Operation Dark Winter - HO scale Micro Layout.

[DanielB]

Hi everyone,

 

Recently I've been drawn to a new micro layout project in memory of our dear departed Shortliner, and have been umming and ahhing about what theme to go for. As I've been playing a lot of xbox recently, in particularly Tom Clancy's The Division, I thought about potentially crossing the streams of my hobbies and potentially making the layout set within the world of the video game.

 

A brief history of the game to set the context of the layout - the game was inspired by a real life US military training scenario called Operation Dark Winter, which was put together to test the resiliency of the US infrastructure in the event of a large scale bioterrorist attack - theorised as a release of a weapons grade strain of smallpox. In the game, the virus was spread on Black Friday using infected dollar bills, and thus became known as the Green Poison, or Dollar Flu.

 

In an attempt to contain the spread, the emergency responders - EMS, FDNY, NYPD, National Guard, CDC - grouped together into a single organisation known as the Joint Task Force, and they tried to create a quarantine area from 56th street along the southern edge of Central Park, all the way down to 29th street. The walls of the Dark Zone, as it became known, ran from Columbus Circle down Broadway, along 29th Street, then back up Park Avenue all the way back up to 56th street.

 

These walls were built from huge quantities of concrete blocks, steel girders and miles of razor wire. The layout represents as small open space between the canyons of the city streets where part of the metro lines were used to ship in the materials used to build these walls, as well as shipping contaminated materials to disposal locations known as burn pits - infected cash, clothing, materials, hospital waste, etc.

 

The layout backscene will represent one of the western edges of the dark zone, with concrete/stone blocks used to build the walls covering most of the backdrop, and will include huge gates used by the JTF to send in bioterror response teams to try to contain the virus. The layout will be set at night, and lit almost entriely by scale lighting - building interiors, street lamps, spot lights, etc. I've always wanted to make a winter layout, so the scenery will be mostly snow and ice. The game itself contains hundreds of murals, graffiti and other artwork commissioned by the game developers and created by New York based graffiti artists, and I am hoping to add in a lot of these into the layout, likely by painting them freehand.

 

In terms of operation, the layout is built in an APA box and is a small inglenook - using 40ft cars to allow for full use of the minimal space. A lot of the features of the layout will need to be scratchbuilt, so it might be a bit of a slow burner. Traffic will be mainly boxcars and repurposed ore cars, short flat cars, beer can tank cars, etc.

 

I have ordered a large amount of cast resin detail packs from a railways/wargaming supplier called Anyscale models, so when those turn up I'll need to spent time painting them up and blending them into the scene.

 

The layout has been fully tested and works perfectly.

 

Enough of my rabbiting on, here's some pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NickBrad]

Interesting concept, something i'd not have thought of, I look forward to seeing more.

[Max Legroom]

Wow! This is something a bit different. 

[DanielB]

Thanks guys

 

Progress photos for this week:

 

[DanielB]

For those who are not familiar with the game this layout is inspired by, here's some concept art/in game screenshots from the game to give an idea of the subject I'm attempting to capture:

 

https://christofferradsby.com/projects/JOgxn

 

Most of the relevant images are right near the top - they are for a game level set in the Hudson Rail Yards, which - in the in game world - have been converted into a refugee camp for survivors of the virus.

[DanielB]

It's been a while, but I've not been idle.

 

I've been working on a few bits for the layout, as well as stocking up on supplies for further detailing on the layout.

 

Hopefully I can get some updated photos soon.

[DanielB]

So I've been hunting around for suitable figures for the layout, and as expected, Shapeways has provided the solution:

 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/GDDU7KZ6X/1-87-mod-unif-vest-mitch-set506?option=65722178&etId=192649534&utm_source=automated-contact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=payment-received&utm_content=3

 

I've ordered a set, plus a set of M4 carbines to go in their hands.

 

Hopefully they should be here by the middle of next month.

 

In the mean time, I've got scenery to work on.

[DanielB]

This week I've been working on getting all the detail parts painted up and weathered ready to go on the layout.

 

Some of these will have the Woodland Scenics snow adding to them whereas others won't, to give the impression of the passage of time - some items will have been there longer than others so will have varying degrees of snow cover on them.

[DanielB]

Quick update: Operation Dark Winter will appear at Mansfield Model Railway Exhibition in 2020.

 

Also, the soldiers arrived from Shapeways and have been cleaned of print residue. I'm hoping to paint them this week, as well as get the detail parts finished and fixed in place on the layout.

[DanielB]

Though I've been distracted for the past few weeks with Xmas and a British micro layout, I did manage to get some AK Terrain Concrete and Asphault paints ordered so I can get the bridges and the dark zone wall painted, so fingers crossed I can get that done when I'm off work in a couple of days.

 

I'm looking forward to experimenting with them, as I've seen the effects that Jason Jenson has managed with them and I'm seriously impressed.

[DanielB]

Progress for today, I've spent some time in the game capturing screenshots that I have printed out and will be using to create a backscene and as guides on specific in game details that I will need to add onto the layout.

[DanielB]

Okay, so the images printed out a little too dark to be useful. So I'll have to tweak them and try again.

 

So in the mean time, I've started the messy job of applying AK Terrain Concrete to all the required surfaces.

 

Once it's dry I'll use washes and powders to tone it all down and blend it into the layout.

 

I've also got 20 modern street lamps with LEDs and resistors on the way from eBay, should allow me to get the lighting set up right.

[DanielB]

Progress on the backscene tonight...

[DanielB]

Graffiti!

 

 

[DanielB]

This evening's progress on Operation Dark Winter.

 

The backdrop is now about 50% complete.

 

 

[DanielB]

Edited January 6, 2020 by DanielB

[DanielB]

[DanielB]

Last one for tonight.

[ianmianmianm]

Love this, very original, not sure why it's not getting more likes Daniel.

 

[DanielB]

It's a strange thing to model, I suppose. To those familiar with the source material, I'm sure they'd get a kick out of it. Either way, I'm enjoying building it

 

On a somewhat related note, I've ordered a reel of blue LED's to use to light the layout, as my hope is that this will help simulate a night time appearance, even in a relatively well lit exhibition hall. I've also got a rather interesting layout name board on order, which should hopefully show up soon!

 

I'm hoping to have the backscene mostly done by the end of next week, so I can focus on the bridges and lighting.

 

My intention is to have the layout done by the end of the month, so I can focus on other projects come February.

[doctor quinn]

I’m really looking forward to seeing this at Mansfield, speculative fiction based layouts are still unusual on the exhibition circuit but I wonder if GMRC will change that. Have you decided on the locos/ done any detailing or modes? 

[DanielB]

Nothing yet, but I'm kind of "cheating" by just patching out freight cars, using existing modern stock and planning on painting a 44t in yellow and just adding numbers to the cab.

[doctor quinn]

4 hours ago, DanielB said:

..... painting a 44t in yellow and just adding numbers to the cab.

In Eurostile font for that sci-fi/dystopian vibe? 

 

https://typesetinthefuture.com/2014/11/29/fontspots-eurostile/

Edited January 13, 2020 by doctor quinn
Add smiley

[DanielB]

My blue LEDs turned up yesterday, so I had a quick mock up of the lighting. Clearly, it's not going to need many of the blue LEDs to get the effect I'm after, as inspired by Eugene Armer's photograph here: https://www.railpictures.net/photo/691415/

 

I'm hoping that using less LEDs will reduce the stark blue, as they are very bright. In addition, once the street and yard lamps are added to the layout, I think the white LEDs will balance out the blue.

 

 

Edited January 16, 2020 by DanielB

[298]

5 hours ago, DanielB said:

My blue LEDs turned up yesterday, so I had a quick mock up of the lighting. Clearly, it's not going to need many of the blue LEDs to get the effect I'm after, as inspired by Eugene Armer's photograph here: https://www.railpictures.net/photo/691415/

 

I'm hoping that using less LEDs will reduce the stark blue, as they are very bright. In addition, once the street and yard lamps are added to the layout, I think the white LEDs will balance out the blue.

 

Damn, that prototype is blue. It is the theatrical choice and can work well when mixed with cool white, either as a parallel strip or on the layout.

 

Something that I find jarring on my Blue Heron layout is getting the ambient light to match that of the dominant colours in the scene, in my case it's orange sodium lighting on buildings and as street lamps as that colour LED are rarely bright enough to create a puddle of light should I use something different with the RGB controller such as a more yellowy-orange or a light blue. I thought about looking for photos of a previous layout after sunset but then remembered this thread and additional input here : 

 

Edited January 16, 2020 by 298