The Little Implement Co on the Hill All ballasting on the pike is now done. And I'm glad. I've been spending some time body mounting couplers to my coal cars. But with that all but done its time to tackle some of my first scenery. Between the two grain elevators is the scene I've been working on. A tighter shot: You can see there's a lot more to add and much dirtying up to do. A different angle: In the background of the above shot you can see the first trees I've ever made. (simple ones from W S) The next one is from ground level: The tractors and combines are from a DPM Gold kit. Again, the first time I've ever assembled or painted metal figures.
I'm not ecstatic about how the combines turned out but I'm not disappointed either. One last shot from behind the office. This angle really shows that I need weeds, rust, dirt, and more details. There's always stuff laying around these places. That's what I've been up to lately. Thanks for looking, Dan
The barn and tractors all look great Dan. Any chance the scene is modeled after that tractor dealership down South and East a ways on Highway 2?
Dan, Your layout is looking great! It is very inspirational to us first timers. I too, have gotten to the point of track laid and almost operational and have never attempted any scenery. My previous layout as can be seen in my link below, stalled as I was starting to lay track. It took over a year to get to that point. I was never really happy with the track plan; mostly due to space constraints, so I decided to start over. My current layout started two weeks ago and is to the point of starting track laying, which is where the last one ended after a year. I am pretty happy with the progress so far. I'll have to start a thread for it. I am hand laying all of the track (another first), so it will be slow going. I like your phrase, "Just do it", you certainly have kept to it. Your progress looks great and I can definitely see improvement along the way. Keep up the good work and the posts! Michael
Na Mark... Birkel Implement isn't modeled after a certain dealership, it's just my version of a place you can see in almost any small town around where we come from. My folks come from David City, about an hour Northwest of Lincoln, a few thousand people, the county seat. The town of Birkel (my mom's maiden name) on my pike is a fictional town based loosely on all the small towns around the Star City but David City is probably in my minds eye the most. Man... thanks for the nice words Michael. I looked at your thread and I remember following it. You are a very good woodworker. I loved how your benchwork came out, it looks like Norm Abrams himself could have built it. If you approach the rest of the hobby with the same attention to detail, you'll be a master. You really should start a new thread/ continue the old one. I'd love to see it. Thanks Again Guys, Dan
Great job Dan. It has been fun following your construction thread. Keep it up (and keep the pictures coming)
Dirty Little Hut I got a chance to pull the Quonset Hut off the layout and throw some chalk on it. Also plant a few weeds around the base on one side. It's still a work in progress. I'm not really thrilled with the chalk that I got on the white wall. Looks like they have a mold problem. I might try to tone that down some. I wanted to move the combines out of the way, so I put them on a flat car. In The Real World, I don't think the combines would travel fully assembled, or not be strapped down for that matter, but I don't care. They're fun to look at go round and round. Hey... I want to thank everyone... 5,000th view! It's fun to know people are looking at what you post and there's so much positive energy on this board... really cool. Sniff... sniff... I'm tearing up here. Dan
Open For Business Thanks for the nice words guys. I've had quite the creative burst here lately. I got a lot of the detail parts painted and placed. Have you noticed that the Birkel Implement sign on the building is crooked? The sign is actually straight, the words on the sign are kadywampus. The sign was always meant as a mock up. I might keep it though. I can imagine old man Birkel letting his son paint him a sigh one summer only to end up with that. He's too busy to fix it and his son is too lazy. The gas tank behind the barn needs a decal. I wish I had a little more depth of field on this point-n-shoot. You might wonder why I always seem to show you guys this angle... kind of the back yard. It's the angel that's I see from the controllers while I'm running trains. I really like how the pallet and barrels look. One thing I've learned is that there's two different perspectives that I am modeling at. One is my naked eye as I stand next to the layout. The other is the close up camera shots that I show you guys. I never noticed the flaw in the end of the propane tank until I saw the above pic. Thanks for looking. Dan
What about some trees? If you put some trees in front or behind the quonset hut, it will make the scene more natural, and it divides the scene: you have to look more carefully to see all the buildings, and you see trains sneaking behind the trees.
Trees Form the Backdrop Thanks for the suggestion Thieu. As a matter of fact I took it to heart: At first I didn't want too many trees. In this part of the Great Plains there aren't too many naturally occurring trees. But people sure do plant them. And one reason they plant them is for a wind break. The Implement Co needed a windbreak. You don't want the prairie gales howling through unchecked. I also slapped together and installed a new sign. One more look. It's never done but I think it's about done. I now have one little triangle of the pike that looks pretty nice. The rest of the layout has scenery supplies and tools laying all over it. Now I've got to figure out what to tackle next... I've got a few things in mind. Thanks for looking, Dan
That scene really came together. Now you just need to drop some Bob Ross on that backdrop while you still have access.
Hey Dan, I stumbled across your thread and seen your from Lincoln. I went back through and read the thread, the layout looks great. Any new progress on the layout? Allen...
Thanks for the kick in the rear Allen, I've been meaning to post. Go Big Red. Where are you in our great state? I've moved across the street from the Birkel Implement and started to develop a small downtown. I got the roads laid out and built a classic model railroad "bridge to nowhere". I'm reasonably happy with the bridge. In the grassy spot next to the bridge (or viaduct) I think I'm gonna put a motel. Another shot of the downtown. Only the corner turret building is staying the others are just old ones for place holders. And a mock up for my next project an art deco gas station which you can see in the next shot: It will be a kitbash from a couple different kits that I've either not liked after buying on the bay or in one case, ruined (long story). The last shot is a closeup of the nearly finished drugstore. It needs dirt and detail not to mention the sidewalk glued down. I'm waiting on some striping to come in on order from my LTS and I'll stripe the streets and weather them. Then I might build the gas station. Sorry I haven't updated. Life has gotten in the way and in the case of the bridge, I wasn't super proud of the outcome. I'm liking what I've done since putting that area aside and moving to "downtown". I'll come back to it someday. Cheers, Dan
Thanks Allen, your pike looks pretty nice too. I'll get in touch. Since last post I striped the roads on the small town side. Not all of them but the main square at least. I also weathered the roads and sidewalk with chalk. It looks better in the pics than it does in person. I striped the roads with Woodland Scenics Dry Transfer Stripes. I had never done this before. I got somewhat good at it. The nice part is that if you mess up you can just scrape it off with a xacto knife. Please, city engineers out there, don't tell me how wrong the striping is. It's OK for me. There's flaws in it, but there's flaws in real striping too. The weathering brought out the cracks I scored in the sidewalk. Again, I hope to build an art deco gas station next. Thanks for looking, Dan
Dan, Your roads and sidewalks are really lookin Sharp! I like the oil leaks in the parking stalls! Nice...
