06-10-2011, 11:21 PM
Gary,
You are certainly disproving the common wisdom! I'd have to view the layout in person and spend some time operating it in order to get the full experience and draw a real conclusion, but from what I've seen on this thread, I'd say you're making your point quite well.
Your rail painting technique is what I used on my timesaver, right down to the paint color choice, if memory serves. For that case I had layed ties and balast before ever laying rail.
The way I learned to hand lay track was to lay ties in a bed of yellow glue, then after that dries sand down the tops. Once you're sure everything is level, then you gouge, poke and generally distress the ties for age and stain them. Weathering is easy without the rail in the way. Balast comes next - no worries about getting it on the rail! Finally rail is laid in place. Even using 'weathered' blackened rail you still need to touch it up where solder joints gleam. So I painted it in a very similar fashion, except I used a small (#0) round brush.
Another 'common wisdom' you seem to be ignoring (and I'm glad!) is the whole notion of a valance. Hiding lights behind a little vertical curtain only seems to draw my eye up into that well lit space. Maybe I'm too tall for the designs I've seen, but most of the time they just get in the way or create visual clutter in the periphery.
You keep right on disproving conventional wisdom.
It's working!
Galen
You are certainly disproving the common wisdom! I'd have to view the layout in person and spend some time operating it in order to get the full experience and draw a real conclusion, but from what I've seen on this thread, I'd say you're making your point quite well.
Your rail painting technique is what I used on my timesaver, right down to the paint color choice, if memory serves. For that case I had layed ties and balast before ever laying rail.
The way I learned to hand lay track was to lay ties in a bed of yellow glue, then after that dries sand down the tops. Once you're sure everything is level, then you gouge, poke and generally distress the ties for age and stain them. Weathering is easy without the rail in the way. Balast comes next - no worries about getting it on the rail! Finally rail is laid in place. Even using 'weathered' blackened rail you still need to touch it up where solder joints gleam. So I painted it in a very similar fashion, except I used a small (#0) round brush.Another 'common wisdom' you seem to be ignoring (and I'm glad!) is the whole notion of a valance. Hiding lights behind a little vertical curtain only seems to draw my eye up into that well lit space. Maybe I'm too tall for the designs I've seen, but most of the time they just get in the way or create visual clutter in the periphery.
You keep right on disproving conventional wisdom.
It's working!Galen
I may not be a rivet counter, but I sure do like rivets!