# Sheldon's Layout



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Thank you for this place to be able to share our work.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

Grumpy468 that is some nice detail work you have there on your buildings and ground cover detail. 

Kenny


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

AFGP9 said:


> Grumpy468 that is some nice detail work you have there on your buildings and ground cover detail.
> 
> Kenny


Thank you very much.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Getting paved roads or concrete to look right is a huge task.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

White lines after


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

This shed took a while, I am getting better at the washes.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

I found a you tube video that shows how to make your own LED street lamps Etc. So i ordered 2 sizes of Styrene poles that slide into each other, 3 mm led's and 3 sizes of "Bag Feet" A roll of insulated .04 mm wire, and away we go. It is time consuming, but a fraction of the cost to make them. The bag feet make perfect lamp shades, 10mm,12mm,15mm. I use the 10mm for downtown, the 12mm for roadways, and the 15mm for the refinery area i am building.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

Wow! That's all so incredible. You do amazing!


----------



## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

I like what you did with 3mm LEDs. I was thinking of doing something similar until I found these Nano LED street lights...easy peasy. 









Like how you are stratch building stuff. 
Love what looks like a refueling station in a covered platform.








I want to do something like that too so thanks for the inspiration.
Keep the pictures coming, subscribed to your thread. 😊


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Thank you for the compliments


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

some previous builds.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

I make my fences out of wooden match sticks and florist wire.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Garages are a nice touch.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

Outstanding work, well done.   

Magic


----------



## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

Welcome to the forum, great work.


----------



## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Very nice details! Your fence looks great! I like your weathering of the structures too!


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

My best friend and model railroad mentor Sid Dietch got me into this hobby, he taught me a lot about technique and how to apply paint and washes. Sadly he passed away almost 2 years ago. I seemed to have had a knack for this, as i have been building model cars my whole life, and have applied that to the train hobby. I grew up in a train station in Rural Saskatchewan, so i am modelling 1967 to 1977 era roughly. My layout isn't one specific town, it is a combination of everything i have seen over the years.

The best advice he gave me was. "Never plan on finishing your layout, it will turn out much better" It's not something you finish, it's something you love to do.


----------



## 65steam (Dec 18, 2019)

That shed turned out really well. I like your landscaping, too.


----------



## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

It's All Amazing! Y'all outta my league, really great work!


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

I love it, beautiful workmanship and I love your layout !


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

BigGRacing said:


> I love it, beautiful workmanship and I love your layout !


Thank you Gary, I appreciate the kind words.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

These took several weeks to build. There will be more weathering involved. Plus a piping network


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

This part of the layout is slow going. requires lots of thought. One on my customers is the local refinery, i am so lucky to have a birds eye view of a real refinery. i have so many pictures of all the things i am building on my layout.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

It is amazing how many times i will take things on and off the layout. ugh. Now that i have all the base concrete/pavement work done, i can start placing things where they will land permanently.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Such great attention to detail!


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

What is the total dimensions of the layout Sheldon ?


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

My layout is 12 feet x 8 feet x 4 feet. In an "L" shape.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Berrychon (4 mo ago)

You did a hell of a job. Congrats.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Grumpy468 said:


> My layout is 12 feet x 8 feet x 4 feet. In an "L" shape.


I thought it might be 12 feet, great size


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Added some more scenery to my one section tonight.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Well its going to be a long winter, i decided to maybe start detailing my rolling stock. And adding some depth to a few buildings. I bought an air brush, along with paint and reducers. I have old box cars to practice on before i start hitting my main cars.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Added a bit more detail to my gravel crossing, Still not happy with it. Added some grass and shrubs around the outhouse too.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)




----------



## Conductorkev (Nov 5, 2021)

Looking at it I personally think your overdoing with the black plus it's like the cars/trucks are all going in the same Grove.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

I need to get a raw Sienna pastel stick and grind it into a powder. That will give me the colour i am looking for.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Had to make a colour out of what i had. This is in the right direction now.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Well I sat down on the bench again, and added a few more details to this one section. People, a truck and a few landscape details.


----------



## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

Love the weathering details you did on your refinery oil tanks, very realistic. I also like the idea of mini modules to place on the layout after they are all done. It's a little more work but well worth the effort should you have to fix it on the bench. I hate taking bench stuff to the layout, it really creates a mess!


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Thank you for the kind words. I decided to do this area in a section, some of the work has to be done on the layout though. i hate leaning over to work on the middle. I am kind of all over he place on this layout right now, i get tired of one area and then bounce around. lol.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

I made 3 new lites just to try in one section. They are 1inch taller, and use a 12mm shade instead of a 10mm shade. It gives a nicer footprint on the ground in this area. These are now 4.5" tall. so to scale these are a 33.75 foot lite.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Grumpy468 said:


> I made 3 new lites just to try in one section


They look awesome Grumpy! Does the copper wiring go up different channels within your tube or is that just a copper coloured wire jacket?


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

BigGRacing said:


> They look awesome Grumpy! Does the copper wiring go up different channels within your tube or is that just a copper coloured wire jacket?


Those styrene poles are tiny, 1mm hole, the wire is .04mm transformer wire with a varnish on it to keep the wire from shorting out to each other.


----------



## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Grumpy468 said:


> Those styrene poles are tiny, 1mm hole, the wire is .04mm transformer wire with a varnish on it to keep the wire from shorting out to each other.


I wonder if that's similar to the really thin wire I've been salvaging from the voice coil of a high-end (although blown) speaker.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

I bought a static grass applicator kit and 4 bags of grass. I need to start adding grass before i get too far into my layout, i like to build electronics, so this little kit will do the job at a great price.









Static Grass Applicator DIY Kit 12v DC Input 15Kv DC Ouput 4 Variations


A Cost Saving DIY Kit To Build A Powerful 15KV Static Grass Applicator Control Unit To Use For Static Grass And To Power DIY Flock Boxes. Free Shipping To US And European Union Advantages Advantage Explanation High Power With a 12v DC input, the output is a nominal 15kv DC output Low Cost You...



store.polandsbest.com


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Making 3 more lites tonight, decided to wire up terminal blocks for the switches to control the lites. Got free leftover cables from work today too, can't say no to free stranded wire with connectors.


----------



## vette-kid (May 2, 2020)

Man, all that piping in the refinery is fantastic! Id love to see that process. Your work is simply amazing, well done sir. 

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Oh there will be more piping as time goes on, Thank you for the kind words.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Got my static grass applicator today . You have to install everything, all the connectors all the wiring. Pretty easy to do. I had an extra Tea strainer, so i have one fine and one course strainer. One strainer comes with the kit. I had the good handle insulators in my tool bag for work so they come in handy for this. The clip on the end of the strainer is actually the ground clip that connects to the pin in the glue surface that you are covering.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

You are looking at $60.00 USD which includes the kit and 4 bags of grass. Ships from Poland.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Grumpy468 said:


> You are looking at $60.00 USD which includes the kit and 4 bags of grass. Ships from Poland.


Your bottom pic is why I hate wiring…lol, I see it all the time.

I read it as red red black black when I look at the black marker….
I see black wire, red wire, black wire and green wire…..lol

my brain has a hard time doing wiring like this…..lol

my hat goes off to you as always!


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

The marker on the back side represents the terminal colour on the top side. This way i can keep the wiring correct.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

I have been watching static grass videos. This guy here has some great skills and techniques for landscaping overall. I will be trying to replicate his ideas on my layout.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

This is what happens when you get a new idea. I bought the static grass applicator, and found this guys YouTube page. Now I have stripped my layout down to the bare minimum, and will start the detailing the way it needs to be done from the centre out. I have a lot of track and ballast detailing to do from the centre out.



































could be years before anymore buildings go back on. lolol


----------



## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

I was always a little sceptical about static grass standing up like the video shows at about 5:30.
That is just amazing! Now I want to go get a static grass unit. I suppose you do have to buy special tall grass for the machine...they do not explain the "exact" product used in the video. Have you figured out what to use. Those static grass wands can be a bit pricy but the effect is amazing, for sure.
What have you found out in your journey to replicate what you see in the video? How to make it stick? What product is used? Are you actually doing this...on the cheap?
Yup....a lot of work! Painting the rails always scares me!


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

The rails and ties have been painted I need to calm dawn the bright grey ballast, make it dull. A dark grey wash should do. As for static grass, you do it in steps. Start with the 2.5 mm then work up to 4mm, then 6mm. I am going to place an order for 16 bags of grass, be $120 USD. different lengths and colours. Should do the entire layout.


----------



## Christiaη (2 mo ago)

Awesome layout ! Is there a track plan some where ? Thanks.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Christiaη said:


> Awesome layout ! Is there a track plan some where ? Thanks.


Yes there is, but i cannot find it? i thought i saved the bookmark? Most of the middle is my own design. The mainline and a couple of spurs were on the layout. Then i decided to add some tracks in the centre.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Ok here is 3 hours of my life and 20 feet of track, more to go. i decided i am going to detail the crap out of everything.


----------



## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

Grumpy468 said:


> Ok here is 3 hours of my life and 20 feet of track, more to go. i decided i am going to detail the crap out of everything.


I know that feeling! I don't know if I'll go that far with weathering my ties with different colors on a lot of them but I had planned on throwing in a handfull of newer colored ties every few feet but man that does look amazing!


----------



## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

That attention to detail is way above my pay grade but it really came out great. Excellent work!


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

I went over the first 20 feet with weathering powder, natural earth. Looks amazing, took the shine off the top of the ballast. that's what I was looking for. I sectioned off everything today, I have 20 hours of tie painting on the main line, then move in to the middle tracks.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

Well I was caught up on work, and spent the day in the basement. Got my entire mainline all painted, and a few of the inner loop. My feet and back are tired. I hit one section with natural earth powder. I like the results.


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

This is a couple sections I got done today. still have to go back and powder the whole thing.


----------



## Steve on Cattail Creek (11 mo ago)

SF Gal said:


> I was always a little sceptical about static grass standing up like the video shows at about 5:30.
> That is just amazing! Now I want to go get a static grass unit. I suppose you do have to buy special tall grass for the machine...they do not explain the "exact" product used in the video. Have you figured out what to use. Those static grass wands can be a bit pricy but the effect is amazing, for sure.
> What have you found out in your journey to replicate what you see in the video? How to make it stick? What product is used? Are you actually doing this...on the cheap?
> Yup....a lot of work! Painting the rails always scares me!


If you want to get your feet wet without having to invest a lot of bucks in a commercial applicator, you might want to just convert one of those cheap bug zappers (I picked up one recently at Harbor Freight for less than $4!), removing the 'racket' (I reused the aluminum mesh in the middle to screen crusher-run gravel for track ballast -- bonus!) and replacing it with a cheap tea strainer/sieve from the local dollar store. The conversion was fairly easy and straightforward, and the resulting applicator seems to develop a more than usable static charge and can smoothly apply the grass with care. There are more than a few good videos on-line to guide you, and on how to effectively apply static grass.

I'm far from a landscaping genius, but the results I've gotten so far have IMHO been quite good, using both commercial static grasses (easy to use but pricey) and some home-brew alternatives (finicky and harder to use, but much cheaper IME). There's a bit of a learning curve, but with a little practice you _can_ get the longer grasses to stand up like in the videos. The longest commercial stuff I've used so far is about 7mm, but I picked up some 12 mm stuff a while ago that I plan to try out when I get the rest of my ballasting done (still procrastinating!). Whether you end up rolling your own or popping for a commercial applicator, I strongly encourage experimenting with static grass -- it can really add to the reality factor! 😁


----------



## Grumpy468 (4 mo ago)

I posted pictures Of the Kit I built it is a great applicator by all accounts. I plan on using it soon. Kit was $60.00 USD


----------

