WPF 2,3,4...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

[New Haven I-5]

 I know it is Monday, but I don't want to create a whole new thread to post this pic of my new Bachmann Spectrum Seaboard 2-10-2.

 

                                                                            

[rs2mike]

First off I know it is monday and I am sorry, I was out flying this weekend and will be out all next weekend also.  I wanted to post because the season will be over before I get up pics.  So here it goes:

First off the overview of the christmas layout

Ground view of the town, leading the way is the burlington AA set from lionel

Next is the make shift yard.  The yardmaster is a real slave driver.  He has been working the mow crew to death over the holidays, What a scrooge.

Next we have the passanger station with the $20 find polar express observation car and then the crossing gates i got new for $30 at hobby lobby

 

Enjoy and Happy New Year!!

mike

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 

[shayfan84325]

Great to see everyone's good work.

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted.  Funny how the holidays interfere (in a good way) with hobbies.  Between sharing Chistmas with my mother and spending a lot of time with my girlfriend, I've managed to make some progress on campbell's "Grandma's House" kit:

When I left off before, I had just assembled the 20 wall pieces together.  Since then, I've built the "stone" foundation installed both floors, added 3 GOW bulbs to each ceiling (I connect these in parallel and use resistors to reduce the voltage to get a realistic light level).  There are two circuits, so I can turn on either the upstairs lights, or the downstairs lights, or both.  I've also begun work on the porches.

The windows are ready to go to the paint shop:

Grandma really likes windows!  Of all the Campbell kits I've built, this one has far and away the most windows.  I put masking tape sticky side up on a piece of wood and stick the windows to it for airbrushing; that keeps the force of the spray from blowing them away.

BTW, the dead battery pack in the background has found a new life as a weight to hold pieces down while the glue dries.

Here's to a great new year!  May we all be safe, healthy, happy, and prosperous.

[spidge]

Well, the last time I posted I think I left this, yet to be finished but looks pretty good.

That was back in August and visually I have done nothing else to the layout. I did get a little $$$$ for Christmas as the wifey was not sure as to what to get me. So I obtained one of these,

My operating partner is having some issues with it and he has yet to run with the clock.

I also was not looking forward to the modifications to the wiring to utilize this CP6, but am glad I did. I now have 4 protected blocks.

 

I will dive into the NCE computor interface tomorrow.

 

Sure is inspiring to see all the fine work here.

[Robby P.]

Thanks for the heads up.  I was thinking that.  I had that car in a box for months and finally finished it.  Thats ok, I will sit it on another siding. 

[Anonymous]

Robby: The cement plant looks great! Just one thing I can't resist pointing out though, and I hate to be a nitpicker: That L&N covered hopper is for hauling grain, not cement... Other than that, looks great! That cement plant should be fun to switch!

[C&O Fan]

Nice work every one !!

I made a mock up of the C&O station at Prince WVA

For my friend Art's layout

He Does CAD drawings of the buildings then I cut and glue them on foam board

for a temporary building till we make the model

[perry1060]

Crossing Gunner's river on a sunday morning before the fog lifts...

The river narrows as it turns north...

 Video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kme-mpQ-VXw&feature=channel_page

 

 

[Robby P.]

Good shots everybody!!

I have been laying track.  Not much more than that, plus just track doesn't make a good shot.  So, heres my cement plant.  I added a few rust spots, and a few cars being unloaded and waiting to unload.

 

[jecorbett]

HHPATH56

 Beautiful work on the falls and the river beyond.  What material do you use for your "water" ?    Bob Hahn

I closely followed the techniques in the Dave Frary video which I got through MicroMark. I added a few touches of my own.

I used a variety of materials on different parts of this water feature. I colored the riverbottom first with a gray/black base coat. I then worked in black/green, blue/green in the middle of the river and gradually worked that to the brown/tan near the shoreline. Where I wanted whitewater, I painted the white streaks and swirls BEFORE applying any water material. This creates more of a foamy look than if the white is painted on top of the water. For the rapids above the falls, I poured a very thin layer of WS Realistic Water. After that set I used two types of Mod Podge Gloss. The regular and the Brushstroke which is a little thicker and can simulate rougher water. Where I really wanted the water churning, I used WS Water Effects. I used that to simulate the water splashing over the boulders.

The waterfall, I used another Dave Frary technique. Start with a plastic bag. I used a sandwich bag. To create the vertical streaks, Dave Frary suggested using acryllic gel which I couldn't find so I used the Mod Podge Brushstroke, which for all I know is an acryllic gel. He suggested using the side of a fan tail paint brush to create the streaks but I found it was hard to get the streaks to come down straight and parallel so I used a small wisk broom with nylon bristles. That way I could do the whole width of the falls in just two passes which is easier to get straight then making individual streaks. Per the instructions, I did one side, let it dry, and then did the other side. Since I have boulders on either side of the falls, gluing the waterfall in place was a little bit of a challenge. I had to figure out where to cut the sides so it would just reach the boulders and the whole waterfall could hang vertically. I didn't get this perfect and there was a small gap between the bottom edge of the waterfall and the boulders. As long as that gap is small enough, it is no problem because I used WS Water Effects to cover the gap. I was going to use that anyway to simulate the water splashing down on the boulders. The waterfall was more transluscent than I wanted so I brushed a thin whitewash across the top of the falls and just let it run down the streaks. When it dried, I had the effect I wanted. There is some white in the falls but still has some transparency. Naturally I did this before I had painted the lower channel of the river.

The churning water and ripples at the base of the falls is another Frary technique. Originally, the lower channel was going to be have fairly smooth water with just a couple boulders but I ended having to add some whitewater under the bridge to cover up a foobie. I had poured one layer of Realistic Water and began pouring a second thinking I had another bottle. I ran out when the lower channel was only half filled and discovered I had only one bottle. I brushed it as smooth as I could, forgetting it is a thick liquid. The next day I saw it had gathered and formed an ugly lip running diagonally across the river. I thought I could fix it with another layer of water, but it continued to show through. At that point, the choice was between scraping it out and starting over or finding a way to cover it up. Since I had already gone through two bottles of Realistic Water, and it isn't cheap, I decided to see if I could diquise the lip before I started over. I cut some holes in the water at the lip line and plugged in some small boulders. I then painted some white water over the lip to hide it, then brushed on both types of the Mod Podge as well as the Water Effects to create some rough water. Presto!!! The lip was gone and the additional rapids are more interesting then if it had turned out as I had planned. One of those lucky accidents.

[HHPATH56]

 Beautiful work on the falls and the river beyond.  What material do you use for your "water" ?    Bob Hahn

[wedudler]

 I'm busy with my oil dealer for Diamond Valley.

 

The gates are movable, of course.     

Wolfgang

[Tjsingle]

Alright, good start to the new year, between juggling basketball, and school work I found time for the layout. 1.) Started ballasting the Bachmann EZ track. 2.) Partially weathered a Proto 2000 PS-2CD hopper kit. 3.) Bought a Athearn RTR 60' bulkhead flat car for the lumber yard. The layout is in Disarray, and is still getting ballasted. ~Tommy S.

[unca roggie]

geep 35: wow...really like the FENCE in your shot.  Its the next thing I wanna try to model.  Any hints on how you got it to look so real?

[LNEFAN]

slow train Ed

LNEFAN

  If I can ask there did you get your  controler holder.I t looks like it would hold my digitrax.thank you

 

slow train Ed

I purchased these cab pockets from MicroMark:

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=83428

 

[slow train Ed]

LNEFAN

  If I can ask there did you get your  controler holder.I t looks like it would hold my digitrax.thank you

 

slow train Ed

[BRVRR]

Another great WPF everyone!

jecorbett - great looking waterfall and bridge.

wm3798 - Your scenery is outstanding!

jacon12 - nice looking little structure.

Mister Beasley - I love the mermaid.

twhite - been there, done that, love the humor. It brings back some memories.

tigerholm2 - good videos, I am going to have to look into posting some myself.

LNEFAN - I like the new facia. Good job!

I've been working on my new grain elevator. Here it is, almost done. Lighting, people, more vehicles, signage and more ground cover to go. The grain bins were made from a tin can. Still some detailing to do there too.

Keep up the good work everyone. The new year is off to a great start!

 

[LNEFAN]

 I finally got around to adding fascia to my layout. I've always liked the wood look so I used paneling that was ripped for me at Home Depot. The panel line was 8" wide on the 4x8 sheet which was perfect for my needs. The resulting strips were easy to bend making nicely coved corners. I used paneling trim strips to finish the edges and to hide the panel joint lines.I mounted controller pockets for my MRC DCC system.

I completed the somewhat tedious job of painting the Peco Cd 83 rail using Ployscale Roof Brown. Next I will do some tie weathering. I'll ballast after I do a bit more scenery work near the "right of way" using ground goop. Meantime, I'm also working to set up some operation so I purchased the MicroMark car card/waybill system/bill boxes and will work with that in the near future. I'll also formally name all tracks, industries and towns on the layout and produce a linear track schematic to mount on the newly completed fascia.

 

 

 

[tigerholm2]

Thanks again, I really enjoy all these photos and the closeups are great. I keep thinking I want to rebuild my layout when I see the under construction shots. Thanks for sharing!

[jeep35]

I worked on this over the Holidays

[New Haven I-5]

  A KCS Geep. Jeffery Wimberly should realize this loco. (If you notice the Golf Clubs in the background, they're mine. I golf a lot.)   

 

  My new DPDT switch with a work light on top.  

 

                       Great photos all! I hope all of you enjoy mine!

[tomkat-13]

Looks like everyone is off to a good start in this new year. WOW!!!!!

I had some time to do a little work on scenery while I was off work over the holidays.

[loathar]

tigerholm2 -Cool vids and layout! I love all the B&O equipment.

[TMarsh]

HEEEYYYY!!! With such great modeling from you guys, WHY is this way down on page two!

Love the pics and love the modeling. Outstanding work from everyone. Thanks for posting!

[CSXDixieLine]

Dang I posted a photo of my layout above but did not comment on the other outstanding posts (sorry--was taking a quickie "goof off" break at the office when I posted earlier today ) Anyway, these WPF threads are really motivational--love to see all the great work being done in so many different eras & scales. Almost like getting a mini "Great Model Railroads" issue each week! Jamie

[wheeler]

and a pic of a guy mowing

(my apologies) no tripod used....

[wheeler]

Not very interesting I know, "BUT" it took HOURS to get the extra junk off

of this "bench" the wife liked so well. Painted and clean I can now get back to work!!

[gear-jammer]

Great job, Everyone.

Tom,  At least skipping school in sunny Ca is more comfortable than here. The humor is great.

Sue