Kohlenbach Brücke Werks: Greening up…

Whilst I had somewhat fallen under the spell of the greys and browns that formed the landscape on the layout, it couldn't last forever. No matter, an opportunity to try out some other ideas for colour and palette on Kohlenbach Brücke Werks...

So over the weekend I stripped off the removable structures and took the lid off, peeling away the layers of modelling to make it easier to apply the green stuff... not just any green stuff but some Mini-natur grasses I have had in stock since the beginning of this blog!! So out came summer green in 4mm - mixed a little with WSS 2mm European green - and afterwards some more Mini-natur 6mm winter... writing this down is so much more difficult than producing the results, I set myself up carefully beforehand, preparing all the colours I think I'll need around some scrap paper (to collect stray fibres on). I mix them randomly as they're popped in the tiny canister on the Peco 'precision' static grass applicator. I use Woodland Scenics 'scenic cement' neat on the board, and go from there... feeling it, guided by nothing more than an empty mind and my imagination.

Viewed from lower angles the results are exactly as I hoped, the more vivid green really setting off the grey nicely. My fear was my usual yellows and browns would dilute the grey, they'd too easily merge into the scene, the red shunter would no longer 'pop'. Instead, these blue tinged greens work really well - and even from an unrealistic higher angle (above) which isn't too dissimilar to how I view it when operating, it still feels as I hoped. 

It just feels - right.

There is still much more to add, this first pass was to try some ideas with colour and it has been successful - However, things feel a little 'too neat' - I'm keen to introduce an element of the unkempt in the track work with some grass growing between sleepers - but that can wait. My hope is that getting this left hand end of the scene closer to completion helps me distill what I'm aiming for on the right hand end of the layout. Whilst the tanker unloading area is clear, it is what lies beyond the boundary of the railway that is less obvious at the moment. I'm sure with a little more 'playtime' and some Google Earth exploring of the industrial areas of Bratislava I will come up with something semi plausible. The simple, mindful pursuit of shunting wagons around is what this one was all about though, and I'm back to being able to do that again after a good clean up and 'testing'. 

Pausing to reflect on the journey so far, I dont think I realised how satisfying such a self contained idea could be - one locomotive, four wagons. One concept - distilled to its purest of essence. Seeing the squat little diesel parked here, next to the sunken office, by those concrete panel fences - it just feels...

Right.

I'm so glad I took that first step. 

For the complete story, use the labels below to find similar posts. Until next time, more soon...

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