, the best way I have found is varius washes of your rock color on bare plaster and a final coat of very deluted black, go light as you can build up color over many applicatons Works on painted areas too but you don't get as much depth without a lot of work.
You do not state what your base material is but if plaster, the best way I have found is varius washes of your rock color on bare plaster and a final coat of very deluted black, go light as you can build up color over many applicatons Works on painted areas too but you don't get as much depth without a lot of work.
That is what I do, too.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
http://s1051.photobucket.com/user/majorwaffenss/media/2010_0917testing0053.jpg.html?sort=3&o=6
Tried to post pic but failed!!!!!!
rrebell Tried to post pic but failed!!!!!!
Here it is:
Using the link you provided to the photo's page, click on the "direct" link at the right side of the screen and copy the link for the photo itself. Use that link with the "insert/edit image" tool in the post editor and your photo should appear.
Rob Spangler
Bob. Take it from a frog. Don't ever give up.
I'm no scenery expert however I have learned practice makes, well, not as horrible. I posted a scenery attempt before and got clobbered. One day I'll post again and ask for more.
Good luck. Keep us updated.
T e d
wp8thsub rrebell Tried to post pic but failed!!!!!! Here it is: Using the link you provided to the photo's page, click on the "direct" link at the right side of the screen and copy the link for the photo itself. Use that link with the "insert/edit image" tool in the post editor and your photo should appear.
After reading all of the suggestions and comments as well as looking at the good looking pictures it was obvious that my sample wasn't going to cut the mustard as some people like to say.
A big problem was that I'm working on the inside of a circle and from the back I can't see what I'm doing and from the side I can't reach in far enough. The best solution for this dilema was rubber rocks. They could be colored at the work bench and roughly pinned to the styrofoam for a look see.
The rocks arrived before some of the paint colors I've ordered. I couldn't wait so I used some colors I had on hand.
Here's the results so far. I have a bad habit of not knowing when enough is enough and often ruin something be going to far.
All comments appreciated.
Thanks,
superbe After reading all of the suggestions and comments as well as looking at the good looking pictures it was obvious that my sample wasn't going to cut the mustard as some people like to say. A big problem was that I'm working on the inside of a circle and from the back I can't see what I'm doing and from the side I can't reach in far enough. The best solution for this dilema was rubber rocks. They could be colored at the work bench and roughly pinned to the styrofoam for a look see. The rocks arrived before some of the paint colors I've ordered. I couldn't wait so I used some colors I had on hand. Here's the results so far. I have a bad habit of not knowing when enough is enough and often ruin something be going to far. All comments appreciated. Thanks, Bob
They look nice.