Andy,
You are too kind. Stop by anytime man because I can assure you I will be coming to your thread to do the same.
Dave
Dave, just Amazing! I cant believe you got all this done in 5 days! This would take me 5 months if that! I sure wish you would do a how to on your rock walls! They look great! Well done SIR! WOW!
Dave- been following your marathon over the past weeks mostly with silent likes as you progressed. Seeing the whole scene come together is such a short time is quite impressive. You are definitely way too modest regarding your skills! Great job!
Let's see some trains on those hills now.
Bob
Dave awesome work. Can you tell me what color the walls are? They look white in the pictures. May be the lighting?? I dont want to go too dark blue with mine. I want to paint my walls before I start my hill project. If mine turns out 1/10 as good as yours I will be THRILLED!
Jim
carsntrains posted:Dave awesome work. Can you tell me what color the walls are? They look white in the pictures. May be the lighting?? I dont want to go too dark blue with mine. I want to paint my walls before I start my hill project. If mine turns out 1/10 as good as yours I will be THRILLED!
Jim
Hey Jim,
The walls are a sky blue maybe specifically a color called Carolina Sky. I got it from Lowe's.
Dave
RSJB18 posted:Dave- been following your marathon over the past weeks mostly with silent likes as you progressed. Seeing the whole scene come together is such a short time is quite impressive. You are definitely way too modest regarding your skills! Great job!
Let's see some trains on those hills now.
Bob
Hey Bob,
I appreciate you catching up on the layout thread. I appreciate all the likes and your compliments towards my efforts. I will be taking some pics in the new few days with trains on the new area and hopefully will get a video up soon.
Dave
David,
Fantastic work on the scenery. The joy you are getting out of constructing is showing in the work you have produced.
Alan Graziano posted:David,
Fantastic work on the scenery. The joy you are getting out of constructing is showing in the work you have produced.
Thank you Alan! This week was draining but I wouldn't have had it any other way...well maybe hitting the lotto may have been a step up, lol. That's only because I could build a bigger train room.
Dave
Good Evening Guys and Gals,
I'm sure many of you have been in the same predicament as I. You start one project and see something else on the layout that you want to do so you start that as well. Well I'm here to tell you I have officially went bonkers so call that Paddy Wagon!
Anyways, I did some rock face and stone work in the gorge and surrounding areas. Before that I used carved extruded foam. It was fine but I wasn't satisfied with it. To be fair it was my first time carving it. Well I put up with it for about 6 or 7 years but was time for a change, so I masked it over with rock molds and plaster. The pics show the initial stage with foam with contours, then foam and plaster cloth, and finally the rock molds and carved plaster. Yes I made a royal mess but don't judge me, lol. There are still a few gaping holes that I need to fill in before painting can begin. Even with all of this work I am about 95% sure I am going to knock out the right side and put Pennsylvania Railroad style retaining walls in that section. I believe this is the only place on the layout where I can do this and people will notice. I simply did not think of it prior to doing the rock face there.
Also, I cut out a river under the large truss bridge. I had been considering doing this since I installed the bridge but hesitated because I wasn't sure what type of structures I would put in that area. When it was all said and done I didn't want to have a large bridge that did not have some type of waterway under it. So here is the beginning stages of that.
Lastly, I installed the second of two draw bridges today and also adjusted some flex track in the 2 Rail room. Trains were running fine in that section but I wanted to insure a smoother run by making a simple adjustment before scenery and ballasting. With both draw bridges I have to get something to allow for the bridges to stay up when you lift them. I will use steel cable and crimp ferrules for the first one but the second one I'm not sure because it will fall back in place if you were to lift it and let it go. Because of the scenery behind it I can't let it go all the way back and use steel cable. Any suggestions for that one would be very much appreciated. Until then I will be the D.K. (Ducking King). Pics of the draw bridges will be uploaded tomorrow. I'm tired yall! Good Night!
Dave
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Dave, great work going on there! You sure have been busy! The window area under the bridge turned out great! and all the plaster work your doing, well all I can say is WOW! Please keep us posted!
Thanks Mike and John! I'll keep the progress coming.
Hi Dave, what a fantastic looking layout you have going up. I've showed some of the shots to my wife and she was really impressed with what you have done. She really liked your scenery starting from the floor with the bridges going overhead. I thought they were awesome. Your track plan is really nice too, it gives you running space and even some operation in it. Keep up the great work and please keep us updated, I really like what you have done.
Dave, I wrote my first post off of Page 1 because I had just discovered your post about your layout. Now I'm finished with page 5 and I have to tell you, you've done a tremendous amount of work in a very short time over the last few months or so, you've done so much it made me tired reading all of it and I ended up dozing off for a while. Just kidding, the reading is fantastic and your ideas are very creative. I wish I had your energy. Your scenery work is impeccable and I really love your rock work. I hope, once you get everything up and running, you will post some videos. Also, I may have missed it or just forgot that I read about it but what type of control systems will you be using? I'm really looking forward to seeing more of your layout as you progress. Thank you so much for your posts and photos, you have really given a lot of inspiration to many of us. I almost forgot, I love your benchwork and I agree with another member, it has a very professional look to it, your woodworking skills show in many ways. Cheers and happy modeling.
J. Motts posted:Dave, I wrote my first post off of Page 1 because I had just discovered your post about your layout. Now I'm finished with page 5 and I have to tell you, you've done a tremendous amount of work in a very short time over the last few months or so, you've done so much it made me tired reading all of it and I ended up dozing off for a while. Just kidding, the reading is fantastic and your ideas are very creative. I wish I had your energy. Your scenery work is impeccable and I really love your rock work. I hope, once you get everything up and running, you will post some videos. Also, I may have missed it or just forgot that I read about it but what type of control systems will you be using? I'm really looking forward to seeing more of your layout as you progress. Thank you so much for your posts and photos, you have really given a lot of inspiration to many of us. I almost forgot, I love your benchwork and I agree with another member, it has a very professional look to it, your woodworking skills show in many ways. Cheers and happy modeling.
Good Morning JEM! Your kind words were nice to wake up to and motivate me. To answer your question I run MTH DCS and Lionel Legacy for 3 Rail and for my 2 Rail section I use NCE. I also have the capability to run conventionally.
I do plan to post videos and will include links as I do so.
I can take the credit for many things on the layout but I can't for my bench work. I had help with that from a wonderful "train guy" in my area. The more time passes I realize how much I took it for granted. There is so much that can be done with it and I'm starting to do just that.
Welcome aboard and tell your wife I said hello.
Dave
Outstanding work Dave. You sure make hay when you have the chance. Great additions to the already excellent scenery.
Andy
Hey Andy, thanks man! I guess I'm making up for the several years I didn't or wasn't able to do much on the layout.
The gorge area looks great, as does the rest of the layout!
Thank you kindly sir Mark!
Here are the pics I promised of the two installed draw bridges in the layout extension room. Next I just need to install a contraption to allow them to stay in the up position or what's the point.
Dave
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Very nice Dave. I like the train room too.
If your looking for a way to motorize the bridges check out @Mike G. He has an awesome lift bridge system.
Bob
Most impressive! I'm sure you will come up with a first rate method to keep them in the open position!
Hey Dave, looks great! I just used a 12v actuator hooked to an old ho transformer! Works great! Here is a short video! I think I got the actuator from the bay for like $40, if want to know for sure let me know and I will dig it up!
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Dave, the bridges look great and I like the hinges that you used. Mike G., I like your idea also, exactly what type of actuator is that? I've never seen one like it before, my only complaint would be the noise. It looks like a nice system also. Dave, thanks for the great pics.
Hi Dave, this is just like what I used from the Bay!
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mike g. posted:
Hi Dave, this is just like what I used from the Bay!
Hey Mike,
This is very interesting. Thanks for the suggestion.
Dave
JEM no problem. Glad I have something to show everyone.
Good Afternoon Guys and Gals,
I made some more progress on the layout and yes I started another project. Of course nothing is finished but I'm getting there.
More work was continued on the river/creek under the bridge. I show each step from the bare rock work through the final painting. I have since touched up the retaining wall to cover a few unnatural marks, such as the big circle where I was going to put a larger drainage pipe. I also have begun to experiment with trees along side the river and have added some ground cover. The final pictures for this post, show the waterway with rock and talus in it. The only thing left to do is add water.
I also show where I am with the gorge, from the bare rock work through the installation of trees and undergrowth. I may add more trees later but the next step for this section is rock/talus in the river bed and water. I also decided to paint the arch under bridge black. It really "pops" in this scene. I will eventually weather both the truss and arch bridge.
Finally, I show the stone arch bridge I am building as an approach to the large bridge. The first step was to carve the foam to shape. I can now paint, cut, and attach the stone work. I originally had a girder style bridge here but decided to change it. Steel can and has been bent to accommodate curves on a bridge. It can, however, compromise the integrity of the structure. My section will represent a well thought out form of engineering.
As always if you have any suggestions or advise on anything you see please don't hesitate to let me know. It's because of your ideas and posts that I regularly get inspiration.
Dave
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Dave, your work is just amazing! I hope to get to that point one day! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Dave, I agree with Mike. Top notch work. Great scenes, and talent to match.
Andy
Dave, exceptional transformation of that area, great work !
I like the transition from stone to the retaining wall next to the tracks, the bridges and placement of the trees really add a lot of depth to the whole scene.
I would never have thought to add the flowering trees, in the foreground, but they definitely add to the scene. thanks for sharing the details and the step by step photos, it's great to see it from start to finish.
mike g. posted:Dave, your work is just amazing! I hope to get to that point one day! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Mike,
I really appreciate your comments and the feedback. I'm finding nine times out of ten, that if I just go for it with confidence the results aren't bad.
Dave
chris a posted:Dave, exceptional transformation of that area, great work !
I like the transition from stone to the retaining wall next to the tracks, the bridges and placement of the trees really add a lot of depth to the whole scene.
I would never have thought to add the flowering trees, in the foreground, but they definitely add to the scene. thanks for sharing the details and the step by step photos, it's great to see it from start to finish.
Chris,
Thanks for taking the time to comment on my progress. I have much more to do in the area but wanted to take "baby steps" before I went all in. Sometimes the concept in our mind doesn't transform into reality well but I actually am not going crazy, lol.
I really like seeing posts like yours and others, when the process is shown. I actually need that to duplicate or create my version of. I decided when possible, I would "teach" through pics and descriptions. When I get some time I also will post vids of my progress...I'm really bad at it but see how great it is when others do it.
Also, I have been trying to find the post where you painted the pre-fabricated retaining walls. I would like to experiment with this.
Dave
Steamfan77 posted:Dave, I agree with Mike. Top notch work. Great scenes, and talent to match.
Andy
Andy,
I learn from the best on the OGR forum, including yourself. Thanks brother!
Dave
Hi Everyone,
I had forgot to add the last 3 pics, of the gorge, in the last post...so there you go.
Dave
Dave, the gorge looks Amazing! I remember back when it was just a window behind the layout! Is that just pink foam carved and painted?
Beautiful work Dave. Keep it up! I like the flowering trees too!
Bob
mike g. posted:Dave, the gorge looks Amazing! I remember back when it was just a window behind the layout! Is that just pink foam carved and painted?
Thank you much Mike! I used pink foam as subterrain and did some shaping. I then covered with plaster cloth and added rock molds over that. Between the rock molds I used plaster, which had to be carved to blend with the molds. Once that's done color and add the toppings (ground cover, trees, etc).
I can tell it's lunch time, my stomach just growled at the last sentence I wrote. Anywho, I plan to do a video on this technique...but it's pretty simple.
Dave
RSJB18 posted:Beautiful work Dave. Keep it up! I like the flowering trees too!
Bob
Thanks a bunch Bob. The other room is going to have fall theme and these trees were originally made for that section. I thought a couple of them here and there in the "summer" room would be appropriate.
Dave
Wow again.
Very awesome, keep up the great work inspiring us all.
"Wow, you impressed Lord Vader, that is no easy task."
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