I'd like to change my tune a little

For years now I've said that while some swear by acrylics, I swear at them.
I'd like to say now that in some circumstances that is no longer the case.
In the last year or so, I've come to use certain acrylic paints more and more, with more and more success.
Take this fence for example;

With a base coat of woodish tan, a white top coat and a black wash for weathering, this fencing would have taken days to be ready to install.
Instead I used Tamiya Wooden Deck Tan as a base, and Flat White over top.
The acrylics dry so quickly that I could paint all the fence panels with the base and then come back immediately and overspray with the white, mind you I have 16 actual feet of this fencing. It's the Central Valley wooden board fencing, btw.
A quick wash with india ink in alcohol and the fences are ready to install.
I'll be using more acrylics as work on the layout progresses, but I'm still not ready to use them on resin.

Well that's one done!

Pilot model for the 25th anniversary freight car kit is finally done!

10 of this design were built by AC&F to replace cars that were wrecked.
The kits will be for sale at the Chicagoland RPM next month.
We're still working on
AC&F built boxcar for C&EI
AC&F built boxcar for M-K-T
D&H Oneonta kit boxcars
NP modified side sill AAR boxcar
CNR 8' door with PS-1 roof and NSC-3 end
So many models, so little time.

Playing in the dirt

As I've mentioned in a previous post, http://elgincarshops.blogspot.com/2018/05/2nd-times-charm.html, the ground cover in the area I'm modeling takes a little effort to get looking right.
The dirt in the area has a decidedly grey colour.

Not something you see alot in the scenery supplies, so I've taken to painting the initial dirt cover to get things closer to the tones I'm seeing.

Freshly applied Scenic Express Fine dirt.

First pass with Tamiya XF-78 wooden deck tan

2nd pass with Tamiya XF-57 buff

3rd pass with Tamiya XF-55 deck tan
the final result is a ground cover that has hints of browns through a decidedly grey colour.
Now I can come back and add weeds, etc.
That'll be for another day

Bloody brilliant!

I've built hundreds of Westerfield kits over the years.
And for the most part I've enjoyed them.
One of the challenges was the roof "truss" that you had to create with a resin ridge pole and 5-6 "rafter" type castings, to support the roof panels. If you've ever built a Westerfield kit, you'll know of what I speak.
For some the creation of the truss arrangement was a major hurdle. For me it was just another fiddly thing to deal with.
Well since Andrew Dahm purchased Westerfield Models, one of the things he did was create a cast one piece roof supporting structure.
Today I finally had the chance to work with this creation.

Brilliant!
Quick, easy. And it squares the car body up.
Thanks Andrew for making my day a little easier

What else does one do on a long weekend?

But finish up 48' of backdrop.
Using my preferred technique of pine frames and 0.060" thick styrene, I got backdrop up and painted over the last few days.

The painting makes for a nice change of pace while working on other projects.
As I sit back and admire this bit of work, I'm really happy that I listened to my friend the scenic artist about colour.
These colour choices really do better convey the feel I'm going for in this layout!
Mind you the actual names on the colour chip are a tad suspect.
The light colour is called "Wings of a Dove"
And the darker colour is "Awakening"
And people get paid to come up with this stuff!