It's a rare and beautiful thing...

When my modeling passions come together.

Tanks and trains!
Or is that trains and tanks?
Doesn't matter. After 3 years of on and off effort this little project is done. Sort of.
1/35th scale German 86 class loco(my fav German loco btw), one heavy duty 6 axle flat and the feared JagdPanther all in one package.
I got to play around with new weathering techniques and products while weathering the JagdPanther. Various enamel washes and streaking effects. Powder pigments on the tracks.
All of which have been carried over into my own railroad modeling finishes.
I expect that I'll lend this to the LHS for his window for awhile as soon as we get his window display cleaned up.
Back to the 1/87 trains.

Fresno light?

Fresno redux?
Doesn't really much matter what we call it.

Rather than have a boring old staging yard, we thought we'd tart it up a touch.
Caboose track, Locomotive escape pocket, 2 stall roundhouse with 2 exterior "garden" tracks.
Lineside buildings will populate the scene as well.
Water and oil column, sand, etc for the inbound roundhouse tracks, etc.
What I find amusing is that it's a simple yard and yet it requires 10 turnouts.
That's more than all the turnouts in Trevor's layout !

Fresh outta the weathering shop...

The newest kit from Yarmouth Model Works.
YMW-115, DL&W 40' rebuilt auto boxcar

And the decal set includes the iconic slogan, "The Route of Phoebe Snow"

New stuff from YMW in time for ST Louis RPM

With the annual RPM in Collinsville weeks away, it's time to tempt you with some of the new items I'll have available at the show.
Once I return from the RPM these items and others will be listed on the website for purchase.
First up;
YMW - 257
Laser cut running boards for Intermountain SFRD reefers
With both styles of hatch platforms                         $8.00 USD

2 new etched parts
YMW-506
Etched airhose brackets
Secure these to the underside of the car and use a "U" of thin wire to clamp the airhose to the bracket, much like the prototype does.                               $3.00 USD

YMW-507
Etched cut lever brackets
For more modern cars, to hang the bottom actuated cut levers    $3.00 USD

We will have a couple of kits ready for sale as well.
This one is ready;

YMW- 114 DT&I ACF built postwar boxcar
The first kit to feature the ACF proprietary "Corrugated End" with the unique vertical row of dimples.                                       $60.00 USD

YMW-115 DL&W rebuilt autocar.
This model is still being finished, but it will be ready in time for the RPM.

The kits include all the things you've come to expect from Yarmouth Model Works.
Custom etchings, custom decals, laser cut running boards, correct trucks, etc.
The patterns for both models were 3D printed and we're very pleased as to how this process is working out for us.
Hope to see you in Collinsville!

A station for Clovis

What better way to spend a rainy Sunday, than to finish a structure for the layout?
In this case it's an American Model Builders, laser cut kit of a Southern Pacific Type 23 Depot.
While it's not a 100% accurate model of the actual station that was in Clovis, it's close enough for me.

The kit went together like a dream and the option to use the accurate colours offered by Tru-Color, made painting an easy task. I primed all the parts with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer and then airbrushed the appropriate colours. Once the paint was dry assembly was a breeze.
All the parts fit as intended. Laser cut kits have proven to be a real boon to the hobby. I know I have a few more to build before this layout is complete.
I'll add a little ground cover and a train order board to complete the scene.
The only real decision left is whether or not to animate the train order board.

2nd time's a charm!

The test area for ground cover colours is done.
And I'm delighted with the results.

The first attempt didn't quite go as I'd hoped,

I used Scenic Express's fine dirt as a texture base, which I'd sifted in place over a coat of brushed on white glue, I then scattered yellow and burnt grass ground foam over top and secured it in place by wetting it down and then dribbling thinned white glue.
The dirt absorbed the glue and went darker than I'd hoped it would, so either a rethink or remedial action was called for.
So I thought perhaps sealing the fine dirt would help the absorption issue, so I airbrushed the area along with a freshly applied patch of dirt. I used Tamiya tan and light grey to lighten the base colour and try and get the ground closer to the tones seen in this image of Clovis.

And then I reapplied the 2 ground foam colours and glued them down. This time the base tones stayed the way I wanted them.
I added a few scrubby plants,

And then out came the static grass.
Lots of tall yellow grasses.

I mixed a small amount of green to prevent a monotone effect and I'll be alternating between the Noch yellow grasses and the Silflor autumn colour and yellow 4mm and 6mm lengths.
Touch up the ballast edges and we're good to go.
Now it's time to build some turnouts!

About backdrops and a lesson in colour theory

Recently, Tony Thompson blogged about simple skyline backdrops.
https://modelingthesp.blogspot.ca/2018/05/about-skylines-on-backdrops.html
I was struck at how nicely his thinking dovetailed with mine regarding backdrops.
While I admire the talents and skills some put into highly detailed backdrops, I do not subscribe to that approach. Backdrops should be there to "frame" the layout, not upstage it. Backdrops should not draw the viewers attention away from the stars of the show, the trains and the supporting cast of scenery and structures.
Further along in his posting there was a photo of Brian Moore's layout over in Plymouth, England;

I was immediately taken with the colour choices  made on the sky and hill profile.
I shared this image with a friend who used to work as a Scenic Artist in the film industry, who pointed out to me that part of the success of the colour choices in this image is that they are in the same tonal range.
That is, go to the paint store and have a look at the paint chip cards that have 6-7 colours on one card. All of those 6-7 colours are in the same tonal range. My artist friend suggested I choose my colours off of the same card.
So I printed a copy of Brain's layout photo and trotted off to the paint store. Finding the sky colour was easy, but it took some time to find a card that had an acceptable sky colour and a nice hill colour but find one we did.

I selected a gallon of the colour shown on the left of the card and a gallon of the colour on the right end of the card, came home and practiced on a 3' section.

To say that I was pleased is an understatement.
Test bit done, I took a couple of evenings and did the entire backdrop behind Clovis.

There was just one more thing to do, I noticed, while in the paint store, that there was a haze effect in play on Brian's backdrop. A detail which really helped the overall appeal.
So I went back to the paint store and bought a quart of the next darker tone from the "sky" colour, thinned it and airbrushed a haze over the hills.

Just enough to slightly soften the edges and reduce the starkness.
I'm super pleased with the end result. And the backdrop colours, by accident, work nicely with the ground cover colours as well.
Glad I listened to my Scenic Artist friend!