Finally gettiing out of my system.

Terry, I think Petermac will want you to do his then you can come to Oz to do mine please... I have a spare bed. ( well I can get one)

[user=1512]Headmaster[/user] wrote:

That is super Terry…. Some painted backscenes try to do too much and end up looking like…. a painted backscene.  Your hedges and trees and just enough to give the right impression and you clearly have some skill with a paintbrush because it is very convincing.  Looks like a lot of scenes I see from the train window!
Michael

Juss woteesed!
D

[user=312]Chubber[/user] wrote:

[user=1512]Headmaster[/user] wrote:

That is super Terry…. Some painted backscenes try to do too much and end up looking like…. a painted backscene.  Your hedges and trees and just enough to give the right impression and you clearly have some skill with a paintbrush because it is very convincing.  Looks like a lot of scenes I see from the train window!
Michael

Juss woteesed!
D

Total agreement  :thumbs

Bill

Thank you all for your kind comments.  I am just taking my time and not rushing anything.  I want the backscene to be 'in the background' so to speak, with the viewer's attention focused on the modelled scene in front.  I am keeping the colours fairly subdued in the hope of achieving this.

Sol , I have booked the flight!

Terry

[user=711]col.stephens[/user] wrote:

Today, I decided to move things along by adding some trees to the landscape and to enhance the hedgerows.  All achieved by dabbing a sap green/black mix onto the canvas with a small hog's hair brush. Plenty of work of this nature left to do so I probably won't be updating this thread for a short while.  Here is where we are at present… (please excuse the horizontal lines caused by the shed light

excellent work Terry!
(I'm haunted by the image of a hairbrush belonging to a small hog…)

Thank you Shaun.

Terry

[user=711]col.stephens[/user] wrote:

Thank you all for your kind comments.  I am just taking my time and not rushing anything.  I want the backscene to be 'in the background' so to speak, with the viewer's attention focused on the modelled scene in front.  I am keeping the colours fairly subdued in the hope of achieving this.

Sol , I have booked the flight!

Terry

You have definitely done that Terry and I think they will set of the models superbly.  I think it's really difficult to keep a subtle colour palette, and I know I would be inclined to add too much.  Loof forward to seeing them in situ!

Michael

Thank you Michael.

Terry

Hi Terry.     Another question. The scenic break behind the bridge at Farleigh, have you got any ideas on how you will finish off the bare plywood ,  I had intended to decorate the plywood on Inglenook junction as a cliff face, but that idea isn’t going well and now I am looking for another idea, can you please advise me. Best wishes Kevin 

Hello Kevin. My backscene is long enough to cover both ends as well as the rear of the layout. May I suggest that you buy a photographic backscene and glue part of it to the plywood?

Regards,


Terry

Still painting my way along the 9' long backscene. Field boundaries mostly painted.  Gradually adding more hedges and trees. 

I had previously fitted a single strip of 'warm white' LEDs behind the pelmet but became aware that the lighting was a little on the dim side.   I recently bought another strip of 'cool white' LEDs for under £10 on the 'bay'.  These are much brighter so, in order not to completely swamp the layout in bright light, I stuck these above the original LEDs in small clusters along the length of the layout.  It was simplicity itself to run connecting wires from the original LED strip to the new clusters.

Terry

Hi Terry.   Looking forward to seeing the results on your Background Painting. Best wishes Kevin 

Thanks Kevin. 

Terry

Hi Terry.  Yet another reply. I don’t know if I did it wrong, but, I used “Gesso” to prepare the plywood background?Please advise. Best wishes Kevin 

Hello Kevin,

I think you are ok with Gesso.  Apparently, it is also good for priming mdf before painting.  I must investigate it further for possible uses in  the model railway arena.

Regards,

Terry

With reference to the layout lighting.  As previously stated, the LED strips are fitted behind the pelmet.  An unfortunate result of this is that whilst the roof of the goods shed is well lit, the front of the shed, under the awning, is rather shaded.  Having gone to the trouble of making packing cases and sacks to adorn the shed floor, I thought it would be nice it they could be seen from the front of the layout.  I don't usually install lights in my buildings, generally viewing it as a waste of time as I have no intention of running my trains in the dark.  Nothing shouts "unrealistic" as much as model buildings in which the lighting is so bright, you would think the occupents had bought up all the redundant searchlights from World War II!  

Anyway, back to the goods shed.  How to cast a smidgen of light onto the front of the shed?  What if I could redirect some of the light coming down from the pelmet? Maybe a small mirror to reflect the light? How would I fix it in position so that it wouldn't be seen?  On the rear of a building?  The mirror idea was a non-starter simply because of the difficulty in obtaining one so small.  In any event, I didn't want a building obscuring the view of the goods shed.  


If not a building, what?  I needed a small structure which was large enough to hold a small reflective surface of some kind.  I was thinking laterally by now and the answer came to me - ballast bin!  Would it be possible to make a lineside ballast bin which could hold a small strip of reflective material?


A quick search of the RM Web revealed a thread on 'chippings bins' in which the prototype measurements of a Southern Railway bin were kindly provided.  Out came the card and it was a quickly built and given a coat of acrylic paint. And the reflective surface? A strip of very shiny silver plastic from the bag in which the LEDs were packed! Recycle and save the planet!


Here it is…

A brilliant intervention Terry in the reflected lighting department  :thumbs.

Just incorporate some smoke now, to go with the mirrors and you'll have earned true wizzard status!

Best,

Bill

Ha! Ha!  Thanks Bill. :lol:

Terry

I haven't managed to get on with the backscene in the last week or so, but a friend reminded me that, as the signal was sited in front of the brickwork on the bridge, a signal sighting board should be considered.  This either took the form of a white board fitted to the signal post so that it formed a backdrop to the signal arm, or the brickwork behind was simply painted white, usually a square or rectangle.  I fancied the latter.  However, painting the Scalescenes' brickwork white would not achieve the desired effect as the printed brickwork would simply disappear beneath the paint.  Step forward Scalescenes' Painted Brick.  It was simplicity itself to cut out the desired shape (two in this case), run a lead pencil around the edges to kill the bright white of the paper, and stick in place.  I used a UHU glue stick.  The brick courses don't quite match-up but is not noticeable from normal viewing distance.  The Painted Brick paper gives the subtle effect I was looking for.

That looks good Terry - as does the grass bank in close-up.   :thumbs