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Comments
Karl - your article/discussion thread on painting the details (painting-those-details-the-basics-karl-a) was extremely useful to me as a newcomer to this style of modelling. Thank you for taking the time and effort to document your processes in this seminal guide. I could not have achieved these results without that guidance.
Brett's discussion thread "Easy (and I mean easy) chipping paint effect for 3D Printed Castings" was also extremely helpful for the chipped/peeling paint effects.
You have certainly put it to good use and produced some amazing results.
Very nicely done and I'm looking forward to seeing more.
Finishing the Diorama Base
With all the casting details now prepared, it is time to finish preparing the diorama base. This is another trepidatious moment as we are once again venturing into new territory (for me). In addition to the guidance in the instruction manual, I am relying heavily on the excellent discussion threads/tutorials here on the SWSM forum by Karl Allison “Dirt, Details & Dioramas”, and Ken Karns “Dr. Grunge...The Dirt on Dirt...(Scenic Work and Sundries)”. While both gentlemen make the disclaimer that this not THE way to do things, it is simply how THEY do things, they both take a similar though not identical approach. I feel in safe hands following their lead.
The first step is to put down an initial layer of “dirt”. I’ve followed Karl’s method for this. First up, the necessary materials – some light tan latex house paint and some coloured grout (Karl recommends blending two colours for this step). Both of these were readily available in the local hardware store. A sample pot of paint – with the very helpful colour name of “Cane Chair”.
And the coloured grout (a lifetime’s supply!)
Here is the actual grout:
And once blended, following Karl’s recommendation of one part dark to two parts light.
It’s hard to see from the photo, but this blend produced a colour that was almost identical to the paint colour.
The base was given a good heavy coat of paint and while still wet the coloured grout “dirt” was sprinkled on and spread with an old paintbrush. I was careful not to get paint/grout onto the ship and pit area but was less concerned about the dock and rail ties as these can be easily cleaned up later.
I will leave this to dry overnight before lightly brushing off the excess dirt. Base layer done – breathe….
so all of your future sierrawest builds will all blend together perfectly..... haha.
Now the hard part, waiting to do the next steps...
Art - yes, a very good idea indeed. That’s why I have such a detailed build log here - I keep this in a separate document on my computer, complete with the photos, for precisely that reason. These days I have enough trouble remembering what day it is, let alone how I achieved a certain feature on the model.
Before proceeding further with the scenes/scenery, I need to lay the remainder of my rail tracks. I did purchase some micro engineering rail spikes when I bought the tracks, however not being a model railroader, I’ve never laid any track before. I’ve been reviewing lots on YouTube but if anyone here has any advice/tips on both laying AND weathering the rail tracks, I’d be most grateful for your input. Keep in mind that this will not be part of a functioning layout, but a stand alone static diorama (if that makes any difference).
I usually lay all the ties how I like them and epoxy down.
Then (once fully dry) mark the first and last ties where the rails should be with a pencil. Then lay a metal ruler down on these marks and mark the intermediary ties about every 3-4 inches where the rail should be.
Run a thin line of epoxy underneath the 'foot' of the rail and lay it over the marks on the ties making sure it's straight and doesn't move.
Leave until tomorrow,
If you get any epoxy ooze from under the rail leave it alone for 30 minutes until it semi sets up then pick it off with the tip of an exacto blade or sharpened tooth pick when it has turned to rubber consistency. It will leave no marks or residue.
As I said, I'm sure this is in the manuals, after all, that's where I learned it...
(Thanks for the comment Art, nice to read that my posts help out.)
pre weathered rail (which is basically just blackened) glue it down and once dry use a small brush and dust the sides of the rail with 411.3(rust) wipe off the top but leave it on the edge of the ties where it meets the rail to show rust bleed onto the wood.
Shiney rail, spray it black (rattle can), scrape the black paint from the top and bottom of the rail, ( clean bottom to make sure the epoxy sticks well, clean top to show use), epoxy it down.
Once dry dust the sides with 411.3 (rust) as described earlier.
I personally find it more accurate to 'paint' the chalk onto the side of the rail with wet/watery chalk as it's more precise, then a little dusting/blending afterwards.
The ties were placed and epoxied in place some time ago, so it's just the placement, securing and weathering of the rails that concerned me.
The manual has very little information about either ties or rails - probably in the quite fair assumption that someone building a SWSM kit has experience with laying rail road tracks. On page 67, in the early preparation of the diorama base, we are told "draw your track centrelines on both sides of the diorama base then epoxy the ties down as shown". Then, on page 91 at the beginning of the section on detailing the diorama, we are told, "Add your rail now too". As a non-rail roader, I needed just a little more guidance than this and appreciate your taking the time to provide it for me.
It's the shiny rail that I bought and I'm about to experiment with chemically blackening it first. If that doesn't work, then I'll paint them black as you suggest. I'll follow your advice on using the rust coloured chalk - painting it on wet and then a little dusting/blending afterwards sounds like the best way to go.
I'll also follow your advice about epoxying the rails down - I wan't sure if this was needed if using the rail spikes, but on reflection a good "belt and braces" approach.
I guess a drinking straw would work too if you are able to seal it tight at both ends.
Anyone else actually trying to do this will understand what I mean and why it's easier this way. I like it because I'm clumsy and knock things, ha... But mostly because any further wetting and working on the surrounding scenery will not effect the epoxy holding down the track and rails, once its down, it's staying there...
(unless you really need to get it up, I got you covered there too, but you wont.)
I guess a drinking straw would work too if you are able to seal it tight at both ends.
Anyone else actually trying to do this will understand what I mean and why it's easier this way.
Sorry - that is a quote from Karl's post. I can't seem to find the right function to selectively quote.
I've just done a test on an offcut, using a purpose-specific paintbrush (ie an old one that gets used for this purpose only) and it seems to work quite well. Not having either plastic tubes or straws to hand, this will have to do. Experiment successfully complete - on with the real thing....
As you can see looking at several posts, there are a plethora of methods for laying the rail and weathering it. Find what works best for you.....Rick
Great to read of the success, I look forward to your next steps.
As long as its blackened but more importantly got some 'tooth' the chalk painting will take care of the rest.
The track for me needs to be spiked, four per tie.
To make it easier (for me) I find if the rail is secured in place to begin with then the spiking is much easier.
But then again, I only do dioramas at this point, so, that's all I know.
I'll be back when I've got some more progress to show.
After brushing off the loose “dirt”, I decided that the coverage was insufficient. I painted the surface again, this time with a 50/50 white glue/water mix, and sprinkled on some more “dirt”. Once dry and the excess brushed away, I was much happier with the result.
The rail tracks were next. Thanks again Karl, Art and Rick for your input on this process.
The tracks were first cleaned and blackened using Jax Pewter Black, and then lightly buffed. They were epoxied one rail at a time, with the epoxy left to cure overnight before the next rail was added. An HO rail gauge was used to ensure that the second of each pair of rails was laid at the correct distance.
Once all four rails were set up, I added the rail spikes to each tie (four per tie). The spikes used were Micro Engineering Spikes 30-106, purchased from Fast Tracks at the same time that I bought the rail tracks. They are approximately 8mm (5/16”) long, with a 1.5mm (1/16”) “head”. Here is a picture of the spikes.
Although somewhat tedious, pre-drilling for the spikes using a 0.6mm drill made the process go quite quickly. A pair of fine long-nose pliers was all that was needed to drive the spikes.
Here is a close-up of a section of track once spiking was complete.
And an overview shot at this stage.
The sides of the rails, including the spikes, were then painted with a rust coloured chalk/alcohol mix (Rembrandt 411.3) as recommended by Karl. This not only gave a nice rusted appearance to the side of the rails, it also dulled the occasional blob of epoxy.
Here is a close-up after the chalk mixture was added.
Further work on the scenery base and scenery to follow.
Quick question: Would now be the right time to add the ballast to the rails, or should that wait until later? My thinking is that it should be added now, but grateful for confirmation (or otherwise).
Mostly I dont use a ballast anymore though. I usually build up the dirt a little because most of my dio's are out in the sticks.
It depends on the finished look you want, do you want old ballast being over taken by the dirt, a few weeds and age. In which case yes do the ballast now but dont have it too high and up flush with the rails, if it's old ballast it would have sunk down, which is why it is being overtaken by nature.
If you want a newer well maintained look then you could do the ballast a little later as if it was put down over the scenery.
I generally think about the timeline (as above) to guide me on what to do first.
I generally always go with my first option above, when ballasting, I think that would fit your scenario better too. But that's up to you.
Oh, and I usually go with a tan ballast close to the dirt colour, this makes it seem as though it was local rock and blends better.
Rather than using a grey "mainline" type of ballast which I personally find too contrasting.
I'm not proclaiming it is the right way, but, it is one way.
Another thing you can do, which I'll be doing on my current diorama which needs a heavier ballast look is to mix up a batch of the grout you are using for your dirt base layer.
Make it a slightly darker blend (than your dirt layer) and mix it with water as if you were laying tile.
Spread it on a baking sheet with wax paper about 1/2" (1.5cm) thick and let it set up.
Once hard break it up and sift out some granuals for the size you want for ballast.
That is a good way to get the texture but to have the colour similar to the rest of the diorama.
Some bigger pieces can also be used as random small rocks around in the scenery, but, dont over do it.
Hope this helps.
But back to the technique....Karls ideas are along the same as mine....try to make it blend in tone wise with your dirt....just a shade or two darker, and you can also weather in some "grease" evidence down the ties...dependent on the types of locos you will run...on the outside off the rail for shays and such.....just to the inside for rod locos....I use normally HO scale ballast in a tan to brownish tone....or if it's a yard or work/maintenance area.....even a dark gray to black cinder type of ballast. Keep it minimal....just at or best just below the top off the tie. A mixture of white glue and water will secure it....don't flood it....several light applications will do....and brush off the excess. weather it with some chalks...and touch up the rails and spikes with some rust...don't over do it. If its well used...keep a dull sheen on top of the rails. Since yours is on a diarama...you don't need to worry about electrical stuff.
A helpful hint though for the future, use a pin vise with a needle to do the starter holes for the spikes. It is much faster.....Rick