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Orionvp17
Fireman
Premium Member
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 Posted - 09/10/2014 : 10:18:49 AM
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Nice shot, James!
As I mentioned yesterday, I really like the way the railroad is coming together. You have some very nice work in there, and it's inspiring me to get off the proverbial dime and rebuild mine. I think the "special projects" may need a rest in favor of layout work.
Thanks again for the Quality Time!  
Pete
in Michigan
but on the road today
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 09/18/2014 : 08:07:36 AM
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Anytime, Pete.
Last night and this morning I did the Heubach Farm (East Bexley) scene's backdrop.
Up to this point, I'd been using acrylics with techniques borrowing from Chris Lyon's videos. But now I needed to do a building front in perspective.
The Boxcar Red came out of the same ancient Floquil can I'd used to airbrush the barn's base color. The black is acrylic semi-gloss house paint.
The white is acrlyic house primer, done with my finest brush and everything I could do to steady my hand and paint straight. As usual with perspective views, it only works from one point (see above). So I need to add a tree or two to hide it from long views across the Rowley River.
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Dutchman
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 09/18/2014 : 08:47:48 AM
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That second half of the barn painted on the backdrop is going to work well, James.
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Bruce
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Glen Haasdyk
Fireman
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Posted - 09/18/2014 : 09:08:27 AM
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Good work on the backdrop. That's something I have to tackle someday.
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Orionvp17
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 09/18/2014 : 09:16:31 AM
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Nicely done, James! 
Pete
in Michigan
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MarkF
Engineer
Premium Member
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Posted - 09/18/2014 : 12:00:03 PM
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Well done James! I think it looks great!
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 10/01/2014 : 08:28:15 AM
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Thanks, guys. Since that burst of painting, I've tried out a couple of phragmites pines I had around; they show where the better trees need to go, but better trees haven't been made yet. Instead, I've been doing prep for future activity: A fast clock (future op sessions), sorting through all my signal parts (op sessions & AP Scenery certificate), cleaning up. The last two evenings have gone to installing AC panel meters on the two parts of the DCC buss. It wouldn't have taken nearly that long except the meters (GME PM89 series from All Electronics) had a design/manufacturing defect: When I tightened one binding post, it broke the etch/solder connecting it to the PC board inside. Rather than put the time/effort into returning them, I shifted a resistor lead on the board so it made direct contact to the binding post screw.
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LynnB
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 10/01/2014 : 2:34:45 PM
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James it seems electronics teeney connections are playing havoc.
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 10/08/2014 : 07:58:42 AM
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I wasn't satisfied with the color of my first try at Little River's marsh grass, as illustrated by the low-angle shots of 2713 and 4012 on page 34 of this thread. So I made a couple of new pieces just colored with Liquitex Basic Green and Yellow.
New is on the left.
New in front.
Old front & back.
Now I'm unsure. I did the backdrop to match (more or less) the old. These pictures were taken with only room light. The earlier pictures were taken with room light and daylight coming in the window. I think that's where the excessive brightness of the grass came from. So there may not be a perfect solution.
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Orionvp17
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 10/08/2014 : 1:56:46 PM
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James,
Although this looks good, I share your misgivings on color. Both of these areas look overly green to me. The only marsh grass I've ever seen had a lot of brown in it, no matter when I drove by it. Would adding tan to the mix help tone things down and make them look "better?" 
Once you nail down the color, you'll have a fabulous scene there. Keep us posted!
Pete
in Michigan
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 10/08/2014 : 2:54:19 PM
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Marsh grass changes color a lot with the seasons, but I've been neglectful and don't have any pictures of my own from mid-August (the target time for this scene). Brown increases as Summer ends, then dominates the picture October - May. This page has a mid-summer shot first, then an October shot further down:
http://blogs.massaudubon.org/landprotection/category/great-marsh-conservation-initiative/
The August photo tells me "more green, but no Pthalo Green" (source of the blue tint on my 1st try). It also tells me "can you get a little light brown on the tops of the tall parts?". Dry-brush? Airbrush at a low angle? Brown static grass? I'll experiment.
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Orionvp17
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 10/08/2014 : 3:11:20 PM
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James,
Thanks for the link, which will come in handy as I develop my "Fairport Branch" based on that area. The brown does come through, and I think I'd try the dry-brushing technique first. It's controllable and a lot less messy, with fewer opportunities for collateral damage, than airbrushing at a low angle.
"No Pthalo green" is a Good Plan-- it's far too blue for what you need here. You might try the Official Forum-Approved Lyon Backdrop Green method using Mars Black and Cadmium Yellow and see what happens, too. That will give you more of an olive color that blends nicely with the scenery materials available from Scenic Express and Woodland Scenics. I've done that with some yet-to-be-installed tall grasses for the modular railroad, and like the results.
In any event, please keep us posted on your progress here-- I'm especially interested in getting it 'right" for late September!
Pete
in Michigan
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Orionvp17
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 10/08/2014 : 5:26:42 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by jbvb
As it happens, I did go photographing in the Great Marsh last September:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115858323281274415788/GreatMarshNewburyMA
Hope they're useful.
"Louis, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship!" 
These are fabulous, and yes, they will be very, very useful. Many, many thanks!
I also see where the 'too green" greens are appearing and may have to reassess my thought process somewhat. 
Pete
in Michigan
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Edited by - Orionvp17 on 10/08/2014 5:41:34 PM |
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bror hultgren
New Hire
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Posted - 10/08/2014 : 6:36:30 PM
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Hi James, LIving on the edge of the marsh in Ipswich, my observations:
My initial response is that the colors are too saturated, whatever the hue. (This is a natural tendency for how we remember colors). Regardless of the season, the areas need more variety (see the 3rd to last of the pix in the Audubon link and your own), not so homogeneous. Your lighting is not helping you, especially when trying to match the color in the backdrop(having seen your layout, I can sympathize with the difficulty with the sloping ceiling). Can you place a few small bush size trees to break up the interface between the 'backdrop marsh' and the 'layout marsh'.
Bror
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