OldSchoolScratchbuilder The Alberta Badlands section of the display will have the butte, hoodoo, tracks, appropriate ground cover, and a derelict coal tipple.
The Alberta Badlands section of the display will have the butte, hoodoo, tracks, appropriate ground cover, and a derelict coal tipple.
Alton Junction
Going to be a lot of fun designing the Badlands now that the track is in place.
So, two different display cases?
Indeed it is one display case. I'll refer you to John Allen's article "The art of using mirrors," MR 48(12), December 1981, pp. 109-113.
I was just asking because you have so much going on that it is hard to imagine that it can all fit into one display case. Just how big will the finished display case be?
Let's see ... Two pieces of wood, three rocks, a track, a few rail cars, a tunnel, a few power poles, a tiny greenhouse and some glass. Oh, and a broken down tipple. That is not very much. The rest is detail.
Here is a short list of some of the MR reference papers, in chronological order, I am using for this project. Everything I am doing in this thread is relevant to model railroading - just read the titles if you don't have the hard copies that I have!
1. "Poles and the right of way," Steve Shoe, MR 35(1), January 1968, pp. 40-41.
2. "Another look at lichen," William R. Koteles, MR 41(11), November 1974, pp. 86-87.
3. "Plexiglas display cases," Carl Traub, MR 43(12), December 1976, pp. 92-93.
4. "The whole structure: a tunnel portal," Al Kalbfleisch, MR 44(2), February 1977, p. 67.
5. "Insulators for catenary systems," A.J. Culver, Jr., MR 44(5), May 1977, pp. 82-83.
6. "Geology:the basis for scenery," Mark J. Camp, MR 44(12), December 1977, pp. 140-147.
7. "Make your own miniature connectors," George F. Peters, MR 45(10), July 1978, p. 81.
8. "Railroad line poles," Gordon Odegard, MR 48(10), October 1981, pp. 92-93.
9. "Lichen," Jim Kelly, MR 48(11), November 1981, pp. 112-113.
10. "The art of using mirrors," John Allen, MR 48(12), December 1981, pp. 109-113.
11. "Flat background trees," John Nehrich, MR 50(5), May 1983, pp. 88-89.
12. "Miniature display cases," Steve Tietz, MR 52(6), June 1985, p. 90.
13. "Mini-mirrors," John Nehrich, MR 52(12), December 1985, p. 100.
14. "Creating a fall scene," Dean Foster, MR 53(11), November 1986, p. 113.
15. "Improved line poles," Lou Sassi, MR 53(12), December 1986, p. 91.
16. "Industrial lighting," Robert Smaus, MR 54(8), August 1987, pp. 68-69.
17. "Structure lighting," W. Robert Stobbe, MR 54(12), December 1987, p. 157.
18. "Two scenes for the space of one," Dave Bigge, MR 55(6), June 1988, p. 94.
19. "Modeling a mood," John Armstrong, MR 56(1), January 1989, pp. 130-136.
20. "Mirror magic," Charles Laman, MR 58(1), January 1991, pp. 134-135.
richhotrain I was just asking because you have so much going on that it is hard to imagine that it can all fit into one display case. Just how big will the finished display case be?
OldSchoolScratchbuilder Let's see ... Two pieces of wood, three rocks, a track, a few rail cars, a tunnel, a few power poles, a tiny greenhouse and some glass. Oh, and a broken down tipple. That is not very much. The rest is detail.
Since the display case will model both Cheverie NS and the Alberta Badlands in a separate section of the display, I got to wondering just how big the display case will have to be to accommodate all of these items.
The Nova Scotia side of the display is the size of the router grooves and the height the same as the fused sky back plate. The Alberta side will be connected to the Nova Scotia side and be so unique (not a box) you'll only see something like it on Star Trek. I have no idea how big that side will be but it won't be bigger than the olivewood base.
Used my router outdoors and wore protective gear to guard against the toxic sawdust from this exotic wood.
Fitting hoodoo to butte.
Using E6000 filled with red sandstone from Cape Blomidon, Nova Scotia to bond the hoodoo in place.
Red sandstone and adhesive provide the colour match I want. This filled-glue will also be used to sculpt the hoodoo base and butte plateau.
Paint will also be used to bring the Badlands geology to life.
Making more brass-glass track for this and two other display cases. These antique irons are very heavy. This one is about 12 lbs.
Specialty hardwoods put out some lovely pieces of padauk this week so I bought several for single car stained-glass case bases.
This weekend I will be developing a removable line of LEDs that will rest underneath the Nova Scotia-side glass ties (surrounded by gypsum sub-ballast/ballast) and light them up from below. The top surfaces of the glass ties will light up with steady light or various light patterns.
Had some lighting ideas pop into my dreams in the middle of the night so I got up, made a pot of coffee and did some experiments. Finally decided to use a laser (or lasers) instead of LEDs to light up the glass ties.
Sub-ballast gypsum and glass-tie track laid on the Nova Scotia side of the display. Will let the Scenic Cement dry overnight then finish up with a fine gypsum ballast.
From my family in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to my geologist daughter's family in Calgary, Alberta.
With the right sizing and placement of mirrors, the Alberta Badlands will become a magical landscape.
The Alberta car won't appear in the mirror when the mirror is properly cut and positioned.
After more than a day of wind, rain and snow flurries, it was time to collect modelling materials from the shores of the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia. It was wet and cold but the Bay of Fundy tide was going out in the morning so it was not an opportunity to miss. The weather, high tides and rugged waves of the last few days were sure to erode the cliffs and shorelines, exposing fresh materials. I'll post a few pics of things I gathered and why.
Broken white seashell pieces. I'm going to try using them to make some of the skeletal remains of a bison for the Badlands display.
Going to make small plants with parts of cones. Example, cactus plants for the Badlands.
Beach grass for ground cover. Larger hollow pieces can be used for several things including dead logs and old pipes.
Red mud for ground cover.
Natural clay for ground cover and sculpting.
Red mud from Cheverie, Nova Scotia will be used in the Badlands.
This natural clay from Cheverie, Nova Scotia is ideal for making highways and other ground features. The clay will stay in its wet state for many months as long as it stays in this sealed bag.