A journal following the history, design, construction and operation of Bernard Kempinski's O Scale model railroad depicting the U. S. Military Railroad (USMRR) Aquia-Falmouth line in 1863, and other model railroad projects.
©Bernard Kempinski All text and images, except as noted, on this blog are copyrighted by the author and may not be used without permission.
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September 8, 2022

Back to Spiking Time


Forty two and a half pounds of weight to hold the trestle while the glue dries


I finished installing and carving rock faces by the bridge site and balloon camp. 

Black base coat on rocks

Next I painted the rocks. I use Durham's Water Putty for my rock carving material. It has a yellow color. So I add brown acrylic paint to the putty mix. But once the putty is dry I paint the whole rock face black. Then I dry brush white from above to create the zenith highlights. At this point the rocks look like a black and white image.



Color Palette

Next, I take dark brown, burnt sienna, medium gray, white, and tan acrylic paint. I brush the rocks lightly with these colors on a wet brush to catch the high points. The brush is not so wet as to run and puddle paint in the crevices. It's a like a dry brush technique but with a loaded wet brush. 

I did a quick job of painting the creek bed. This will be covered with layers of other scenic material so the paint wasn't critical, but it will look like a acceptable before I get to that.

Once the rocks and creek were painted, I inserted the bridge into position. I adjusted the fit slightly by cleaning away any stray bits of putty. Then I glued it with carpenter's yellow glue. I put 42.5 pounds of weight to hold it it position.

Zenithal highlights with white paint



I didn't finish the terrain over the tunnel. That will have to wait until the rails are spike down. 










1 comment:

  1. Hmmm. Guess that trestle will certainly support a train. 🤓

    ReplyDelete