Karakura, N scale.

[Huib]

This is what the tunnel entrances look like after dry-brushing....

[Huib]

It took a couple of iterations to get to a result I liked. Picking the right power setting and speed for the lasercutter is a delicate process. I needed several prints to get it exactly right. I also changed the engraving from lines to fills to get a better result, without gaps. Anyway... if you own a lasercutter yourself and would like to have a go at it, drop me a message with your email address and I will share the Lightburn files.

 

Grtz! Huib

[Huib]

A small scenery project: a water mill, based on a cardboard kit from Sankei. It will be fun to include this somewhere on the layout. The mill closely resembles the mills I saw at the Daio Wasabi Farm.

 

Grtz! Huib

 

 

Edited January 28 by Huib

[cteno4]

Huib,

 

nice job! So basic walls and water wheel are sankei kit and new roof or did you scratch build? Roof came out very nice. What material did you use? Quite effective for the thatched roofing.

 

jeff

[Huib]

@cteno4 Hi Jeff, Yes the walls and the wheel are from the Sankei kit. I made the roof with short yellow grass fibers and squashed them down while the glue was still wet. It is a simple trick and only takes 15 minutes, but it works quite well. Grtz! Huib

Edited January 28 by Huib

[cteno4]

So like 5mm static grass? Or was it ground foam grass flocking? The bits look too kinky for static grass but too straight for ground foam. Results are great.

 

jeff

[Huib]

@cteno4 It is static grass, 4 mm or less. Faller 171622 to be specific. Grtz! Huib

Edited January 29 by Huib

[Huib]

Dear all,

 

After finishing up my dystopian hovering tram swamp diorama (see: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBcTa9) I finally got around to ballasting the tracks. I am also finishing up on the tunnels. Some time soon I will start on the basis for the landscape. 

I used Koemo N track ballast. After carefully comparing prototype photos I concluded that the Koemo ballast is the right size. You are looking at a mixture of the DD and R15 colours. I think the platform from Styrodur (XPS) also works quite nicely.

Grtz! Huib

[Huib]

Today I drew the half-moon bridge (Koishikawa Kōrakuen Garden) in 1:150. Obviously, some small parts don't scale well, but the first tryout already captures the basic shape of the bridge. I will need to play around with grouping parts in layers and materials to get the best result.

 

Grtz! Huib

[GeorgeHInch]

Hey @Huib, I noticed you are using the YaMoRC current sensing devices. I’m starting to build my layout and my plan was to use these since it works out being cheaper than the Digitraxs alternative with easier wiring IMO. How has your experience been with them? 
 

But also, in general, your layout is coming along very well. You’ve done an incredible job weathering those tunnel portals!

[Huib]

Hi @GeorgeHInch,

 

Thanks! The YaMoRC devices perform very well. Easy to set up with software on your laptop. I can recommend them.

 

I did a video on that in Dutch (try the auto subs to catch the story in English):

Grtz! Huib 

[Huib]

Another project that is coming along: a backdrop for the layout. The full file is 32K+ pixels wide. Looks Japanese to me 😉

 

Grtz! Huib

[Huib]

Made a revised version today with more sky. I composed the image of a handful of photos from Japan and filled the gaps with AI in Photoshop. This 400 DPI file is about 7 GB. The final print resolution will be 300 DPI.

 

 

Edited March 13 by Huib

[Huib]

Today I dropped in the background. The image has been printed on foamboard, so that means no bubbles or other mishaps ever. I might need to make some adjustments and reprint it, but we'll see about that when the landscape has been done. The layout looks like an ultra widescreen tv now 😉

 

     

Edited March 20 by Huib

[Huib]

I also made a set of stairways that will lead up to the main temple, on the right hand side of the layout.

 

[Huib]

Made a start with sculpting the landscape from sheets of XPS. The temple is going to be a nice eyecatcher.

Grtz! Huib

[Huib]

Had a go at shaping the rockfaces with Mifoshape. I'll let it set for a week and then do the final sculpting with a chisel. Suddenly this project is starting to look like a real layout 😉

 

Grtz! Huib

[Martijn Meerts]

Will be quite interesting to hear what your thoughts are on the Mifoshape stuff. I've been looking at getting some as well, but as I still have a bunch of Sculptamold around, I've not ordered it yet.

 

[Huib]

Hi Martijn,

 

I am making a vlog about it. The good thing is... you've got about 30 mins to sculpt the rockfaces. The downside... it is pretty expensive stuff and I am not so sure it is a lot better than slow drying artist's plaster (that's about €11,- for 5 kg). Would be nice to compare those options side by side some day.

 

Grtz, Huib

[Martijn Meerts]

Yeah, the price of the 'special' products is always a bit of an issue. But Sculptamold for example was also quite a bit lighter (weight wise) than regular plaster, which can be a good thing if you're making large mountains.

 

[cteno4]

And sculptamold not has hard to sculpt either! @Huib how hard is Mifoshape? Hard as plaster? 
 

jeff

[Huib]

Yep, Mifoshape becomes as hard as plaster eventually. I personally like Mifoshape better than Sculptamold, which can be hard to come by too. @cteno4

[Bubule]

Wow very nice project ! Very neat work 🤩.

 

I love your design it simple, work very well and there is a nice Japanese atmosphere.😍 Great job, I look forward to see progress on this great layout 😀

[Huib]

Made serious progress this weekend. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the landscape is taking shape.

 

Grtz! Huib

[Huib]