I decided to start on another handlaid HOn30 turnout. My first concepts for the hinged point system were successful, and I was confident I could improve upon my last try.
I've been researching soldering techniques, and recently upgraded my soldering iron setup. I've mentioned this before, but I used to hate soldering. With a passion. I have a legacy of awkward, sloppy, botched solder joints to attest for that.
However, as I've delved into DCC and handlaid track, soldering has become a necessity, so I've invested time reading and researching the topic extensively. As a result of that research (and a lot of practice), I find I'm starting to enjoy soldering much more lately as I apply the concepts I learn to make cleaner, tidier work.
It's the details that become important in the soldering process; an appropriately shaped fine-tip, for one. Being fastidious about cleaning and tinning the tip after every solder joint. Oh, and the granddaddy of all soldering rules: USE FLUX!
Compare the joints on the straight stock rail (first install) to those of the diverging route (second); even in this build, the joints got better as I worked through the turnout.
The blobby solder joint near the top really stands out. However, I'm fairly happy how clean the web of the rail is; no gobs of solder seeping between the foot and head of the rail.
I'm finding a new determination to make each piece of work better than the last. This applies to not only this turnout, but each kit, paint job, coupler installation, scenic treatment, etc. Finding improvements to my skill set, and seeing the results improve with each try is really becoming a rewarding part of this hobby for me.
Minitrains products have re-invigorated the HOn30 market. This month, their highly anticipated Forney 0-4-4 loco was released, and I couldn't resist pulling the trigger on this gorgeous little loco.
She runs as smoothly as the other Minitrains stock, and has a lot of character to her "look." Something will have to be done about that ugly red wire, though. It passes through the chassis to power the directional lighting; there is a small headlight behind the tender, a necessity on a Forney expected to run for a good half of its working life in reverse.
My power pack died, so I'm relying on a 9v battery to test the loco; this allows me one speed: lightning! Here's a short video flyby of the Forney with rocket-boosters engaged.
I continued with my track painting project the last couple nights.
After I gave the base "tan" coat a full 24 hours to cure, it was time to paint the rails. This required masking; because of the width of the tape, I had to do one rail at a time.
File under: Pain in the a**.
My plan was to use Floquil "roof brown" for the rails. Hey, I happened to have an aerosol can of it on hand! Lucky me! Let's just spray bomb the masked off rails! It will work perfectly and I won't have to clean up the airbrush!
Nope.
While the rails painted fine with the "spray bomb," there was a TON of bleed-under through the tape. Plus, the overspray got everywhere.
Yuck.
Some areas turned out OK, but in general I discovered that this project was going to require some touch-ups.
So, I decided to transition to the airbrush for the other rail. Masking first; I ran out of blue tape halfway through, which ended up being a good thing. Another learning moment: the white masking tape creates a cleaner line and is a bit easier to work with.
I'm still messing with the right formula for spraying Polly S through the airbrush. I suppose it won't be an issue once I run out of the paint, since they're not making it anymore...in any case, I laid down a coat with the airbrush and was rewarded with a much cleaner result.
Lesson 2: use the %&^($@ airbrush, dummy.
So, because of the overspray, I went in with a small flat brush and did touchups along the ties and spikes. This was the tedium I was trying to avoid in the first place, but the result worked out OK:
Touchups...looks much better!
So, from here, it was time for a liberal application of Grimy Black weathering powder to tone down the colors and blend everything together. Not much science to this part; grab a crappy brush and start slopping it on!
Pretty happy with the result; will look much better when ballasted. I might go back and do some selective application of some earth tones and rust.
I celebrated my finished track with a cold beer and some trains.
The sisters stage a meet.
The new addition even had a chance to pull the "varnish" for a bit.
I'm still deciding what direction to go with this new loco as far as detailing and kit-bashing. Add it to the project list...my 4-4-0 is still waiting in the wings impatiently as well.
That's all for now! Hopefully will have a few more work sessions this week to start getting basic ground cover and ballast in. I discovered a new ballasting method that I'm eager to try out and share.
Hello folks! Summer continues to be busy, but I had some time to mull over some design decisions as well as get into the garage tonight for a short work session.
The weather is cooling down a bit, so after the sun started to set I took advantage of the breezy dusk to spend some time in the garage. I really enjoy work sessions with the garage door open when the weather is mild and brisk like today was.
I've been enjoying my new airbrush, so I thought I'd finally get around to painting my track. As described in another post, my plan all along has been to use the method described in Joey Ricard's track painting video:
The basic idea is that you apply a base "tooth" coat of flat black, followed by light suede craft paint for the ties, and a rust-colored solution of powders and alcohol to the rails; then, everything is "dumbed down" in color gradient using a wash of black-grey powders. In my test trials, I've had good success with this method, but there are a few drawbacks for my application:
1. Craft Paints- the amount of time it takes to hand paint the ties is prohibitive, even on a small layout like mine. Also, in HO scale, the thickness of the craft paint obscures the finer woodgrain detail on the ties.
2. Rust Powders- in my tests, the pastel/alcohol solution never stuck to the base coat on the rail web.
I decided to break out the airbrush to help solve the above problems. I could lay a much finer coat of paint that way, in a much shorter amount of time.
First, a base coat of grimy black went on.
Then, I laid in the "suede" color on the ties; this is Polly Scale "earth."
I'm actually more pleased with this effect. There is a subtle counter-shading effect resulting from the black undercoat, as well as some variation in the tie shading that I think will help the final product once the weathering wash is laid in.
After taking some time away from the layout, I've had some time to reconsider some design decisions. Here are two sections that have been bothering me, scenically:
Visually, the terrain doesn't make sense; why would the MVRR inexplicably build curves through two deep cuts?. It looks cartoonish and fake. It spoils an otherwise gently rolling landscape. Furthermore, I'm bothered by the fact that the track in the back will be visible; it again spoils the depth of the scene.
I realized the problem is the basic fact that I am dealing with only 16" of depth in the scene. If I really want to create an illusion of depth, I have to completely hide the back of the layout with a backdrop.
Hence, this idea:
I had originally avoided using a mid-layout backdrop because the exit/entry points where the track must duck through are usually hard to hide. However, I think the tradeoff is worth it in this case.
Perhaps a backdrop of the photo-realistic kind would be most appropriate. I'd love to give Trackside Scenery's products a test in this regard.
The hardest part is going to be reverse engineering a way to mount the backdrop in place. Still brainstorming that particular idea.
So, with my idea solidified, I ripped out the offending topography.
That's it for now! I always appreciate feedback and suggestions, if you care to leave any in the comments.
