A snapshot in time. A glimpse of the Plettenberger Kleinbahn in 1/22.5 scale.

[Barney]

Very nice - the finish/paint just looks like the bridge at the top of our road
Barney

[finescalerr]

Don't let Volker fool you. It's all done with mirrors. -- ssuR

[Hydrostat]

Added a whirlybird to the building's kitchen:





Item is printed from this CAD drawing:





Many thanks to Uwe!

Cheers,
Volker

[Ray Dunakin]

I love that view through the window!

[finescalerr]

An adequate touch. -- Russ

[Hydrostat]

Some seven years ago we've seen here the prototype situation at Maiplatz. And a few modeled details, which now found their niche:





To have the meadow a bit more interesting I added panicles from thicker fibres and very fine colored turf. The base is a cheapo grass mat, some tufts and static grass:




After some experience with modeling trees I ventured on the robinia, following the prototype shape:




I'm happy with the overall shape, but bark texture is going to keep me busy for some more time.




It looks good from a distance, but looking close it isn't edgy and fibrous enough for robinia bark.




I'm still looking for an approach beyond modeling it the hard way from putty. Any ideas?



Robinia pseudacadia (Cortex)
Atamari, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons


O well: and don't rely on things you've done years ago: The area's paper printout from back then seems to have been printed to papersize. It took some while to realize that, but neither curbsides nor the low fence did fit to the space - wrong version below.




Cheers
Volker

[finescalerr]

Superb. -- Russ

[1-32]

Hi Volker
GREAT.

[Sami]

Very nice kitchen and tree ! The bark work is exceptional.

[Bill Gill]

Volker, looks good. You might be able to get more of the fiberous look you want for the robinia bark with GOLDEN (brand name) Fiber Paste. It's a high quality artist acrylic medium with VERY fine mineral fibers in it that may give you the texture you want.

There's a former professional modelmaker-movie scenery guy who has a number of YouTube videos about building dioramas and an HO layout. Here's two where he uses the Golden Fiber Paste to coat various model tree trunks and wire branches:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCtbeDm7d1c

In this video he starts his description of using the paste at about 6 min 43 sec.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtLoVIsBQ7U

There are more videos where he shows using the fiber paste for trees if you search Boomer Dioramas.

[1-32]

Hi Volker.
Your bridge and the rust feature for me raise an interesting question.
Have you ever tried acid for some other medium to actually corrode the bridge?
I have tried it with Styrine but it just does not want to work.
Any ideas anybody?
cheers

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

It would be hard to get a true corrosion effect on styrene I think.  You can certainly achieve painted rust effects. I guess you could attack the styrene with a dental bit in a Dremel for more serious corrosion - smoothing the effect out a bit with MEK perhaps.

Or use brass and corrode it with many acids.  One of the etching solutions might be most convenient.  You can protect the bits you don't want to corrode with some form of resist.

[Hydrostat]

Hi Volker.
Your bridge and the rust feature for me raise an interesting question.
Have you ever tried acid for some other medium to actually corrode the bridge?
I have tried it with Styrine but it just does not want to work.
Any ideas anybody?
cheers

Hi, Kim,

no, I didn't, but it should be possible as Lawrence stated. And I second what he said about styrene. I think Nick or Barney have shown some very good styrene examples for mechanically effectuated corrosion. Pressing styrene to a rough concrete surface is a possible approach for those rust dents, too.

I heard that oven cleaner works with aluminum, so this may be a home remedy approach instead of styrene.

As a wise guy I have to state, that rust in first degree increases visible volume. In a second step, when rust layers fall off, decrease of visible material thickness starts. I think this is what you're for.   

Cheers,
Volker

[Lawton Maner]

Oven cleaner is based on lye.  Drano is a mix of lye and fine particles of aluminum which when added to water will result in the mixture coming to a boil.  The hot mix readily dissolves grease and pressure generated will force the clog down the drain.

Lye will readily digest aluminum and leave you with well corroded metal.  Use it in small amounts and keep a bowl on household vinegar on hand to stop the lye from digesting the aluminum when you reach the state desired.  Lye applied to aluminum  can cause an explosive reaction so wear protective gear!

Ferric chloride which is used to etch copper and brass will do the same thing and a bit more slowly.  It will stain everything it touches and like lye can burn skin. Rinse the parts in water to stop it from working.  Again, safety gear should be worn.

[Bill Gill]

I had surprisingly good luck using chlorine bleach to "weather" and corrode aluminum.

Sumerging a piece of a disposable aluminum baking pan in bleach for a day gave the metal a dull finish. Forgetting a small piece of regular weight aluminum foil for a couple days, the bleach completely ate away all the aluminum.

Volker, I also commented above with a suggestion that might do what you want to model robinia bark.