Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Monday, February 25, 2019
Molding Monday
With apologies for those of you who saw the punchline already over at the Valley Local Facebook site (you're a member, aren't you? Membership is free :^) here's my first foray into the not-so-wonderful (as it turned out) world of rock casting...
I need a few small rock castings along the ROW on the East Berlin branch, so I figured I'd use a couple of the Woodland Scenics rock molds I had on-hand.
Problem is (or perhaps, turned out to be) that the Plaster of Paris I had on-hand is probably about 25-30 years old. But it was unopened so I figured it'd be ok. So I mixed it up according to the directions...
... and filled up the molds, scraping & leveling them off with a little putty knife.
Then, I waited for over a week . . .
After over a week, the large rock casting on the left is STILL not cured (see how it's a bit darker/grayer than the other, whiter castings?)
But the worst was when I went to take the castings out, they were all so soft and crumbly. Totally unusable! Certainly nothing like mybeginner's luck first time resin casting...
So - what did I do wrong? Heh - could probably be a number of things, but I'll start by purchasing some new Woodland Scenics Lightweight Hydrocal and will try again...
I need a few small rock castings along the ROW on the East Berlin branch, so I figured I'd use a couple of the Woodland Scenics rock molds I had on-hand.
Problem is (or perhaps, turned out to be) that the Plaster of Paris I had on-hand is probably about 25-30 years old. But it was unopened so I figured it'd be ok. So I mixed it up according to the directions...
... and filled up the molds, scraping & leveling them off with a little putty knife.
Then, I waited for over a week . . .
After over a week, the large rock casting on the left is STILL not cured (see how it's a bit darker/grayer than the other, whiter castings?)
But the worst was when I went to take the castings out, they were all so soft and crumbly. Totally unusable! Certainly nothing like my
So - what did I do wrong? Heh - could probably be a number of things, but I'll start by purchasing some new Woodland Scenics Lightweight Hydrocal and will try again...
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Friday, February 15, 2019
Friday Facebook Follow Fun!
The Valley Local now has a presence on Facebook! Yes, I've created a new "group" called "The Valley Local - Modeling the New Haven RR, Autumn 1948" and you can access it here. As many issues as FB has, one of the enduring reasons to continue to participate in FB is that it remains one of the easiest ways to interact with each other. It's no surprise that it's one of the most pervasive of social media platforms.
It's also super easy to follow not only individuals but also groups - and if you find a group that interests you, it's a given that others following the group feel the same way, and you can interact. It's also super easy to comment on posts and otherwise provide quick feedback (even if only a "Like").
Now, I hope this doesn't discourage folks from following this blog or especially The Valley Local website. And remember, you can always "subscribe" to the blog and get notices of new posts via email. All you have to do is submit your email in the upper left corner of the blog (click here for more info).
The new FB group won't substitute at all for the blog or 'site, but will hopefully be a nice supplement. So, if you're on Facebook and want to add this new functionality, follow The Valley Local on Facebook - and if you do, please be sure to "Like" & comment. It'll be great to see you there!
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Tuesday Touch Up - More Wethersfield Landscaping
I'm beginning to wonder if Ground Goop - at least the way I make it - is such a great idea. Maybe I'm not mixing it enough. Maybe I'm not wetting it enough. It's certainly not smooth enough. I get all sorts of lumps and bumps - which look pretty awful in HO scale.
So, out comes the wood rasp . . .
And yet-another coat of goop . . .
And another round of rasping . . .
And another - hopefully last - coat of .... not goop but paint!
I do like how the cardboard web/plaster cloth/ground goop combo creates random terrain undulations automatically, without having to be carved like foam (and with much less mess). But I have to say, this process isn't turning out not to be that much quicker - especially for relatively flat areas.
What would you have done differently here, if anything?
So, out comes the wood rasp . . .
And yet-another coat of goop . . .
And another - hopefully last - coat of .... not goop but paint!
I do like how the cardboard web/plaster cloth/ground goop combo creates random terrain undulations automatically, without having to be carved like foam (and with much less mess). But I have to say, this process isn't turning out not to be that much quicker - especially for relatively flat areas.
What would you have done differently here, if anything?
Monday, February 11, 2019
Monday Mockups & Modeling
Since the major structures are close to being done in Wethersfield (and it seems like I'm still waiting for that ground goop to dry), I decided to shift over to the end of the East Berlin Branch and come up with something for the Stanley Chemical Co.
By way of background, the East Berlin Branch heads north from the north end of Middletown yard to serve brickyards along the way and it terminates at the Stanley Chemical Co. - producers of paint - at the end of the line. The line had originally extended all the way to the Kensington section of Berlin for a connection with the New Haven's Hartford-Springfield line. But the line had been cut back to East Berlin in 1940 and the rest of the branch was abandoned back to Middletown in 1961.
East Berlin was also the site of the Berlin Iron Bridge Company. Unfortunately, it was gone by 1948 but the Valley Local still serves StanChem and the brickyards - even if it has to back all the way caboose-first over sketchy track at no more than 10 mph.
Unlike much of the rest of the railroad, I don't have much in the way of photos of the area. And, considering my existential angst, this is a good thing. I can do a little proto-freelancing and come up with my own version of what I imagine StanChem, circa 1948, to look like.
I started out by mocking up some DPM modular wall sections.
The good news is that it looks pretty good and it'd fit nice. The bad news is that, despite having a pretty good collection of DPM parts (thanks to friend Pieter), I don't have enough of the correct ones to actually build this building. I'd have to make a pretty large order, and I'd rather try and use what I have on-hand.
Thanks to friend Peter (not to be confused with friend Pieter...), I have a good collection of Walthers modulars. The pic above isn't my collection - I took it at a local shop for reference to see what, if anything, I might be missing.
The Walthers modulars come with a template you can copy/cut/paste/tape into a mockup to plan your building. And here's what I came up with:
They both looked pretty good, but as low-relief buildings, weren't quite deep enough. If I placed them against the wall/backdrop as designed, the loading doors would be far too far away from the siding. And if I place them right next to the siding, I'd have all sorts of crazy empty space behind the structure.
So these two structures will likely go to Middletown.
Finally, I tried a City Classics structure I got at Springfield last month. It looks nice, but it's really too deep for this location. To fit it without cutting it down (which I'm loathe to do), I'd have to move it WAY up the siding toward the turnout, wreaking havoc with the scene - not to mention the car spots.
So, I think I'm going to go with the Walthers modulars. I have the right parts on-hand and my mockup shows that it's almost as ideal for the space as the DPM mockup I'd started with.
And since I do have the parts on-hand, I was able to start putting the walls together while hanging out (via teleconference) with a bunch of modeling buddies. Being at the bench while chatting with friends - and getting some timely advice on kit assembly (thanks Kaylee!) - was a great way to spend an evening.
Next, I'll need to prime and paint the walls. So if any of you have any advice/tips/suggestions on how best to do that (paint choices, techniques, etc), I'd love to hear them! At this rate, I may be able to get the Berlin Branch done a bit earlier than I expected!
By way of background, the East Berlin Branch heads north from the north end of Middletown yard to serve brickyards along the way and it terminates at the Stanley Chemical Co. - producers of paint - at the end of the line. The line had originally extended all the way to the Kensington section of Berlin for a connection with the New Haven's Hartford-Springfield line. But the line had been cut back to East Berlin in 1940 and the rest of the branch was abandoned back to Middletown in 1961.
East Berlin was also the site of the Berlin Iron Bridge Company. Unfortunately, it was gone by 1948 but the Valley Local still serves StanChem and the brickyards - even if it has to back all the way caboose-first over sketchy track at no more than 10 mph.
Unlike much of the rest of the railroad, I don't have much in the way of photos of the area. And, considering my existential angst, this is a good thing. I can do a little proto-freelancing and come up with my own version of what I imagine StanChem, circa 1948, to look like.
I started out by mocking up some DPM modular wall sections.
The good news is that it looks pretty good and it'd fit nice. The bad news is that, despite having a pretty good collection of DPM parts (thanks to friend Pieter), I don't have enough of the correct ones to actually build this building. I'd have to make a pretty large order, and I'd rather try and use what I have on-hand.
Thanks to friend Peter (not to be confused with friend Pieter...), I have a good collection of Walthers modulars. The pic above isn't my collection - I took it at a local shop for reference to see what, if anything, I might be missing.
The Walthers modulars come with a template you can copy/cut/paste/tape into a mockup to plan your building. And here's what I came up with:
Compare these photos to the DPM mockup above. The Walther's mockup is a bit shorter and a bit deeper (requiring it to be moved further up the siding toward the turnout), but I think I can make a nice dock area at the back (right end) of the building to serve an additional car.
Also, for my birthday, I got a Walthers "Commissary/Freight Transfer" structure kit and an "Armstrong Electric Motors" kit. These are low-relief buildings, so I mocked them up to see how they'd look:
They both looked pretty good, but as low-relief buildings, weren't quite deep enough. If I placed them against the wall/backdrop as designed, the loading doors would be far too far away from the siding. And if I place them right next to the siding, I'd have all sorts of crazy empty space behind the structure.
So these two structures will likely go to Middletown.
Finally, I tried a City Classics structure I got at Springfield last month. It looks nice, but it's really too deep for this location. To fit it without cutting it down (which I'm loathe to do), I'd have to move it WAY up the siding toward the turnout, wreaking havoc with the scene - not to mention the car spots.
So, I think I'm going to go with the Walthers modulars. I have the right parts on-hand and my mockup shows that it's almost as ideal for the space as the DPM mockup I'd started with.
And since I do have the parts on-hand, I was able to start putting the walls together while hanging out (via teleconference) with a bunch of modeling buddies. Being at the bench while chatting with friends - and getting some timely advice on kit assembly (thanks Kaylee!) - was a great way to spend an evening.
Next, I'll need to prime and paint the walls. So if any of you have any advice/tips/suggestions on how best to do that (paint choices, techniques, etc), I'd love to hear them! At this rate, I may be able to get the Berlin Branch done a bit earlier than I expected!
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