Photo Finish

The photo studio section of the Ensminger Brothers building is mostly complete, lacking only window glass, final weathering, and perhaps some signage.  A fence running between the brick building and wood entry will be added when the structure is installed on the layout, but I'm getting ahead of myself.  Here are some progress images showing how I built the roof, added shingles and painted the structure.

I used dense file folder material for the roof panels.

Normally I don't like Campbell shingles but they work well here.

I chose an aged white and slate blue for the walls and trim, with a dark mudstone for the stairs and a lighter mudstone for the shingles.  The shingles and stairs received a dark brown wash while the walls received a mudstone wash.  I used charcoal black for the roofing paper, then lightened and streaked for an aged appearance.  

In the third image you can also see the brick walls have received a mortar treatment.  I sealed the paint then applied joint compound, pressing it into the mortar lines.  This can be removed carefully from the surface of the bricks using a damp sponge.  In this case I wanted a sloppy application as seen on the prototype so I was careful to not wipe away too much.  This stands in contrast to the clean look of the facing brick, though most of that brick is hidden by the veranda.

Speaking of the veranda, it received some paint as well.  Moss green for the base coat (applied with a spray can) and cactus green craft paint.  In this image the parts need a second coat of the cactus green.

 Up next, masking and painting the remaining windows and doors!  Entering the home stretch...

Drug Store Saga, Part IV

I began adding color to the trim using a palate similar to what I used on the Queen Anne Cottage for the NMRBO22.  In fact, the colors are identical - Black Cherry, Almond and Butter Cream (doesn't that sound delicious) but the placement is not.  Whereas on the Queen Anne the windows were Butter Cream, here the windows are Black Cherry, though they look more like Cranberry.  See, I was going to make them white, so I primed them gray and applied the white paint sprayed from above allowing the gray to make an artificial shadow (aka, the zenithal highlight technique).  Then I changed my mind and decided to airbrush them Black Cherry.

Oh I was so happy with how well my new compressor worked, how I was able to dial in the pressure and thin the paint just right to achieve a smooth even coat.  Yes, craft paint can be airbrushed as long as it is thinned and strained and sprayed using a higher pressure than say, oils or inks, but not so high as to spatter.  The appropriate thinner, in my case I used Liquitex Acrylic Airbrush Medium, will allow the paint to lay down and spread out before drying instead of going on all speckly.  It all looked so good.

The windows have been "washed" but still appear slightly brighter than the other parts.

But then I compared the Black Cherry on the windows to the Black Cherry on the other details, the ones I had only primed gray.  Reds are usually translucent (relatively) and this red was no exception.  Over the white primed windows I had a brilliant sanguine glow and on the gray primed parts, a dull purple.  Ugh.  So to fix this I've been slopping on a thinned mix of Black Cherry, black ink wash and brown ink wash to fill the recesses.  I like the brighter red on the raised areas so I'll keep it while darkening the shadows and filtering the whole paint job overall slightly darker.  On the gray-primed Black Cherry bits I'll simply dry brush highlight with a lighter shade of Black Cherry.  Fingers crossed.

Still needs paint (and roofing material).

I rolled a little snake of Miliput to create a fillet behind the parapet wall castings.  They weren't really deep enough to cover the thickness of the wall itself.  This repair looks realistic, like something masons would do to cap off a wall and tie in the ornate front detail.  I also began painting that detail, opting for a simple Butter Cream background and Black Cherry on the raised bits.  In studying actual Victorian paint schemes, I found that most original schemes were not as ornate as we've painted them since.  What we think of as "Victorian" color schemes today are really quite gaudy and complex compared to what was often done originally.

I also added the quoins to the corners between the upper and lower trim.  Let me tell you...that was the easy part.  Fitting the parapet trim was challenging, but not terrible.  Fitting the lower trim where the bay window section must be made from three pieces took some forethought and engineering.  Fortunately I could follow the example of the upper detail and miter the corners to match.  I think it looks pretty good.

Up next?  Who knows.  This project has been all over the place in terms of any logical sequence or lack thereof.  I've got the floor/base cut to fit.  Maybe LEDs.  We'll see.  Plenty of painting to do and some details still to make.  I'm going to try applying dry transfer letters to clear styrene for the big storefront windows.  Still shooting for a March 1 completion in order to begin work on the NMRBO24 diorama at the starting line.

Passenger Fleet Color Choices

After badmouthing the garish red paint* on the combine in my previous post, I figured I'd better present my preferences, or at least the process for determining my choice.  I'm following a suggested scheme by Selley for their passenger cars.  I'll admit that when I first read it I dismissed it, but after searching and seeing what others had done I came back to it and embraced it.  It's basically this: roof - black or brown, sides and ends - Tuscan red, trucks and platform details - olive green, underbody and select details - black.  So, I pulled my colors I thought might work and began making color swatches on a sheet painted with the same primer I'm using on the cars.

Below, the choices I'm leaning towards.  Or, mellow traffic signals.  You decide.

*I should admit that many great passenger trains have been a bright red or similarly bold rosy hue.  John Allen's streamlined passenger train was painted Mandarin Red, as was his little combine that worked the branch line out of Gorre up to Daphetid.  Perhaps that was the inspiration for the little combine I found. 

Sub-Roadbed for Streets, Ditches and More

I decided to use cork sheets for the base of the streets in Ocala Springs, aka Pine Branch Park.  The wider road uses 3/16" thick material while the narrower road uses 1/8".  Note the cork is cut wider than the road surface to include the sidewalks, shown here in their raw, gray resin state.  These are herringbone station platforms from Frenchman River which I will cut and modify as needed.

Speaking of station platforms, I will also be using a herringbone brick pattern there but this one is laser-cut material by RS Laser Kits.  The base under the station platform and parking area is 1/4" cork and will be slightly sanded and shaped before the area is scenicked more fully.  The plan for this and the streets in general is to use spackle, though that may change as I consider other options.  There's more to be done before that step.

That gouged-out mess in the second photo is going to be a drainage ditch.  Drainage is THE most important element of track laying on the prototype.  Here I used a Dremel with a cutter attachment to rout away the press-board sub-roadbed surface.  Once contoured and scenicked it will not be so ragged.  Pipes will be used at the track to convey the water away.  Not sure yet what kind of pipe I'll use.

I also painted the track using Espresso - not the coffee, the paint color by Rustoleum.  I like their UltraCover Paint + Primer.  It claims to cover wood, metal, plastic and more; ideal for track.  The finish should be 'Satin', but appears glossier than that to my eye.  That's okay, as it will be dulled down with further color applications.  Ties will be painted with various shades of brown and gray, then washed and dry-brushed, before rail and tie plates receive a coat of rust color and grime.  I may take one section all the way through ballasting to see how it looks.  We'll see.

Tombstones Update

Here's an update on the two tombstones my son and I built for our Golden Cedars Garden of Rest Pet Cemetery.  Since the last post we applied a layer of paper mache' clay to the sides, backs and bases of the stones and in the case of the smaller stone, to the front, shaping it to match the existing border across the top.  Once that had ample time to dry, both received a coat of black paint followed by a drybrushing of white.  That's it - the drybrushing produces a very realistic stone appearance relying on the texture of the surface to create tonal variation. 

The black is an indoor latex while the white is Kilz primer.  Indoor vs. outdoor paint matters less since it will receive a coat of urethane spar varnish to protect it from the elements.  However, I won't apply that until later this summer when I can do that work outdoors.  That varnish gives me a headache so a respirator and good ventilation is absolutely necessary.  The varnish gives the stones a slight yellowed tint, but for these two I may also apply a color filter to imply a different type of stone, for variety.

He Painted EVERYTHING!

Just watch.  You'll see.  No, really, watch this first.  If you're in a hurry, skip to 8:30.

I'm not a military modeler.  I messed around with airplane and sci-fi kits very briefly as a kid, but that's about as close as I came.  Still, I appreciate good model making and finishing.  I found this channel via suggestions to watch his diorama construction videos.  Wow.  "A tiny bit better" he says?  No, the results are stunning. 

But more than the results, it is the process I find most interesting.  Many fantasy model makers, tabletop wargamers, and military modelers do one thing VERY differently than model railroaders when building a diorama.  They may use the same scenic materials, adhesives and paints, but it is in how they apply them where the difference is most apparent, or rather, the sequence of application, with an extra step.

Model railroaders or folks who make model railroad dioramas will generally select materials based on color - a certain color dirt, another color palate of grasses, etc.  We may tint with washes or powders, but essentially we're relying on the color of the material to be at least a base for the finished color.  Texture is important as well, but we tend to look to the color of the material since we're spoiled for choice.  There is such a variety of colorful scenic materials out there (but try to find gray grass...).

Other model makers, like Martin from Night Shift in the video above, focus more on the texture of the material first, and the color second.  Get the texture right, and then you can paint it any color you like.  In the video above, he applies ground cover from dirt to grass to special photo etched plants.  Then he paints it.  All of it.  He paints it dark brown.  All of it.  Dirt, grass, plants, all of it.  Brown.  

I've never seen that.  I've never seen anyone fully scenic a diorama base then paint the whole thing brown.  I've never seen that.

As alluded to above, I have seen other diorama makers paint the whole thing black then work up the color with washes, drybrushing, etc.  But that doesn't usually include the grasses or other elements added later.  Buildings, sure, and of course rocks and even the dirt.  But all of it?  And then to bring back the color so precisely!  

This does enable him to do some precision work, matching the color and texture of the mud in the ground to the color and texture of the mud on the tank treads.  It unifies the scene naturally by utilizing  the same color palate throughout.  But is it really necessary?  Is it worth the extra effort?  And what would our miniature railroad worlds look like if we applied a similar process to them?  Is that even possible?

I'm still processing this.  Scope me, I'm outta here.

 

Four Flats - Decks Weathered, Sides Painted and Ready for Decals

 

A quick update to show the decks fully painted and weathered.  The first application of color was a thin coat of Mudstone over the gray primer with a few boards picked out in a lighter tan to show replacement work by the shop.  Next was an all-over wash with Burnt Umber acrylic ink, thinned with Matte Medium and water.  After that dried I applied a black oil wash, cleaning select boards with a pointy cotton bud for variation of the effect.  The black wash seeps into the cracks, defining the boards as well as all the gouges and distressing I had applied earlier.

The sides were brush painted with Brown Iron Oxide.  Brush painting took me about as long as it would have if I had taped off the decks and undersides, strained and thinned the paint, and applied it with an airbrush.  I noticed this time around that my brush work has improved; at least I'm more comfortable with it, thanks to the miniature painting I've been doing lately.  That, and using the Matte Medium and water mix to thin the paint.  This mix makes the paint flow well and settle down without losing coverage or showing brush strokes.  The craft paint I use is too thick straight out of the bottle and benefits from a proper thinning.

Once the sides had dried I gave them a coat of gloss varnish from a rattle can and have allowed that to dry/cure for over 24 hours.  I gauge the time to let it dry based on how well I can still smell the odor.  Not scientific, but it hasn't failed me yet.  Today I spent some time laying out the spacing for the decals and selecting what I will use from the Rail Graphics freight car lettering sets.  Funny thing - they didn't make a Flat Car set for the 1900-1920 period, so I'll have to cobble together the relevant data from other types of rolling stock.  I also spent some time looking at historic shots of other prototype flat cars to get ideas for what to include and how it might look.

Thanks for reading, if you made it this far, and check back soon for the next Four Flats installment or click on the tag in the list on the right to read any of the previous posts.  As usual, open the pictures in another window or tab to see them larger.

Office Detail...AGAIN!

The last structure I completed was the Seqouia Fallburgh Station, built as my Ocala Springs station for the Pine Branch of the Ocali Creek Railway.  I chose to go all in and really detail the structure's interior, including the entryway, waiting room and office.  So when I selected the next structure to build I wasn't expecting to once again be detailing an office, but here we are.  

The Suydam Union Ice kit comes with little wooden shapes which are supposed to represent chairs, desks, a sofa, file cabinets and a counter.  These would be suitable if the building were in the background.  However, it occupies a site on my railroad where it will be quite easy to look through the big windows into all that office space.  Good thing I bought those desk chairs!

I'm also testing out shades of blue for the structure, along with types of stucco material.  I've settled on the light blue shade but the darker is still not quite right.  I've also found that Durham's Water Putty mixed 1:1:1 with paint and water makes a terrific HO scale stucco.  I didn't invent this ratio - others have stumbled upon it and shared it just as I am doing here.  

I really don't need to be or want to be that guy remembered for detailing every interior of every building.  I'm content to focus on those that will be easily seen and maybe do a few that won't be seen as easily just because I want to.  I am inspired by a certain generation of Disney Imagineers who included many details in the attractions they designed even though the casual guest wouldn't see them. However, those viewers who looked more closely at a scene would be delighted to discover them.

Paint Pot?

I recently worked a crossword that had to have been written by a Brit.  Answers included "have at it", "anorak" and "paint pot".  Nobody I know on this side of the pond says paint pot.  Whether the lid screws on or flips up, we say bottle.  If it comes in a tube, we say tube.  If we're not sure what to call it we say container.  Say pot, at least in Northern California, and folks certainly don't think of a paint container.

So what do you call this?

For those unfamiliar with such a thing, what you are looking at is a contact lens case.  This one has lids that screw on and off.  The older kind used to have lids that were attached and snapped into place.  They wore out, leaked, and had the potential to send your precious lens flying if opened incorrectly.  

This version shown here makes a great little temporary storage for paint.  I have mixed a custom color of three drops white to one drop "Butter Cream" and a drop of matte medium thinner to match the aging sides of the MDT freezer, in order to paint the ends.  When you just need a tiny little container to keep a custom color fresh long enough to give the object you are painting multiple coats, this fits the bill nicely.

Whether you call it a pot, container, vessel, or whatever, I call it really useful!

Playing with Paint

With the station project nearing completion, I needed to paint two figures before I could wrap it up for now.  But before I did that I decided to insert a mini-project I'd been putting off for a while.  I store my paint bottles in a tray down in a file box.  This works well but has one major flaw - I can't tell what color the paint is unless I lift out the bottle and look.  And even then it isn't accurate since the paint will dry a slightly different color than the way it looks through the semi-translucent bottle.  So a while back I asked my wife for some of these little round stickers and she happily shared them with me and there they sat, with the paints, for months.  Okay, maybe it has been a little longer.

 

The two figures for the station were not the sole impetus for this project, however.  There lays ahead a far greater painting task, one calling for paint that performs better than these craft paints, at least as they are straight out of the bottle.  And that's the subject of another post...

Parts Plank

I use wooden sticks, often tongue depressors as seen here, with masking tape wrapped around them as detail parts painting handles.  These parts are all Milliput duplicates made in Oyumaru molds.  Milliput isn't expensive but I don't want it to go to waste especially if I've gone to the trouble to get my fingers all sticky mixing it.  So, I have a number of molds standing by to make parts with the excess.  Shown here: books, a clock (minus the face), storm drains, crates of lemons, a typewriter, a basket of oranges and a bunch of bananas.

The clock is the part I needed for the station waiting room and the reason I mixed this latest batch of Milliput.  But the grates will be useful as the street scene is installed, the fruit may find a home on the station platform and the books in the office.  There's already a typewriter on the agent's desk so this one will be stored and used elsewhere and the bananas?  Who knows.  They certainly will bring life to any scene with their bright yellow color.

Now We're Rolling!

Ocali Creek Railway 2-6-0 number 145 speeds a train of reefers loaded with Florida citrus toward Northern markets at Christmastime.  Oranges at Christmas have become a tradition for many during this season, thanks to fast, dependable transportation provided by railroads spanning the sunshine state.  The orange and green Shepaug Valley car behind the locomotive is likely headed for Connecticut.  The Ocali Creek is a short line tapping the riches of central Florida.  This train will speed through the tall pine forests to a connection with the Florida East Coast.

Finished the Mogul to a state where I can run it for a while before adding weathering and final details.  In fact, I will likely finish the OCRY cabeese before I weather this locomotive along with the cabeese and some other too-clean rolling stock.  Neither the bell nor whistle cords have been added, and there's no coal in the tender.  That's okay as there are no handrails to pull yourself up into the cab either.  Those are the last details to add.  The railings will go on before I weather, the cords and coal after.

Note how the pure black paint obscures the details in this poor garage light.  HA.  Just kidding.  I hope this photo goes to show that a glossy black paint job looks beautiful and actually highlights the detail, most of which is molded on and not separately applied.  The poor garage light is a basic florescent shop light.  The image was captured with a digital camera set to auto ISO and a close-up macro with no flash.

Mogul Update

I have been making steady progress on the IHC 2-6-0 rebuild, reaching the painting and decal stage.  Now all that's left is to wire the LEDs.  The headlight will be wired to two connector pins and the resistors will be wired in the tender, along with the rear light.  The LEDs are prewired nano LEDs from Evan Designs, set into holes drilled into cast brass light housings.

Paint is all acrylic except for the brass bits.  The graphite is a craft paint called 'tin' and the red is called 'lipstick'.  The black is BLACK - not gray, or weathered black, or black warmed with red and softened with white a la John Allen, but BLACK.  I've never been a fan of painting a locomotive any color other than what it was or is in real life.  Funnily enough, I freelance.  Still, black is black.

I got a bit of an orange peel finish on the cab roof, due to the gloss varnish not going on thick enough.  I'm not happy with the way the gloss behaved - some of the paint buckled and wrinkled, but it wasn't in a place where it will be seen.  Overall the finish is fine, but I am going to look into the Tamiya varnishes as I've heard great things about them.

Once the LEDs are wired I will reassemble the loco and add final touches like the crew, coal load and bell and whistle cords.  I have cleaned paint from the tender trucks but will run the engine on DC to turn the drivers.  Weathering is something that'll happen down the road, most likely.

BTW - my most recent post on "What Vintage" has far and away surpassed any other post I've made on this blog.  Welcome to all the new readers who came by for that post.  Stick around and check out some of the other posts and feel free to comment!

Serendipitous Tape Tip

I discovered this tip by accident while masking two box cars in preparation to paint the undersides.  I needed to somehow cradle these cars so that they could rest upside down without damaging the vertical brake staff and wheel which rise above the roof line.  However, the tape was enough to provide a stable support for the car and clearance for the brake wheel.

The first car to be masked was a Central Valley 36' car (shown above in the bottom of the photo).  These cars are short in height, so the Frog tape I used was wide (tall) enough to cover the whole side plus extend a few scale feet above the roof.  When I turned the car over, set it on the tape, and realized how well that would work, I masked the second car, a Silver Streak box car, with a full width of Frog tape plus a half width to create enough height to do the same. 

Voila!  Masks that protect the car sides and roof AND serve as stands for painting.  I imagine this would work just as well if you were painting the roof a different color - just extend the tape down the sides below the underbody detail.