Quiet earth (was: Exercise module for Plettenberg railroad in 1/22.5 scale)

[Hydrostat]

Ian,

I'm quite sure you meant something like that  :



This is going to be the desk for the janitor. Please forget about the picture quality; i'm happy to have at least this one from building it ...
I'm going to add more interior when the entire surrounding on the module is finished. And to think that it all started out as some little exercise ...  . The module would fit in my car with buildings. If I fix them (and I guess I'll do it) I have to built an additional wooden frame or box for protection during transport.

Russ,

I was only thinking of the visible edges of the drops at the gate post arising from drying - if one forgets to blur them before they are completely dry ... I will give the pigments a try when I start the finishing.

Marc,

thanks again for your comments. It really feels good not only to receive valuable hints but also to entertain you (I'm thinking about you grinning). There will be a final finishing when everything is assembled, in the end, so to say. But until then I'm dealing with a few other elements first. Some weeks ago I didn't know what material the gate and wall would be and what it would look like - and so it is now with the few free spaces left. But I'm cornering the topic. Anyways, it's interesting that your suggestions match with my ideas ... okay, nobody's gonna believe me that now. Thank's for your motivating words: You're absolutely right, it's not too bad to have an idea of what's going on around you. For me it's kind of fun to think about and then try to model those tiny parts that at first are uninteresting in itself to me but simply belong to the scene.

Dallas,

thanks for your words and attention, too - and I'm not going to disappoint you: This is the curved cobblestone of red quartzite (what the heck is Segmentbogenpflaster in English?) at the companies driveway.



This is the mastic asphalt at the gatehouse's passageway.



Please excuse the sloppy work.




Volker

[Malachi Constant]

This is the curved cobblestone of red quartzite (what the heck is Segmentbogenpflaster in English?) at the companies driveway.

Segmental arch pavements ... sectional arch stones ... arched stone sections ... arched sectional stones, etc ...

Basically, Segmentbogenpflaster = "curved cobblestone" just as you started to say!   

And it looks darn good.    -- Dallas

[marc_reusser]

I particlarly like the stone in the middle , for the gate anchor.

What did you sue to make the asphalt? Looks good. Is this Narayan's method?

Marc

[Hydrostat]

Dallas,

thanks for your translation. Nice to hear that you like it.

Marc,

its a similar method to Narayan's but I used other materials. Some voice is whispering in my ear and urges me to say: I'll write about it in detail in the next Modelers' Annual.

For lack of an air brush I painted my little desk with Revell colour. Did I mention that I could have tared it with a similar result? It took quite a long time to get this mess away again ... at least so far that it's re-usable.

Volker

[Hydrostat]

My friend Frithjof gave to me some cast and milled brass parts he designed for his Feldbahnmodule with ship. Thank you very much, Frithjof!

There are a metal lampshade, a light switch, a socket, a distribution box and cable clamps.



That's what it looks like installed after some treatment and kitbashing:





I added a run up catch for the rail gate and tried to make some green stuff. I find it very difficult to create realistic grass and trees and so on. There's a more natural coloring for the birch offspring to come and perhaps some more leaves. I'm not too happy with the fine grass that simply looks like fibers, especially at the run up catch. Please tell me what you think about it. I would be happy to get some suggestions and opinions.





Volker

[nalmeida]

Wonderful details Volker.

[Ray Dunakin]

Nice castings!

The greenery looks good, especially the sapling.

[Hydrostat]

Thanks nalmeida and Ray! I'm not too happy with the greenery yet and tried something else:





The "Exercise Training Drill Tutorial Module" will be shown this year in May in Schenklengsfeld / Germany (2013-05-09 until 2013-05-12). There's a meeting of the gauge II guys. I had to build a small extension to get their standardized module edge with rectangular rails. I know: The following doesn't fit the forum's standards at all. Just blame it to my need to talk .



I had to build another framing.



The strutting was filled with Styrodur and track laying could begin.










Volker

[finescalerr]

Everything looks good, and especially the bush. -- Russ

[Malachi Constant]

Holy crap!  (That's a meaningless but very favorable expression here) ... You've got every different sort of texture imaginable ... and they are all playing so nicely together.  Good stuff.  -- Dallas

[Hydrostat]

Thanks, Russ and Dallas!

Meanwhile I'd hit the road again. Please don't mind the sideway in the background. It's just the substructure.







And some close-ups:













After preparing the cobblestone road I started with the asphalt. I tried Narayan's method described here with silicon carbide F60, glued with a mixture of PVA, water and some detergent. The material doesn't smooth out well neither dry nor moist. I have therefore spread a first layer which is a bit wavy. After drying, I applied some finer material F80, smoothed with a spatula (which is now possible because of the leveling is done by the substructure from first layer).



The points at which the tires roll received some basalt grain 0.1-0.3 mm (0.004' - 0.01') for a smoother surface. It looks like this:





The grit still seemed too coarse and the glitter too strong to me. So I spreaded grain basalt and black porphory dust and grit over the entire surface again and glued it. After drying, I'd spread the tire rolling areas with slate dust dissolved in PVA and water and diluted it sidewards with water up to zero. This last step can be seen here.



After drying, the surface looks credible, but not the color.



So I treated the road with black gouache, which was applied on the tire rolling areas almost covering whilst on the other areas very dilute. After drying I swept some black porphory dust over again and fixed it with a special modeling glue by KS Modellbahnen, which doesn't darken like PVA does.

Volker

[Ray Dunakin]

The asphalt turned out well!

[finescalerr]

More satisfactory than somewhat. -- Russ

[Franck Tavernier]

Well done!

Realistic asphalt effect with cobblestone under road 

Franck 

[danpickard]

Wow, very cool.  I love the textural variations in the roadway.  Good sense of old and new with the different surface finish.

Cheers,
Dan