Chris, the trees turned out wonderful! It will be fun to see what you do with the air brush! You can change many of things with one! I am still learning mine!
Lee, over time I will be going the other way and changing everything I have to Kadee couplers! I just like the look of them better!
Today adjustments were made to the bench work in preparation for a river/lake. Additionally I started making retaining walls and tunnel portals from molds. Only 1 million and one more to go! Am I the only model railroader who experiences sleep deprivation as a bi-product of this hobby?
Dave
mike g. posted:Chris, the trees turned out wonderful! It will be fun to see what you do with the air brush! You can change many of things with one! I am still learning mine!
Lee, over time I will be going the other way and changing everything I have to Kadee couplers!
Me too but I like to keep some cars traditional. The Weavers I leave alone and the Lionel “Standard O” also but the atlas and my All Nations I change to kadee.
Wow! Everyone been busy ! great post all. Didn’t do much but filmed something for Fun. Also my father was home and we were looking for places to add shelves. Also we picked up a Burlington Route dummy on eBay for super cheap too will look nice with the GN items. eBay saved searches are a great way to find stuff soon as it’s listed. I feel a big steam video brewing as well.
Lee D., just make sure you record the paint type, make up a new sample piece and try that first someday. I almost wonder if you see satin as cloudy and would prefer a low-gloss finish (flat(0-5%), then matte (5-15%), satin (20-40%), 40%+ - low gloss, semi-gloss. gloss, high gloss.. with some % varience by mfg) Eggshell, no tellin, lol. some shine some are really flat, sort of a dull pearl imo.
Usually milky-ness or blushing is the humidity. It can also be embedded surface contaminants too, so clean with a solvent asap just before painting. Not the night before either because of air contamination and even surface humidity you might not even be able to see. Warming a piece just slightly helps prevent that too. I wash and/or solvent wipe and/or hairdrier flash off before I paint. Oh, you have to clean after sanding/scuffing too. Tiny particles of clear won't always blend back into clear. I think the surface tension of paint allows some air to cling to particles and get trapped. I always wanted to look at some under a microscope.
But it's usually moisture of some kind.... Maybe an air compressor is in need of a better drier; or temp vs humidity for cans is wrong; the paint vs air temp (if traveling paint is colder than air it attracts and traps moisture from the fresh air); or unfinished water based curing; or laying it on too thick(more moisture to flash, but skin sets too soon), and too high of humidity for the paint carrier period.
With high humidity you want a slower curing paint so any moisture can flash off before a skin seals it in. With airbrushing simply adding some retarder (or flattener) should take care of anything you don't like and achieve any sheen.
choff posted:
I have been passing out likes again! So many great projects.
Well you hit the nail on the head why I don't have anything to post. We have been playing 'drain surgeons' since Friday. I went over Friday to help my older daughter, son-in-law, and his dad tear out some really bad remodeling done by the slum lord they bought the house from. Yes, a town of 13,000 has slum lords. Well, by the time I got there, they had notices a toilet drain that they capped off last year was seeping water. Well long story short, the whole sewage is backed up, but runs fine from the cleanout at the back edge of the house on down the hill. As with our old house, this house is built on a hillside so the basement has a crawl space under the back side of it. Well today, about the time I got there after a doctor appointment, they had discovered a place where the drain pipe has sagging even while buried about 2 feet down in the crawl space. Our house in Virginia had a sagging drain pipe that caused a blockage, but there it was midair so I propped it up with some blocks and bricks. In this case a support beam was added under the house a few decades after it was built (1910's or '20s). One of the supports with the beam is right on top of the drain, so at one point it is going uphill both ways! Ah ha! Well son in law is going to do some digging tomorrow before he goes to work while his dad gets another injection in his knee, and I rest my back. I have only acted as assistant and gofer, since I am still recovering. But his dad is 3 years older than me.
All that to say, we sure could use Drain Surgeons at affordable old time prices!!
Kon112H posted:Wow! Everyone been busy ! great post all. Didn’t do much but filmed something for Fun. Also my father was home and we were looking for places to add shelves. Also we picked up a Burlington Route dummy on eBay for super cheap too will look nice with the GN items. eBay saved searches are a great way to find stuff soon as it’s listed. I feel a big steam video brewing as well.
Nice find.
Still sporadically working on this logging cookhouse scratch built to match a kit built skid bunkhouse. Got homemade furniture installed in kitchen, with some 1/48 doll furniture coming, with a stove for dining room. Today finished a "log" porch for the front of building. Think I'll gin out a quantity of rough tables for the dining room. Will have three caboose type smoke stacks for cook and heat stoves.
Apples55 posted:briansilvermustang posted:
Yay D&H!!!
HEE HEE 
lee drennen posted:briansilvermustang posted:
Nice pics as always Brian
thanks Lee !!
chris a posted:Finished applying the 2 MM static grass to the home made conifers today. Next time I have the airbrush out, I'll probably darken the needles a few shades. This was the only color grass I had in 2 MM..... The 3rd one is tough to pick out, it's just right of the telephone/power pole.
Still working wiring up all the warm white LED's in the 4 story building, maybe I'll be able claim victory tomorrow or Weds.
those trees look great, do you have a how to and materials?
Dave, looks like the river area is going to be great looking! Nice work on the retaining walls and portal! I also have a bunch to make, but there is nothing but time as the wife would say! LOL
Andy, that's a great view of the corner from the stairs! Also nice find on the engine!
Mark, nice to see you checking in. I am sorry for all the drain problems your Daughter and Son in Law are having! I sure hope that's the end of the problems with there new used house!
Colorado Hirailer, sure sounds like your moving right along! Keep up the great work!
Brian, sure looks like you made Bob's day! LOL
Regarding the homemade trees:
I purchased a 20" x 30" filter material at Walmart, it's called "Natural Aire", it's dark green, pretty stiff durable material. It's fairly dense, around 1/2 inch thick.
The trunks are Balsa, I purchased a 1/2 x 1/2 x 36 inch long stick, used a small Block Plane, coarse file, to get it tapered. Then used a coarse Zona Saw blade to scratch the grooves into the bark.
For the most part, I followed the ideas in these two Youtube videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wdSKMOV8dY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hztif1KoJ-g
I like the furnace filter material better than what's described in the videos above. This material is pretty tough fibers and you can "tease it" and pull it apart to make the tree more "airy" without the material completely disintegrating in your hand. You do have to pull off the re-inforcing nylon screen on the back, but it pulls off without taking much material with it.
On the 2nd the a 3rd tree, I decided to start with pieces that were roughly 3 inches and 4 inches in diameter, approximately circular, then start "delaminating" the pieces so that they go from 1/2 inch thick to 3 to 4 inches thick. After some practice, it takes about 5 minutes to delaminate a piece, and it takes about 3 to 4 pieces to complete a tree that is 12 inches tall. This is probably the most important step in the whole process ! You want to thin it out more than you think you need to, as adding paint, needles, and putting it back on the main trunks tends to make the tree more dense again.
Once you're satisfied that you have teased this out enough so the tree branches aren't so "dense", go to next step.
Twist the trunk as you insert into this material.
I glued them on at this point with Carpenters wood glue.
Once it dried, I went around with a scissors and cut some of the ends where there were too many fibers all the same length. Then, I painted it with Rustoleum Camouflage Brown.
Finally I applied Gorilla Spray Adhesive to the branches, and shook 2 MM static grass. There's nothing to attach the grounding clip to, so I used my Noch applicator to get an even flow of grass, but it was not energize. If you don't have an applicator, you can shake it through a sifting screen.
I did set up a corrugated cardboard shelf, and held the tree under it so I could keep the spray adhesive on the ends of the branches, and try not to coat the main trunks.
One last finishing step: I sprayed the trees with extra hold hair spray as small amounts of the fibers were falling off. Also the hair spray allows you to "spot" apply additional static grass to any bare areas without using spray glue over the already applied tree.
mike g. posted:Brian, sure looks like you made Bob's day! LOL
Thanks for the tree info. Great looking trees! Cheers, Dave
Mark and others are right. A lot of good stuff happening here lately. Maybe it is a push to get things done with springtime approaching and with that out door work to start meaning less time for trains.
Chris a, nice job on the trees.
This morning I left the wife in the living room to venture down to work on the layout. I got all the plaster on the gorge and also went back to touchup spots I missed. Now with that drying I have to figure if I am going to do a two tone gray on the sides or do the three tone of raw umber, burnt umber and yellow ochre. Decisions, decisions LOL. I did over the weekend order more realistic water along with some different colors to try on the river bed. Still not quite sure what I am going to use to cover the river bed. But coloring the rocks comes first. Pics....... Paul
Chris, thanks for the step by step on the trees! They turned out looking great! Not sure if I will try it, but you never know and its nice knowing that there is information out there to fall back on!
Paul 2, the gorge is looking wonderful! I am keeping a close eye on your progress, cause I would still like to do something like that on my layout down the road!
Paul, my vote is for the 3 tone with the Umbers and Yellow Ocher.... You can always add a gray wash afterwards. You could even do an india ink alcohol wash applied sparingly in the cracks and recesses to increase the contrast. If you do the gray first, I don't think you'll be able to go back over it with the Umbers and Yellows......
Mike G: No problem, I really like the larger 12 - 14 inch trees, but choose not to spend the prices that I have seen the nicer ones listing for. The only trees I have liked at local shows run from about $13.00 to $26.00 per tree. Way too rich for my budget. It's not that hard to do these. I'd recommend watching the youtube videos. If you don't like the first couple you do, there's always a place in the back to bury them in among other trees. Like with everything else, the 1st one took us 2 hours ++ as we experimented with a totally new idea, the next day we made 2 trees in about 2 hours. Once I buy some more balsa, and I'd like to find round 1/2 inch dowels for a reasonable price, I think these could be done in around 1/2 to 3/4 hour if I do like 4 to 6 at a time.
Whoa! This thread moves right along. Kind of like a runaway 🚂! Pun intended 😁. Outstanding work from all members, including Andy, Lee, Paul 2, Brian, Bob, Luvindemtrains, and thank you Chris for the lesson on the trees, they are terrific!
Andy
Just returned from one of my LHS (lucky to have 3 nearby). Picked up some Woodland Scenic's ground cover and.....wait for it.....
plaster sheet! Going to try Paul's method for creating terrain along the edge of my layout.
Stay tuned....
Chris a, I came to the same conclusion. The three colors has worked great for me on the other scenery so why change something that works. And you're right if I did the dark first I would have problems going light. I finish up with a very dilute black wash of indigo ink when I do the coloring.............Paul
GEESH guys no way to keep up with all of this! : ) Some much stuff happening in between visits I cant address it all!
Trees are super cool!
Bob is daring to go where he hasnt gone before!!
Paul is moving ahead with lightning speed! Looks good!
Mike G did you get a power source for the hummers yet?
Absolutely no shipping info on USPS about my track and cows! Don't they understand this stuff is important?? : )
Jim
Jim, no power source yet. I haven't got that far. They are just sitting on the layout
Chris, thanks, i picked up some trees from Wal-Mart right after Christmas, i am going to experiment with them first when the time comes. It's all down the road!
Bob, make sure you post pictures of your future great work!
Bob, what hobby shop do you go to?
Andy
I had time this afternoon so I added the coloring to the gorge. Then I applied a black wash. I'll let it soak in over night and see what I have in the morning. Done for the day. It's another Tuesday night crew get together. Pics.........Paul
Steamfan77 posted:Bob, what hobby shop do you go to?
Andy
I went to Willis Hobby today since it's close to work. Trainland is a regular stop and I get to Nassau occasionally.
Bob
paul 2 posted:I had time this afternoon so I added the coloring to the gorge. Then I applied a black wash. I'll let it soak in over night and see what I have in the morning. Done for the day. It's another Tuesday night crew get together. Pics.........Paul
Great color on the stone. It looks very realistic.
carsntrains posted:GEESH guys no way to keep up with all of this! : ) Some much stuff happening in between visits I cant address it all!
Trees are super cool!
Bob is daring to go where he hasnt gone before!!
Paul is moving ahead with lightning speed! Looks good!
Mike G did you get a power source for the hummers yet?
Absolutely no shipping info on USPS about my track and cows! Don't they understand this stuff is important?? : )
Jim
I'm not scared.....what's the worst that can happen, tear it up and start over?
Shamed into action by the posters on this thread, I got out the rubbing alcohol and cleaned the tracks.
Adriatic posted:lee drennen posted:
Before I went to bed last night I dug out my old Lionel 202 I notice that the decals were starting to peel and the flat paint I used was fading so I put a gloss coat on it to seal it I never wanted a gloss coat in the first place but I don’t feel like restoring it again. This was my very first locomotive it was orange faded and needing help so I sanded it and repainted it and decaled it. This will probably go on the layout in my new model/train room in the house.
Lee, you can still hit it with a final satin/matte coat when you are ready. Clear over clear isn't an issue (same type/brand), just scuff it lightly with a fine paper or soft scotchbrite first so it can bite well.
Lee, I just acquired this 202 last night. I haven't opened it up yet, but it came with some other postwar rolling stock that hadn't seen the light of day since Eisenhower was President. The rear wheels are locked, which to me suggests something amiss with the worm gear Front end is cracked and slightly broken, so there may be impact damage inside. The pumpkin orange color is a bit off putting, but I plan to clean it up and keep the original color.
I haven't worked on one of these diesels before. Anything I should know before I dig in?
Regards
Pete.
paul 2 posted:Mark and others are right. A lot of good stuff happening here lately. Maybe it is a push to get things done with springtime approaching and with that out door work to start meaning less time for trains.
Chris a, nice job on the trees.
This morning I left the wife in the living room to venture down to work on the layout. I got all the plaster on the gorge and also went back to touchup spots I missed. Now with that drying I have to figure if I am going to do a two tone gray on the sides or do the three tone of raw umber, burnt umber and yellow ochre. Decisions, decisions LOL. I did over the weekend order more realistic water along with some different colors to try on the river bed. Still not quite sure what I am going to use to cover the river bed. But coloring the rocks comes first. Pics....... Paul
Gorge-ous!
Anyone going to York in April?
Bob,
When I was growing up in Mineola, Willis Hobbies was on Mineola Blvd near Harrison Ave, south of Jericho Turnpike, literally two blocks from my house! No wonder I could never save any of my allowance! Now because I’m on the south shore, I will usually go to Nassau Hobby in Freeport. I do sometimes visit my old stomping grounds in Mineola, so a visit to Willis Hobbies is in order.
Andy
Pete, yes I am going. I booked my room when I was there in October. Had my badges for awhile now. Plus I have to get my tickets for the Menards train expo in july. I did it last year and the wife enjoyed the trip up there so she is game for another trip....................Paul
briansilvermustang posted:
Star Wars vs Star Trek!! Darth Vader vs Spock!!! Lionel vs MTH.
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