Double Yard

[CourthsVeil]

The weekly update – a bit late, I know (had to hide the grandson’s easter eggs):

 

The shop at the right end is finished now – well, for the time being. As usual, some fine tuning will come when the various structures will be embedded into the underground still to be done (I fancy cobblestones all over the right yard…).

Here it is, duly weathered:

 

Now also the gable behind the shop has got the signs of age. Both together at their place in the layout look like this:

 

This composite pic shows the progress made in the last couple of days:
]

 

That's it ATM, tell me your opinion…

Armin

[Job's Modelling]

Your scene comes slowly together now.

I do like the scene of your shunting yard..

Personally I would give the whole scene an overall weathering to bring the colors more together.

 

Regards,

Job

[Removed a/c]

Just had a read over your thread. Very nice scratch built buildings. I particularly like the latest one. 

 

I shall follow with interest.

 

Regards 

Scott 

[CourthsVeil]

Thanks for looking and your valued comments, they're appreciated.

 

Job: still more wheathering of the whole scene will be difficult – and, me thinks, not needed. Because the last picture clearly shows the difference between natural lighting (left) and flash (right – which I use only if otherwise impossible). In flesh = daylight the colouring of the buildings is not so far apart as the flashed pic suggests.

 

Scott: quite nice buildings you have too.

 

Armin

[CourthsVeil]

In the meantime I did some further huts etc., intended to pepper the free space – eventually. Five of them were in a set sold by the Thuringian firm Auhagen (TBH I’m not very satisfied with the quality – just printed on strong paper (no card) plus quite mediocre instructions):

 

Amongst them are two outhouses – well, per the topic-title there are two yards, so the workers need two opportunities, me thinx…
Ah, well, the line side hut in the lower right corner doesn’t fit into this layout; don’t know how is managed to jump into this picture… (It was just a finger exercise.)

 

The rotten twostory hut (or how else should I call it?) is scratch built, following a picture in Carl’s Scrap­book:

 

That’s it for now – watch this space for further things to come…

Armin

[Job's Modelling]

Job: still more wheathering of the whole scene will be difficult – and, me thinks, not needed. Because the last picture clearly shows the difference between natural lighting (left) and flash (right – which I use only if otherwise impossible). In flesh = daylight the colouring of the buildings is not so far apart as the flashed pic suggests.

 

I know what you mean. There is always a difference between the look of a layout at home and on pictures.

I have the same with my diorama.

 

Nice little buildings.

 

Regards,

Job

[CourthsVeil]

Again a word beforehand:

I would like to stress that I am not a rivet-counter (you may have noticed that already).
Also, I’m anything but slavishly accurate about everything – leaves space for a lot of prototypical errors.
To me it’s just the enjoyment of modelling and running trains.
But any suggestions or corrections are appreciated.
 

Now back to the current project:

After these rather smallish sheds ‘n huts there was time to make something more impressive: the office building closing the left hand side of the layout. It will have an arched doorway for the trains entering the yard (from the fiddle stick). I see grey bricks with red pilasters etc. plus a lot of ivy.

 

Here one of the earlier versions of the template (designed with my trusty old Paint Shop Pro):

 

This printout gives not only a first impression of dimensions and impact but also serves to assess the location/measures/forms of the windows and the doorway. Will be later used to cut out the walls. Also the same .gif-file will serve to produce the window’s mullions/transoms, drawn on an additional image layer and printed out separately on an overhead projection sheet.

 

In this case I decided to use plywood for the rear (invisible) wall and foamboard for the main wall facing the left hand yard – both 3mm ( 1/8 in). It will be 31cm (a tad over 12in) wide.

This shows how I used a cup as template to score the arch just before cutting:

 

The result:

 

Now the template (aka front wall base layer) glued to its substrate and the latter provisionally assembled – makes a good mock up. Also ready to cut out the windows:

 

The result:

 

I don’t like to hurry; it’s better to ponder a while between stages of making these structures. Inhibits (well – not completely, I know) mis-takes.

Therefore that’s it for this week…

 

Armin

[Job's Modelling]

I always like to see how other people make there models.

The most important for me, just like you, is the pleasure of modeling.

 

I will look to your progress when published.

 

Regards,

Job

[steve1]

Very interesting and some innovative uses of card and printed paper.

 

Nice!

 

steve

[CourthsVeil]

Job & Steve: many thanks for your comments. It’s never wrong to get some feedback…

 

 

 

Not so much to report – didn’t make the progress I would like to see…
 

At least I covered the front walls of the office building with brick paper and cut out all the openings.

Lookin quite ugly – doesn’t it:

 

Later some ornamental stripes were added:

 

Next task will be the internal bracings to stiffen the whole structure and to provide support for the roof. It will be a hipped roof.

 

As an aside I grabbed an old beer wagon (lesser part of an auction prey, had already lost its chassis):

 

Made supports (card and brick paper) and glued those to its underside. Serves to store tools needed in the yards away – safely, we hope… Now it’ll join the family of huts ‘n sheds already shown above:

 

Yes, I know! Something has to be done to the underside as well as to the wonky support…

 

As always: comments and suggestions welcome!

 

Armin

[Job's Modelling]

I like the beer-wagon storage. 

Just good to see this kind of storage in a yard.

 

Regards,

Job

[switcher 1]

I think wagon/van bodies were usually mounted on old sleepers under the body itself, (not 100% sure though).

[CourthsVeil]

After a three months absence from model railroading, I finally made myself go down to the basement and work on the layout.

Mind you: Procrastination is an art form that only few manage to master really fully. I had a very fine excuse…

 

Continued this week with the office building: now all lintels, arches etc. attached. Internal bracings cut and mounted provisionally. Red cardboard to mock up the roof.

 

Thus it looks now:

 

Seems to be a bit steep, the roof, doesn't it?

 

Next will be some weathering, much greenery (ivy), then sealing, thereafter the windows. Only then will the facade be combined with back wall and internal bracings.

 

Hope you enjoy.

 

Armin

 

 

[Job's Modelling]

Nice to see you back.

I agree about the roof. You could try to lower the break.

[CourthsVeil]

Just a few pictures this week: the office building is nearly finished.

 

Sprayed the façade with glue, thereby covering the parts to be spared:

 

then sprinkled with Noch dark green leaves, added some light green foliage, weathered the brick paper with green (bottom) and "mouse-grey" pastel powder, and then sealed all with Ghiant matte spray:

 

Had the windows already printed on OHP film, coloured the mullions and transoms with white ink, and attached them to the façade.

 

Found then a nice piece of 3mm (1/8in) plywood, sawed it down to 18cm height x 30cm width (7 x 12 in), cut out the doorway – and had the backside of my office building ready. This is a half relief structure.

The ver­ti­cal braces that had already been used in the mock up with roof (see my last post) now were glued to the backside, along with two horizontal ones:

 

Cardboard (1mm) cut into two pieces made the base layer of the hipped roof. I had since ages something like Plasticard lying around: a structured and printed film (a bit thick) with adhesive back, also from Noch (mind you: I’m living and buy­ing in Germa­ny); this fitted lovely onto the roof base layer. Added a bit foliage and leaves plus some dark grey and green pastel powder. No sealant this time.

Then glued backside and façade together.

Here we are – together with one of the pictures which served as inspiration:

 

That’s it for this week – am waiting for your comments and suggestions.

 

Armin

[Job's Modelling]

This building looks really great.

[CourthsVeil]

Cheers Job!

[Removed a/c]

Now that everything is in situ I don't think the roof  looks to steep at all. Nice job. 

[CourthsVeil]

Thanks, Britfarmer!

Well, the building itself isn't yet in situ, photos will follow soon. And the roof - I made it a little (!) bit less steep. I think it looks all right now (have a prototype just across the street).

Armin

[CourthsVeil]

Stubby: thank you for your comment - such an honor…!

 

 

Time to update, me thinks.

 

The office building finally closes the left hand side of the layout – here with a German loco, Italian style:

 

Another view – same loco:

 

The doorway hides the exit to the Rest of the World. I wanted to prevent the view through it into the RoW (a.k.a. mess in the workshop) and borrowed an idea Shortliner had demonstrated on the “Erie Railroad” (post #207).
Found a dark blue plastic bag, cut part of it into stripes and glued it on top of the exit. Also added a gate (kinda) to prevent our grandson ( 4 yrs ) from sending one loco after another into the abyss:

 

And lastly my recently acquired Bachmann Pannier enters the scene:

 

 

Next week I will tackle the ground in this part of the Double Yard - hopefully!

 

As usual all comments and criticism is welcome.

 

Armin

[mullie]

This looks great, well done

[shortliner]

Amin - glad you found the strips worked for hiding the view through the exit hole - is very simple, but works surprisingly well

[CourthsVeil]

Job, Mullie and Shortliner – thank you for the attention, it's very encouraging!

Armin

[CourthsVeil]

Time for a further instalment:

 

Another small building to reside in one of the Yards ( remaining half of an Auhagen kit, put together the quick & dirty way; will barely be visible):

 

 

 

 

The soil in the left part of this Double Yard layout should be bare, i.e. no cobbles, no concrete, no grass… Simple as this is, so simple it is to make: cover the styrodur with neat PVA, sprinkle with chinchilla dust and let it set.

 

As I want the buildings to sit IN the surface, not ON it, I prepared some paving. Card stripes covered with a printout from CGTextures (don’t ask me which one – it’s ages ago that I downloaded it – looks a bit like concrete with algae…), scribed with a sharpened hard pencil and then – just before the sand comes – pressed into the glue. Looking pretty good and prevents the PVA from wetting the building and smearing the print:

 

 

And did not forget to test the track for conductivity before going along…

 

Next day the loose surplus is hoovered away (without the famous nylon stockings, ‘cause this dust is really cheap). Possibly some bald spots are to be touched up…

 

 

Again next day (we have time, plenty of time, haven’t we?) I give the whole area a wash: sienna plus black acrylic color – in mixed proportions, of course. I tried this on a little test bed and found it much better than drybrushing,which resulted in ugly streaks only:

 

 

 

 

Then  the DISASTER  rose it's ugly head:
 

 

 

Looks more like a coal merchants yard that what I wanted: a not too well kept but not too dirty business place…

 

I took too much of the black and far too little water, so it became not a light wash but a patchy coat.

 

Now back to the testbed and finding out how to resolve the mess. One option would be to give it another charge of chinchilla dust – very thin… And equally thin another wash…?

 

Lesson learned: don’t do anything on the layout in a hurry (had an appointment this morning), but take the time needed! (In fact, it’s quite an old lesson, just didn’t think of it this morning – D’oh!)

 

But first “Let it be” and relax with a cup of coffee and a good book. Not before tomorrow I will have a look at the blackened yard.

 

Armin

 

PS: your opinions are (still) welcome

[mullie]

Don't worry Armin, I'm sure it can be recovered. We've all had similar disasters. The layout is looking good so it is worth taking the time to correct the mistake and it may look better for your efforts in the end.