LaRue gets some make-up

The little town of LaRue nestled into the sandstone bluffs near Ablemann, got some color this morning. The town is actually a dead-end into a wall that represents where the railroad gets its sand for online cement dealers. The MadCoW Ry, uses ore-jennies for this captive service.

Last week the area looked like this;



And after this mornings' facelift;





More to come.........

Happy Modeling,

Johnny

 

Well Hello Colonel!! Thanks much. Not sure what you are looking for? Do you want to see it during the carving phase? I don't work from prototype, just what's in my head. So it's amazing I get anything done!!

Let me know and I'll post it for you.

Cheers,

Johnny

 

I would like to see it during the carving phase and during the coloring phase, too. It does look very nice; excellent job.

 

Nice work there Johnny, Like your rock work alot.

Cheers, Ken.

 

Johnny,

I would like working pictures, too. :angel:
We can only learn something.

Wolfgang

 

Well Friscobob, I'll tell you. I used to hog on the WSOR, they operate the old CNW line out of Madison and the line is now severed at Reedsburg. But they get sand from a pit in Janesville and it was hauled by us in ore-jennies to a cement plant in Madison. I really thought it a must for my railroad to provide that service. As a matter of fact, we used to load rock from the quarry into them for WSOR system use. I think they're all gone now. but even back then(1995-2000) I believe that they could not be interchanged due to age AAR rules.


Flash, Cleggie, Wolfgang and Colonel; ask and ye shall receive.......I'm doing a new section in the next couple of days and will get some progress shots.

Johnny

 

Step-by-step photos with explanations would make an excellent article to run as a series here, so even us old timers could learn some new tricks. You certainly do excellent work.
Do you only carve foam, or sometimes carve or mold plaster or clay? What paints, stains, or washes, etc?
We may not achieve the Genius level you do, but maybe we could improve our efforts by following your instructions. Thanks.

 

Johnny, great looking work. Looking forward to the next pictures. Cheers.

 

CARVING the QUARRY:

For those that asked to see the process of carving and painting the styrofoam rockfaces. Here is what I have.

First on what will become my quarry diorama, I stacked the foam two-layers deep on edge.( It should be noted that all the foamwork here is from 2" thick insulation board, NOT beaded board! And as you will see, I re-cycle whenever I can.) This is done on my base of a single sheet of 2" foam. I then added little 'chunks' of pieces to the face that will serve as protrusions. Be random with this process. Also be sure when using adhesives, to use ones that are compatable with this foam. SOME MAY MELT IT. I use liquid nails HD adhesive in caulking like tubes. Safe for use with this.




This view shows what it looks like from the top or looking down on it. Main line is far right then the delivery track next on left. The loading tracks are the three on the far left.


Continued..........

 

CARVING the QUARRY Pt II

Now comes the fun part. To do this the way I do, you will need to have all of the following tools..............a kitchen steaknife. That's it, that's all I need. I start by drawing the knife throught the faces of the foam horizontally(side to side) across the whole area. This is done to carry lines through all the faces.


I also start to carve out little concave type features where rock has crumbled away or was eroded by time.


I keep up this process going from one to the other and chipping away with the end of the knife to expose jagged surfaces as well. Just random hacking basically. And I am fore ever placing the structures in the scene to check out fit AND how the scene is shaping up.


I decided to have a small run-off at the base of the rockface that comes from water seeping down the rockwall. This required the little 'caves' along the bottom edge to represent the erosion this would cause. It would also be nice scenery for my passengers on the route!


Continued..........

 

CARVING the QUARRY Pt III

Keep in mind, before moving to this step, I used NO plaster or sculptamold on this diorama. So your carvings should look as good as they can before this next step. HOW-EVER, this step actually gives you a chance to catch the places that you missed or want to change.

Using a plant watering bottle. I get the ones I can find that have a fully adjustable nozzle(solid stream to a fine mist) sold at most big-box stores. I mix 70% water with 30% acrylic craft paint for these washes. In this case the first will be black. This process can be messy, so if you cannot take the layout outside, I highly suggest protecting EVERYTHING around the area. You have been warned. Using the stream setting, I cover the rock face with the wash. By using the spray setting the wash gets into the tighter crevices. Start at the top and work your way down letting the natural flows find their way. When you finish, things will look like this.




You will notice that although toned down, the rock still has a pinkish color to it. For me that is important as the rocks I am modeling here come from a real quarry where the CNW got its 'pink-lady' ballast from and the rocks have a purple-ish color to them. From this point you want to choose colors that will best interpret the scene you want. Other than changing to your colors the process is the same.

After mixing varying amounts of blues, reds, siennas, and the water(always keeping the 70%water/30% paint mix) I again applied this to the faces using the stream setting. And my rocks started to take this look.



Continued................

 

CARVING the QUARRY Pt IV

By using the stream to randomly vary the amount in a given area you can create the 'strata' look of many types of rockwork.

I also highlight the rock with yellows, whites, green/gray mixes(moss), and some other colors that may be present in the real deal. BUT this is not done with the water bottles, rather with a medium sized(or whatever suits your need) artist brush, using the dry brushing technique. I get some acrylic paint in my brush, wipe on a paper towel to remove all but a small amount of paint. Then, going along the upper tips of exposed faces I lightly brush the highlights in. This process creates amazing depth to the rock work.




Now, all that's left to do is add greenery, details and whatever else your little heart desires. I still have a long way to go on this area but for me it's all a part of playing with trains!!





Hope this is what you were looking for.

Happy Modeling,

Johnny

 

Nice. Keep up the good work. A good step-by-step. I never thought about using scrap foam to form the rock protrusions. Cool idea.

 

I notice you do not cover the rails with painter's masking tape, (like I have in working with wet plaster), so, does this type foam not stick to the track? What about drops of paint?

(Blue Painter's masking tape leaves no residue).

I am not criticizing, just asking how difficult is it to clean up the track after you have finished a section like this shown?

I see how you obtain such great results! Way to go!

 

Thanks Mopman, It works great for those depth scenes.

Johnny

 

Hey Watash! Thanks for the compliments. Don't worry about me, I've got skin so thick that........well, ........it's thick!

I guess I did forget to mention clean-up. I DO cover the tracks, but only with newspaper. I fold it so it's a little wider than the right-o-way then just lay it end to end to cover the tracks themselves. Then the droplets of paint which are really just a wash, blend in nicely with the surrounding scenery. If it's pretty un-realistic looking, I'll just touch up the area with ground foam.

As for foam it IS messy during the carving!! The pile of foam is a lot after an area this size. I pick most of the bigger chunks out then use a shopvac for the rest. Unlike the beaded foam, this stuff doesn't stick to stuff half as bad. Static electricity I guess? It does clean up easy using this method.

When I do the rest of the shots of LaRue in the next couple of days, I'll post pre-cleanup pictures of the area I carve. I'll also see if I can get the Mrs. to take photos of the actual carving taking place. It's just that I don't like to post messy stuff.

Johnny