New England in winter

[Daryl]

Mike fantastic workmanship makes me want to get at mine but so far I'm only into pink foam. that is a very cool layout as well

[Steve]

Mike...
I am stunned! the sombre tones and the "impressionistic" style (sorry, I am no art student, that's just what it looks like to me) fit in perfectly with the mood, locale, and time of season that you are modeling.

I LOVE IT!

Just beautiful work.........

[mrxitement]

Mike,

I like the effect you achieved with the "snow" on your layout. I tried snow on my layout using unpainted, white joint compound, but I like the idea of the powder better. It just looks more realistic. Great pics!

[MikeC]

Thankyou guys! I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.

Mrxitement the powder can be a bit of a nuisance if it's not glued down, and when it IS glued down I sometimes wish it wasn't there! I guess that's snow for you
I've used three different things for snow - Woodland Scenics snow, Heki Glitter snow and Micro Balloons which is an extender for epoxy resin. Important to glue it down because it's very lightweight and easily inhaled. Said to irritate the skin too. It happens to be the most lifelike of them all, too.
I have expermented with grinding the WS and Heki finer with a mortar and pestle. Slow work, but worth it.

Mike

[Sawdust]

Originally Posted by MikeC

Thankyou guys! I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.

Mrxitement the powder can be a bit of a nuisance if it's not glued down, and when it IS glued down I sometimes wish it wasn't there! I guess that's snow for you
I've used three different things for snow - Woodland Scenics snow, Heki Glitter snow and Micro Balloons which is an extender for epoxy resin. Important to glue it down because it's very lightweight and easily inhaled. Said to irritate the skin too. It happens to be the most lifelike of them all, too.
I have expermented with grinding the WS and Heki finer with a mortar and pedtle. Slow work, but worth it.

Mike

Hey Mike could you, when you get the time give us a little lesson on your snow mixture & technique of application. This is a very desirable part of the hobby & most avoid it because of the look of the snow. A part of our new layout that my wife wants will be a snow scene. We have seen a lot of snow but your's looks the most realistic of all. This would be a great addition to the Tips,Tricks & Techniques Thread.Remember step by step & your fantastic pics.Your depth of reallism is much appreciated.

[mrxitement]

Hey Mike...

I hear ya on the snow being glued down. I don't even glue my ballast down, but I have to be careful about not getting it spread everywhere. It makes it easy if you ever want to pull up track though! I never seem to want to make anything too permanent...like with your snow, it can be ever-changing. When I posted yesterday, I didn't even see your backdrop yet...great job on THAT, by the way!

[MikeC]

Thanks again I'll be glad to show some step-by-steps of the snow. I'll post some early stage photos of the backscene on there too, in case someone finds them useful.

Mike

[Sawdust]

Originally Posted by MikeC

Thanks again I'll be glad to show some step-by-steps of the snow. I'll post some early stage photos of the backscene on there too, in case someone finds them useful.

Mike

Sounds exciting Mike! Looking forward to it.Thanks

[MikeC]

I've done some work on a small rock outcrop, opposite side of the tracks to the main cutting. Sort of a continuation of that rock.
This isn't a how-to - it's merely what I did, and in case someone finds it helpful here is what I did

I poured water putty over polystyrene chunks that had been glued there for ages. Fine and coarse ballast plus some dry chips of putty from an old mixing pot were sprinkled onto the wet putty and pressed in. Then I glued them for good measure - same way as ballasting. While the putty was still a bit workable I gouged a few flaws into it and generally roughed it up a bit.


When dry, I painted it with acrylics. Basically it was washes of dilute black and raw umber, dribbled over to run run where it wanted to. Then some opaque greys made with a milky blue + burnt sienna + black + raw umber. All sorts of loose mixes. Finally some rocks were picked out with a fine brush using white plus any old muck that was lying about.
Grasses are made with cleaning cloth - $3 at the bargain shop or supermarket.






Mike

edit: meant to say that some grass tufts were made with unpainted jute twine.

[Sawdust]

looks good Mike especially the grasses in the last pic. Nice job.