No problem here on the blog. Here is something I tried out for a project you'll soon see. I'd ballasted 009 track with some Woodland Scenics grey ballast, and felt it looked a bit plain.
Wondering what I could do to improve matters, I decided that working on the layout itself was a bad idea, at least until I could be sure of the results.
Solution - make up a short test piece. Stick a bit of track to some foam, spray it brown and then ballast. Just like the stuff on the model.
Then I messed around with dry-brushing and powders to see how they looked.
Horray for test pieces!
I reckon that building test pieces makes a lot of sense - although I must admit that a large proportion of my modelmaking output seems to consist of them.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I tend to call them something different - usually something along the lines of "proof of concept" - but, effectively, they're still the same sort of fare.
I can't help wondering if this sort of thing might have been one of the main "drivers" behind the RMweb / BRM "cake box challenges" - trying to get people to build a deliberately limited section of scenery, presumably as a way of trying out different techniques.
This all sounds fair enough to me - even if scenery has never really been my "specialist subject".
Personally, I've always been rather more interested in the stuff that moves on railway lines - rolling stock - locos (especially if the real things are powered by Diesel or electric) - and especially trams / railmotors / railcars / railbuses / multiple units.
This might explain why I'd be very keen to see a revival of 2015's motive power themed RMweb challenge - preferably as a "rolling challenge" (the year they get finished being the year they get entered).
Will this happen in due course? I've got no way of knowing - but I know I'm not alone in hoping that it does.