Oakridge Neighborhood - Painting Commercial St.

Once the terrain was formed and plaster dried, I worked on bringing the roads in Oakridge to life with  painting and weathering. Like many of my painting and weathering projects, my techniques and materials were chosen for simplicity and repeatability. The end result was a surface realistic to Commercial St. completed without much fuss. 

I started the project studying prototype photos. I used "street-view" functions on the internet and took screenshots of desired textures and colors  I wanted to replicate from the actual road. Commercial Street, which parallels the tracks, seemed to be a lighter asphalt-gray color with elements of light browns. Aged, but not poorly maintained. This final look would be achieved with weathering. 

I used a wash technique to paint the base color similar to that I use when weathering equipment. This involved "building" color by applying multiple thin washes to achieve the desired look per prototype photos. Additionally, washes for both weathering or in this case painting allow for any sort of tweaking of color should it be needed. The base color for commercial street was achieved with 4 washes of a tan-gray color. 

The base coat applied to Commercial St. I worked in small sections at a time. 

The final wash was a dark brown-black mixture used to begin the weathering process. I have previously scribed expansion joints and other cracks and the wash helped to bring out these details in the road surface.

Commercial Street has a distinctive tar pattern along the major expansion joints and cracks. I replicated this by hand, painting over these joints and cracks with a dark gray water mixable oil and a fine brush. Here I used prototype photos extensively for accuracy. Note however, I did not replicate any one section of road, but merely used photos as reference to ensure realism in my final result, if not an exact replica.

Tar painted with dark gray oils along previously scribed joints and cracks.

I then followed this detail work with an additional black-brown wash to help blend the newly painted tar lines into the rest of the pavement. This did not obscure any of the previous step, but merely softened the distinctiveness of the painted tar lines. 

Second wash of brown-black applied and still drying. 

I used weathering powders to finish the coloring and weathering of the road. I began with light browns and grays to give a dusty look, especially along the shoulders and along the middle or crown of the road. I also used a fine brush and dark brown powder to highlight some of the expansion joints. All this was blended with a large, soft brush.

Weathering powders applied to lightly weather and age the road. 

With scenery still to come, it remains to be seen how the road will fully integrate into the scene, yet the initial results are encouraging!

The finished road without additional vegetation. To my eye, the road stands out rather harshly compared to the plain dirt texturing, but maintains a realistic look. 

A sneak peek in to what is to come in Oakridge. Here, the road is much more an integrated element in the scene!

Westfir Scenery - Trees

After the initial application of grass and bushes, it was time to begin the vertical scenery development: trees. It is no big secret that modeling northwestern mountains requires a great deal of trees. I predict that my railroad fully finished could consume 1-2 thousand individual trees, although this may be a conservative estimate! In Westfir specifically, the tracks run through a "tunnel" of trees before entering Tunnel 22 itself. This tunnel made of a foundation of conifers, however a good proportion of the trees are deciduous. Modeling this dense, spring vegetation proved to be a great artistic challenge in my narrow scene.

I began adding trees on the ridge above Tunnel 22 with conifer trees I had on hand from a previous railroad. I did apply a fresh coat of foliage to give the trees a refresh, however these served as a great foundation for the rest of the scene even if they are not the most outstanding models. Each tree has a mounting pin and is held in place with hot glue.

Conifers placed as a foundation for the rest of the vegetation in Westfir. 

I used Supertrees material and SuperLeaf leaves for the deciduous trees. Given the springtime setting I chose the two lightest greens shades for leaves. The armatures are painted gray and spray adhesive is used to adhere the leaves to the armatures. The leaves are applied lightly to imply trees that are in the process of leafing out.

Starting to add spring deciduous trees to the tunnel. These go a long way in giving the scene depth.

As I worked down the hill, I started to plan future locations of conifers. My approach to conifers may be unique, at least among other railroads I have seen. I am looking to model trees that are close to accurately tall. As you can see in the next photos, the trunks of these future trees seem to tower over the seen. This is exactly the look I am going for and hope it creates a dramatic yet realistic mountain feel.

Working with composition of conifers. Still uncertain on arrangement, but note the height of the trunks!

On the other end of the scene I started to add deciduous trees on the narrow slope. The Supertrees material added a great sense of depth and created the densely vegetated look I am seeking to achieve. I will further this area with a future application of bushes and shrubs.

Trees added to the narrow entrance to the layout from staging. I will eventually finish this area with fascia.

Trees ready to be placed in the scene. 

Deciduous trees added near the liftout. The distance from the tracks to backdrop is only 2-3 inches here. 

 A large conifer was constructed for near Tunnel 22 and more deciduous trees were added. I decided to not block the view of the tunnel with the large conifers I was fitting into the scene earlier. I will use low deciduous cover instead.

Vegetation around the tunnel continues to develop. More is needed, but this is close to the final state. 

Overall view of Westfir in its near complete state.

As the scene stands a majority of the main trees are in place. I would like to add a few more conifers and will need 5-10 more deciduous trees to continue to fill in. So far I am pleased with the springtime colors that are starting to develop and the once bright green grasses are starting to become more integrated into the scene given the complimenting leaf colors. This area is not yet complete, but very close to being finished for now. I will continue to post updates as they develop.

Oakridge Neighborhood Terrain Development

Leaving Tunnel #22 trains enter Oakridge via a large sweeping curve that takes the mainline and passing siding near the backdrop. Within this "bubble" of track will reside a small residential area that will seek to capture the residential aspects of Oakridge with a few small homes and streets. As terrain development and scenery reached completion in Westfir, the neighborhood was my next area of focus.

I began with completing the terrain structure with cardboard webbing and construction paper. The paper was coated with wood glue to add some strength.

Cardboard webbing and paper around Tunnel 22. 

Webbing completed for the entire area. 

Wood glue drying on the paper layer. Locomotive on siding gives a good impression of how deep this scene is. 

With the basic terrain forms in, I used foam board to create a subroadbed for the streets. This was secured with hot glue as well. I then smoothed edges and transitions with multiple layers of Sculptamould.

Foamboard subroadbed cut and fit resting in place. 

Shoulders and other terrain features created with Sculptamould. 

Additional paper was added where the road elevation rises to meet the fascia. 

With the Sculptamould complete, I then added Commercial St. and Locust St. using Woodland Scenics Smooth-It.

Streets poured in Oakridge. I used Woodland Scenics Smooth-it as I have used it in the past and have been pleased with the results. 

Built up the area for an access road off Commercial Street. 

Foamboard was used to create foundations for the homes, driveways, and sidewalks on Locust St.  

I applied 2-3 layers of Sculptamould throughout the scene in order to properly shape the road shoulders and other transitions. 

The entrance to Oakridge, the other side of Tunnel 22 also received a good deal of carved rocks to match the Westfir side. 

Entire scene painted with brown craft paint save for the roadways and house foundations. 

Base rock color of gray applied around Tunnel 22. 

Brown and black washes finalize the rock painting. Additional color details added with dry-brushing. Powdered dirt will help to weather the rocks further and blend them into the scene. 

With terrain and rockwork complete, further work can be done to develop the scenery in Oakridge.