Hi Commodore, glad to find a fellow pharmacist here. I appreciate the advice, and yes, I am taking the time to plan and will soon start practicing on separate pieces of track/styrofoam to improve airbrushing and ballasting skills before I do any work on the actual layout. Three years ago I embraced high-rise living (no shop or garage), I am still waiting for my carpenter to cut a piece of MDF board (21 x42 inches) where I will start glueing the layers of styrofoam board.
BALLAST DECISION: I feel so fortunate to have found this site. I was getting ready to use a ballast from a popular source, then reading comments from Robert (rray) I learned about potential issues with that ballast, and I took advantage of his recommendation to use N-scale ballast from Arizona Rock & Mineral Co. I bought Northern Pacific Gray on the left, Pennsylvania Gray in the middle, then did a 1:1 mix on the right. I like the mix, considering I am trying to emulate the photo below for weathering and ballasting the PC Rokuhan track. Feedback will be much appreciated.
While Arizona Rock & Mineral has the worst photos of the product, they are true to the railroad. So if you know that, you'll get what you want. Their N scale (-1 in the part number) is *really* fine and more than acceptable for Z (as you can see in Tony's pictures) I just wish they would take an outdoor picture of the ballast, even if the bag. Fifer Hobby has an example poster (at least you get a sense of the colors) http://www.fiferhobby.com/wp-content/uploads/AZ-Color-Chart.jpg
I am taking my time doing research and enjoying great educational threads here; I am a long way from the ballasting process. The real rock ballast from Arizona Rock & Mineral Co. is, of course, heavy and that helps with ballasting. There are a number of successful stories here using different liquids as wetting agents; I am going to use Kodak Foto-Flo.
I completely agree with Jeff. I bought two different rock combinations based on very limited information. I am glad I ended up with a good mix for what I am trying to achieve. The quality of the photos is inversely proportional to the wonderful customer service from Mike and Robin.
Gray day (literally), by myself, in confinement. Perfect day to start cutting foam and practice foam carving skills
Thank you Joe for the comment. The next more important cut is the one for the turntable, I am going to wait until I receive the item to make the cut. In the meantime, as soon as my carpenter completes the MDF base I am going to glue the foam to the board and prime it with Gesso acrylic medium. I have used Gesso in the past as a primer coat and I have been very pleased with it.
LAYOUT UPDATE The current residence for my layout is on top of my huge kitchen island, but eventually, I need the flexibility to store it, if necessary. I calculated the maneuverability of a 21 x42 layout and it was not working for storage dimensions. I had to reduce the length of the layout, fortunately, I did not have to sacrifice much of the important features. The pieces of foam that I am working on now, reflect the new layout size of 21 x 34.5 inches.
Hey I had a thought have you thought about a scenic divider between roundhouse/turntable and your container facility?
Sure a divide is usually about 5 maybe 6 inches tall usually gator foam or something. As long as you need and you paint or use pictures printed and cut pasted on it to create the scene. On yours right here might be cool. Maybe some one could post a photo of one on a layout to help
Gatorpharmd, I have seen some scene dividers on layout pics on the forum, but I cannot remember the specifics. Maybe you can look around if you have time.
@JoeS and @gmorider I understand now what you are suggesting. I am planning to populate the layout with rows of buildings, warehouses, etc; and sort of create a divide and scene but with actual structures. I always appreciate suggestions, the center of the layout is pretty undefined at this point .
My carpenter finished the 21 x 34.5 inch baseboard. I prepared the porous MDF board to facilitate gripping before glueing the foam pieces.
for Wetting, a spray bottle the mists, no spit/droplets. Tap water + 1-2 drops of Diswashing soap is all you need! (put the soap drops in last, then just swirl a bit. Do something else for a bit, then swirl again when you need it. No need to shake! The soap as surfactants in it so it WILL dissolve in the water. Take a look at John Bartolotto's "Long Island in Z" thread: https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/long-island-rail-road-in-z-scale.51392/page-2 Posts: 28, 33, 37, 54, 74 for ideas. Just don't 'pour' water, brush Matte Medium (a.k.a. Mod-Podge) over the desired color estuary bed.