Kohlenbachbrücke Werks: More green and more questions...
My slice of Eastern Europe 'what if' shunting layout continues to see mindful shunting operations, rewarding in the very way I had hoped and intended. In the quiet times between I ponder what next in terms of scenic treatment...
As you can see at the back of this photo there is a dead space that needs something to add interest. The flat plain grass just doesn't work. I have tried various storage tank structures but they felt a little contrived. I need to absorb a bit more of the prototype I think, to see what feels right.
The glimpses of the ex-OBB shunter between the pipe gantry fills my heart with warmth, it sings when it sees this diminutive shunter. Red is my favourite colour and this model reminds me of the childhood Matchbox die cast models I used to push around on the carpet.
Whilst the left of the layout is quite established things tail off in the centre and I've been filling in the static grass in this area, along with contemplating background back-scene images. Finally having settle on some suitable factory scenes from Bratislava I have also added a tree and shrubury to hide the end of the office. However, the problem is now to the right of this scene...
However despite being less finished, the view at the end of the layout is much more pleasing and promising. The lower level between the two sidings will now be treated as a sandy yard, which feels more in keeping with the prototype than my original plan to hem this all in with structures. It also has the benefit of giving some contrast to the layout, and an alternative location for photographs.
Sometimes it is clear at the start of the project how the scheme will be scenic'd and landscaped. Other times things just fall together naturally. Perhaps more regularly there is a pause, like here, where things don't flow and an intervention is required. As you become a more experienced modeller these become less frequent, and are resolved more quickly, but they genuinely happen to us all. Until next time though, more soon...
Donate
I love writing and creating material for the blog. If you enjoy what you read and engage with I would be appreciative of any donation, large or small, to help me keep it advert and restriction free.
Sandy yard? I don't think so. Such a yard would definitely be covered with concrete panels. In a Czech e-shop you can buy their models in all the main scales: https://pojezdy.eu/en/121-h0-streets-walksides-panels.
ReplyDeleteI do have some actually so I will bury a few in the finish, thanks for the reminder.
DeleteA suggestion, if I may. To the right and immediately behind the shrubbery you've got what looks like a length of concrete wall, maybe 4' high and 3 panels long. Then there's a building in the distance behind some trees. But the wall stops exactly where the building starts on the image, even though the wall is supposed to be much nearer to the viewer than the building.
ReplyDeleteI suggest making that wall a modelled item rather than part of the backscene and maybe adding some era-appropriate graffiti both for interest and to anchor the layout in time and place.
Thanks Colin. The wall to the left of the office is already modelled and the joint in the two back scene images as you say does need a disguise, originally that was to be a tank, but that seemed incongruous.
DeleteI’m not worried, I’ll work it out, I shared this post as a lesson that even those of us who have been doing this for years sometimes come unstuck in a composition, it’s important to not go over board so I’ll keep mulling this over for now.