# Water and Snow!



## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)

Here’s what I’ve been working on lately, I had originally wanted snow on my layout, and was discouraged because I was told baking power would turn yellow after a while, well, I’ve found a solution, I picked up little JTT Scenery snow packets at Hobby Lobby for 2$ each, and a water soliton, all and all, my original dream layout is slowly coming together! Also, I’ve been working on my typing skills, and I would like to apologize for my terrible typing when I first joined, all should be fixed now.


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## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)

Oh, and I forgot, I’m going to pick up more packets of snow later, as I need a few more.


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## Dave NYC 1962 (Oct 17, 2020)

Looks good, I really like the frozen pond too!


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

The layout is looking great, an interesting idea and well done. 

Magic


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

QueenoftheGN said:


> Here’s what I’ve been working on lately, I had originally wanted snow on my layout, and was discouraged because I was told baking power would turn yellow after a while, well, I’ve found a solution, I picked up little JTT Scenery snow packets at Hobby Lobby for 2$ each, and a water soliton, all and all, my original dream layout is slowly coming together! Also, I’ve been working on my typing skills, and I would like to apologize for my terrible typing when I first joined, all should be fixed now.
> View attachment 549371
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Queen of the GN;

Your snow and the frozen pond look great! Your layout in general looks good too. Congratulations on your good progress so far!
I'm going to offer some constructive criticism, and suggestions for possible improvements, which you are free to accept, or reject.

1) The stream is too close to the edge of your mountain, and needs to be down in a carved-out streambed. As it is now, it would just flow over the back edge, and all over that side of the mountain, since there are no banks to contain it. Flowing water normally digs a channel to run through. 
(see photo 3)

2)Your buildings will look better with a coat of flat paint, and some weathering. 

3) The trucks need some roads to drive on.

4) While your mountain looks good in general, it does look a bit boxy. 
You were smart to use different colors for the vertical rock faces, and the flatter parts. More strata, and a generally rougher surface will make those rock faces look more realistic. Conversely, smoothing out the closer to horizontal parts, into a rounded hilltop, will make them look better, and increase the contrast with the rougher rock faces. If your willing to, you can smooth out the foam hilltop area with a surform rasp (see photo 1 ) followed by some sandpaper. To create rougher rock faces, you have many methods to choose from. You can use plaster rock castings, either bought ready-made, or made at home. Commercial rock molds, or crumpled aluminum foil, can be used to cast your own rocks. A simpler approach would be to go into a sort of pretend "stabbing frenzy" (think slasher movies, or Hitchcock's "Psycho" shower scene.) on your foam rock faces. More, and smaller broken up angles, will help simulate the strata of real rocks. I used a different technique on the rock clif in photo 2. It's made of tree bark, sold at home depot for landscaping.(A very big bag cost me only $3.) I cut pieces of bark in two, and glued the flat sides this created to a piece of thin luan plywood. Later, I filled in some of the gaps with Elmer's wood filler, and painted the whole thing.Some dirt, and a little commercial ground foam "grass", completed the scene.

5) Your frozen pond looks great! For still, or slow-flowing water you can add reeds along the edge. Ordinary hemp rope makes good looking reeds. Just unwind a little of the fibers from the end and glue the ends into the bank of the pond with some Elmer's glue. I paint the bottom part of the reeds light green. (see photo 5)

Overall, your layout looks much improved. Good Job.

Good Luck & Have Fun;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Where I come from that's called a "skiff" of snow. You made it look very real. Nice looking layout.


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## Chops (Dec 6, 2018)

I like it! Very few layouts are done in snow. I am doing a micro layout in snow, and you just 
saved me from using baking soda! You know what they all say about yellow snow...


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Yeah......don’t eat it......


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## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

So far ahead of mine Queen!

I love the snow !


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## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)

traction fan said:


> Queen of the GN;
> 
> Your snow and the frozen pond look great! Your layout in general looks good too. Congratulations on your good progress so far!
> I'm going to offer some constructive criticism, and suggestions for possible improvements, which you are free to accept, or reject.
> ...


Good point, I’ve kinda been holding back on roads, mostly because of price, but I found a bag of ballast, and using that, and Elmer’s Glue as a barrier so the ballast didn’t spill over, and as it turns out, it worked, and looks quite nice, and I’m not that confident with my weathering skills, and as such, the next time I have the chance to purchase a used building to test my weathering skills, I don’t really want to mess up my buildings that already have. And I’m working on fixing the mountain now!


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

I love that Great Northern poster with the goat on it....would love to see a closeup photo of that!


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## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)




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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

QueenoftheGN said:


> Good point, I’ve kinda been holding back on roads, mostly because of price, but I found a bag of ballast, and using that, and Elmer’s Glue as a barrier so the ballast didn’t spill over, and as it turns out, it worked, and looks quite nice, and I’m not that confident with my weathering skills, and as such, the next time I have the chance to purchase a used building to test my weathering skills, I don’t really want to mess up my buildings that already have. And I’m working on fixing the mountain now!
> View attachment 549434
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Annie;

Your gravel roads look very good. Nice feature. If you later decide to "pave" them with asphalt, spraying the gravel road a very dark grey, or black, will transform them. I did a similar thing, but using finely sifted dirt, instead of ballast. (see photo 1) 
Weathering isn't hard, and using chalk, it's even removable if you don't like the results. I weather by "painting" with chalk. I wet an artist's paint brush with plain tap water and then drag it across a stick of colored chalk. Then I paint the water/chalk mix onto the model. The water has to evaporate before you see much of any color. This method automatically makes subtle weathering effects, no special skills required. If worse comes to worse, soap and water will remove the weathering. It's easy, fun, and even cheap. I bought my set of pastel colored chalks from Walmart's craft dept. years ago for $3 and I'm still using the same set. Some colors of children's sidewalk chalk will work too. To see what chalk weathering looks like, check out the freight cars on the rail barge in (photo 2.) They were weathered entirely with chalks. 
The telephone poles ar a nice detail item. Is that actual wire strung between them? Many modelers use thread, rather than wire, since thread won't kink. You can even get elastic thread, which stays nice and tight when the poles are anchored down. Next time you're adding some "ground cover" (dirt & grass or deeper snow) you may want to cover the plastic bases of the phone poles to give them that "planted in place" realistic look.
I have a question about the blue house with white window trim, in your photo. It has a one story base under it. Did it come that way, or did you combine the parts from two different kits? It looks really good, and I might want one for my layout. What brand is the model?

Nice progress!

Traction Fan 🙂


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## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)

I think I’ll try that chalk technique, it sounds interesting! The wire is thread, it was leftover from a Revell North Sea Fishing Trawler kit, and the house is a Bachmann Spectrum Kit. N Scale Bachmann 88051 Sears Early 20th Century Catalog House Building Kit for sale online | eBay I found it in my closet, I was cleaning it out, because of quarantine boredom, and it fell out, mine came with 2 basements.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

QueenoftheGN said:


> I think I’ll try that chalk technique, it sounds interesting! The wire is thread, it was leftover from a Revell North Sea Fishing Trawler kit, and the house is a Bachmann Spectrum Kit. N Scale Bachmann 88051 Sears Early 20th Century Catalog House Building Kit for sale online | eBay I found it in my closet, I was cleaning it out, because of quarantine boredom, and it fell out, mine came with 2 basements.


Annie;

Thanks for the information on the house kit. Your link actually takes me to an HO-scale kit for sale on e-bay, but I get the idea, thanks. It must be a model of a model railroader's house, since you say it "comes with two basements!" 😄 

regards;

Traction Fan 🙂


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