The CN spec roadbed (another thread) has now been trashed and in its place I will build the Walton gypsum quarry. My workstation has been prepared and all my new materials have been washed and are drying over night.
Buying up bulk quantities of brass track from all manufacturers because I like the look of brass. Been cleaning brass most of the afternoon. Maritime Hobbies and Crafts in Halifax has access to lots of it and will be bringing more in next week. Another reason I cannot start a layout.
I now have more than 400 photos of the Walton gypsum quarry from all safe elevations (lots of signs of sink holes). I have carefully walked around every part of the quarry with my GPS and saved the track and elevation data which I will use to get the real quarry layout right.
Several modellers from the day used lichens and mosses to make trees, shrubs and other forms of vegetation on their layouts. I gathered some Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia portentosa) from the Walton quarry to experiment with as overburden vegetation for my HO quarry. This afternoon I washed it with water, then rubbing alcohol which brought out the green colour, picked off most of the debris, and dried it with my wife's hair dryer. We'll see if it dies overnight or hopefully keeps its colour.
Here's a question for the forum. Has anyone got personal experience using real mosses or lichens? I'd like to know what you used and how you treated it etc. I have lots of articles from the literature but if you have a favorite piece let me know - I might not have it but will try to get it.
I've used commercially available lichen for underbrush, usually with a bit of finely-ground foam dusted over it...
...but I've read about preserving your found lichen with the use of glycerine - I don't recall the strength needed, but do recall that it's available at drugstores.
Wayne
That looks great Wayne. I'll check out glycerine - it was mentioned in at least one of the articles I read.
In one of Dave Frary's books, Realistic Model Railroad Scenery, his recipe is 3/1, water and "commercial-grade (or "yellow" ) glycerin, and "1 1/2 packets green fabric dye".
I won't quote the whole paragraph, but he says to heat the solution to almost a boil. Ideal temp. is 230 degrees Fahrenheit.
Stuff in as much lichen as the pot and solution will hold, and bring it to a simmer, for 5 minutes.
Let it cool, until you can, with rubber gloved hands, remove the lichen, and squeeze out all the liquid you can, placing the material on newspaper to dry, turning it frequently.
The fabric dye color could vary, and up to you, as to the color you want.
Mike.
My You Tube
Wow that sounds like fun Mike! Going to have to get that book! I certainly know who the author was from his many publications. Thank you!
Travelling to one of the biggest Sunday markets in the province this morning in New Glasgow (1.5 hours away). I often find items I can use for my modelling. So, early 4:30 AM start on my workstation. The Cape Blomidon sandstone I used for my CN spec roadbed adhered well to the EPS foam with Scenic Cement. I will coat the entire foam surface this time - a thin underlayer of dirt.
I like my wife's heavy antique iron for this part.
Spreading lots of dirt (clean processed red sandstone). Since it will be completely buried initially, I'll know when I am close to the foam when I dig out the quarry later and hit dirt.
Cold iron does a nice smoothing job - not that it needs to be smooth.
Added some Scenic Cement and will let it dry for later.
Gypsum [CaSO4.2H2O] from the quarry all clean and dry.
Rust-coloured gypsum from the quarry, also cleaned and dried.
Anhydrite (gypsum without the water molecules CaSO4) cleaned and dried. Anhydrite is harder than gypsum on the Mohs harness scale: 3 vs 2. Talc is 1, the softest mineral, and 10 is diamond the hardest.
Fresh clay from Cheverie which is in the same geological Windsor Group.
First batch of processed lichen out to dry as per Mike's comments on Frary's recipe. Made it dark green.
Lichen getting a little lighter as it dries. Looking good so far - I'm liken it.
OldSchoolScratchbuilderBuying up bulk quantities of brass track from all manufacturers because I like the look of brass. Been cleaning brass most of the afternoon.
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Duly noted Bear. :)
Big time arts and crafts now. Crushed anhydrite, gypsum of various grades and colours, clay, more layers of all of these, then clay and sandstone overburden. All compressed. I call this the "shepherd's pie" approach to building and excavating a gypsum quarry. Tomorrow I'll add a few kinds of vegetation after more compression.
That's when the fun begins - carving out the quarry (at least in part) that I photographed and documented with GPS. We'll see how this all shakes out in a few days.
First compression complete. Shepherd's pie.
Will be away most of the week as I prepare to perform a solo concert Friday night downtown Halifax. Have a great week everyone.
Red sandstone 'topsoil' from Cape Blomidon added and left loose. Scenic Cement sprayed on and will dry over the course of the day while I am at rehearsal. Next step will be to add the karst surface terrain typical of the underlying gypsum and limestone of the Windsor Group.
Enjoying a little RR time this evening pulling apart the reindeer lichen. What an amazing plant for model scenery! It's several days old now and seems to be quite stable after the alcohol, glycerine, and dye treatments. Wasn't sure I picked enough but when it's pulled apart there is plenty for my current needs.
Pulling articles on old-school foliage, earth, and rock scenery from my collection. Examples include, (1) "Scenery and foliage texturing," William McKown, MR, Vol.41(9), September 1974, pp. 56-63 and (2) "Another look at lichen," William R. Koteles, MR, Vol.41(11), November 1974, pp. 86-87.
Work at the quarry began at dawn today. HO scale vehicles are integrated into the work to ensure that roadways and tailing piles are to scale as much as possible. More vehicles are on order.
Underground caverns, pockets of clay, exactly how a karst terrain should look. The quarry is taking shape according to the real layout. Be back this evening to see how the work has progressed.