Hog Waller Junction

If one could model without technical issues cropping up it would be Nirvana, or something like that. This time around I am having issues with the Water Effects deciding to cure out an almost translucent tan color. Great if I am doing a muddy torrent. Have a 2nd batch going and it looks like it is heading the same way. Could be a couple of factors one being the tinfoil. Since the years that have gone by since I last used the pouring segments on crumpled foil there could have been a change in whatever slight coating that is on the foil reacting with the material. And I think my bottle of Water Effects is older than some of the people here, heck the bottle has a sticker on it that says New, which means I got it right after it hit the LHS. That bottle might have 20 years on it by now. Whatever I am not getting the results I want. However a new bottle is on the way as I write from Mr. Fifer's speedy service, along with some hogs to turn into feral hogs also from him. Plenty of landscaping work to keep me busy while waiting though. Haven't got to the next batch of trees yet, and I have to once again make some cattails for the mill pond and the spring. Last time for the cattails I dipped dyed horsehair into paint. This time I am going to try wax. I think I have some brown wax in with our candle making supplies. I also plugged up the area around the culvert at the mill pond that was losing resin somewhere and that should be dry tomorrow to allow me to finish with the resin pouring.

 

I'm guessing it's the age of the Water Effects. I've laid out blobs on Saran wrap over a clay base with depressions with no problems, if you need an alternative to foil.

Just throwing this out there: I don't know your overall plans for the streams and falls so this may not apply. Over a painted surface, I've had success with a thin layer of clear acrylic bathtub caulk. When it gets over about a 1/16" thick it starts to look cloudy, which works for wavelets in fast water. So it's not good for a deep pour. For falls, lay it on Saran wrap and you can make the rivulets with a toothpick, and you can trim the length. Fast setup time so you can tease up wavelets and they stay put. You can blend sections together before it fully cures. I have a little diorama with it and it's lasted 10+ years so far, still shiny.

In any case, many kudos for your ability to keep the whole project rolling. A lot of people, me included, would stall out after the first or second real problem.

 

Last night as I sat and dissected what was going on with my water fall casting, and I still don't have an answer, I thought about trying Mod Podge to create strips that I could transplant. So I troweled a thin strip onto the top of a plastic container and then smeared it out to shape and set aside. I used the matte finish version, I have the gloss version also on hand, and the picture below speaks for itself.



I will try this today on some crinkled foil and see what happens.

 

Found out where the resin pour was going since I found a nice depression and soft spot area adjacent to the culvert from the mill water channel. Already have some sealant drying at the entrances to the culvert but at the rate it is drying on one end may not end up with the last, I hope, pour today. I broke out the plaster mix and applied a leveling coat to the depression. So hopefully fixed.


A comparison between the Mod Podge falls strip between two Water Effects strips and above trying some of the Mod Podge on crumpled foil. The Mod Podge dries quicker and is not tacky like the Water Effects which is an advantage in that is doesn't need to be sealed.


And I am trying to find a small train station that is even smaller than the one pictured. It is only 3.25 by 1.25 inches on it's base. I looked at the model for any ID and could not find any and I have had two of these for years now and do not begin to know who made them. If I can even find the same type I could cut it down some or either I will have to scratch one.

 

Some more supplies arrived this PM and I have generated about 35 more trees. I now have the material to do the last Aspens so they will either roll off the workbench tonight or tomorrow. I am still waiting for that last plug of the resin leak area to dry so looks like no final pour today. And I think I figured out how to do my feral Hogs after looking at some photos. This guy has a face only a Mother could love, but they are what I need to create in miniature.

 

Looked them up and there are two that are definitely smaller dimensions both ways than my small versions that I have, with one pictured previously, and will fit the bill nicely. So looks like an order will be on its way for two later this week. Thanks for the heads up on these saves me cutting up one or having to scratch build two.

 

Did the final resin pour on the mill pond this AM and set in the Beaver lodge as well as a few floating trees or branches and also planted some Birch and Aspen trees above the stream. The blue seen to the left of the mill pond is my clay dam to keep the resin out of the pit that the mill water wheel assembly goes in later.


I also continued to hide the upper meadow behind a big Birch tree and another small aspen. Closing that area off some helps further define the stream canyon on that side. Going to stick one more Aspen tree in that area then some more pines.


Probably will spend this afternoon working on some cattails and reeds for the spring pond and for later the mill pond. So far 112 trees have been planted and the cost for this little layout is at $775.

 

It's all looking great John. I think Mod Podge has been on the market since the 1960s and I remember when Nichol's Hobby Shop in my hometown first had it.

So long ago, now.

Doug

 

Now setting at 125 trees with more to be installed. The last resin pour is curing out fine and was set enough that I could risk adding a bit more ground cover in a few places.

The forest is just a bit more dense now.


Made a few cattails this afternoon which is a tedious process. Using horsehair and dipping it in hot candle wax the cold water and back to the hot wax again. Last time I dipped them in paint and I will have to do a paint dip again since the color needs to be a bit more brown.

 

Wow John, lots of progress since I checked in last. Glad you got your water, and stove problems figured out.

Sent from the magical mystery box

 

Tinkered some more with the layout today. Worked on getting some vegetation at the spring fed pond. Used horse hair for reeds and rushes, and installed some Silflor scenic material around the pond and lining down the drainage channel that runs along the edge of the track ballast to eventually outflow just above the 3rd trestle.


A little closer. Still have a lot of work to do in this small 1.5 by 2 inch area.


And I also did some work around the one end of the mill pond. Again some mixed foliage including the Silflor and the horsehair in three different colors. I will probably be trimming this some more over the next week until some of the loose ends stop popping up and I have some more to install. I trim the cattails down to about 5 feet tall and then vacuum and then go back and trim what the vacuum raised. Takes about four or five times to get it right.



I will go into one of my boxes of WS Fine Foliage and use it to plant some shrubs and saplings in both areas.
I also found my railings around the fire barrels on two of the trestles to be either missing or broken. I have repaired one three times now so I will go into my parts box and pull out the metal fencing and bend a section to fit, then ACC some styrene posts where needed and ACC to whole thing to the platform. The one fragile part of the whole trestle assembly.


My new batch of Water Effects arrived today along with some Hogs from Mr. Fifers's excellent and speedy service. So in the next week I can see if I can come up with some feral Hogs and cast some falls.

 

Finally completed the spring fed pond, except for going back and darkening a few spots down some that seem to come up light in the camera. I added some more cattails and a few small trees and all that is left is the darkening down of some areas as stated and adding the feral Hogs.


The meadow right above it gets the small sheep herd, herders wagon, and a team of horses along with the herder and a dog or two. I laid the base for part of the dirt road in the front part of the layout and now need to do some fill in around the bridge supports before I go much further.

Also today I added some more cattails to the mill pond and added some scenic material around the pond. Added a deadfall part way in the creek with the rest on the bank just visible to the left. Not visible to the left is some more small shrubs and trees added. I will go back and make the tops more ragged in appearance later with the cattails.



Other than a few items the upper level is done so I will start working on the lower level working from the left over the next week or so.

 

While they don't show well at all in the photo there are a few in there. I am using PolyScale brown. And I may try doing some more later this week trying dipping them in Mod Podge. Anything that makes a very tiny elongated bump on the end of the horsehair, probably less the 1/2 of an N scale foot. I found that I got the best results using the candle wax when I dipped them into wax that was very close to solidifying but still liquid enough to be able to transfer some to the tip.

I think the last time I did any of these I ended up dipping the ends in paint, again water based, and repeated the process several time to get what I wanted. The Mod Podge may work better in that I don't have to continually keep reheating the wax and letting it cool again to get the right consistency.

 

Sat down with more horse hair and some Mod Podge today to try some more Cattails.


And with some brown PolyScale applied.



And about an hour later some planted.



Labor intensive to say the least. They have these in HO but I have never seen them commercially available in N.

 

John, you might consider offering them as a product once you complete Hog Waller. Might help appease your CFO and alleviate her demands regarding excessive negative cash flow.