January 2013 Update

Research and development continues as Rainbow Ridge slowly comes together. One of the big things to get figured out this month was the lighting. Not just regular show lighting like I've done in previous updates. Lighting in Rainbow Ridge will have a little bit more realism... a little 'flicker'.

Back in December 2011, I added some flickering lanterns to the Bear Country tunnel. I was able to achieve this using some cheap tea-light LED candles from Target and wired them onto my own circuit. This subtle feature was a great addition and added another layer of realism and effects to the layout. 

 

With Rainbow Ridge, I knew there would be a LOT of lanterns to add as well as all the buildings having interior lighting, plus the load/unload area lighting. 

I loved the Bear Country lanterns so much I wanted to add them to Rainbow Ridge. My only issue with them is the color; much too yellow to be totally convincing. To combat this, I decided to go with a mix; yellow flickering LED's and a majority of warm-white LED's. 

In an ideal world, having all the lights meant to be candles or lanterns should flicker in Rainbow Ridge. I tried a few set-ups trying to get the yellow flicker LED's to affect the warm-white ones for similar flicker effect. Nothing worked. I would plan to have the flickering yellow LED's and the warm-white LED's constant.

It wasn't until I discovered this article I found a solution. Rather than trying to tie the flicker LED in-line with another or other LED's I found a way to have it be a micro-controller; have the flicker LED control another set of lights. The best way to do this was to use an electronic component I hadn't used before: transistor. 

I spent about 3 days prototyping, testing and developing a circuit that both looked good and worked efficiently (as in no hot components!). What I came up with was rather surprising for myself. 

I posted a video over on the Facebook page, much to everyone's intrigue of the circuit above

Instead of using warm-white LED's I ended up going back and using my old 12V incandescent grain-of-wheat lights, which I haven't used since I started converting over to all-LED lighting last December. 

The reason for this being is not only is the color more realistic, but the actual flicker looks better; the incandescent bulb "smoothes" out the rather jerky flicker from the LED and looks much more like a real candle/lantern. While LED's have brought a whole new level to the layout, in terms of color, power efficiency, and vibrance, I guess Rainbow Ridge will have to make an exception here. 

To explain how I did this, I drew up a schematic of the circuit. I'll also try and explain it as easily as I can to those not as electronic savvy. 

The entire circuit--the "controller" flicker LED and the 12v incandescent lights-- are all on the same power source. The 1kΩ resistor brings down the current for the flicker LED and the 10Ω reistor also brings down the current, but to the transistor. The power coming from the LED connects to the base of the transistor, allowing current to flow from the 10Ω reistor, to the 12V Inc./Incandescent light. The transistor is a standard 2N222A I picked up in an assortment pack from Radio Shack for a couple bucks. 

The reistor with the question mark is an override resistor; this can be any value; the lesser the value, the more "un-modified" current goes to the 12V light, making it brighter, but also flicker less.  After the initial test video above and looking at Disneyland's own flickering lights, I determined a proper balance of subtleness and noticeability using a 47Ω reistor in this spot. 

This circuit only has capacity for 3 incandescent bulbs; any more and I'd have to beef up the components to prevent overheating (and more maintenance). This isn't a problem; having every light flicker on the same frequency wouldn't realistic, right? So, to fill out Rainbow Ridge, a number of these circuits, or modules, will be put together for a variety of random flickering lights. 

Here's a module put together in practice:

The top red wire is coming from the (+) 9V source and the bottom red wire goes the incandescent light. The other lead for the incandescent goes to the (-) ground. In the photo above this one, you can see the next module marked out next to the complete one, to give you an idea of how this was wired together in my usual 'amateur circuit board' approach, aka nails on a piece of wood. 

Here's the finished "Flicker board" with 8 flicker modules, with a capacity to power 24 lights in Rainbow Ridge. 

As the lighting progressed, some more ground way laid down in the Casa de Fritos area. The tricky part here is the sloping ground to create the different leveled sections. This is also where some wiring will run, so the lighting project above had to be done first! 

December 2012 Update

The layout continues to move forward as the end of the year approaches. The last section of the layout finally got started on: Rainbow Ridge, more specifically, the Pack Mule area. This part consists of the two uphill and downhill trails that lead the teams of mules to and from Nature's Wonderland. While the majority of Rainbow Ridge has been laid out to be almost perfect in spacing and accuracy, this section remains pretty sketchy and this is where creativity and selective compression comes in. The actual trails leading to and from the load and unload area for the pack mules were shifted, moved, and shortened to fit on the layout base and at the same time not look too crammed in. The same goes for the buildings around the load/unload; moved slightly, and unfortunately for quite a few, eliminated.

The main section of Rainbow Ridge was planned out on paper for just about every detail. The Pack Mule area on the other hand was pretty much roughed in and the final decisions would wait until actual construction. Because of this, the Pack Mule area was first mocked-up in cardboard in order to figure out the layout of everything.

As seen in past posts, lighting adds another dimension to the layout and Rainbow Ridge is no exception. This part of the layout will feature probably half the lights on the layout just in itself. So, before hills could be put in, 12v bus wire was run to critical areas in the Pack Mule load/unload. This is also where the layout splits in half, so wiring can't be run from the other side of Rainbow Ridge. 

Once the wires were run, aluminum foil hills were formed and covered in a shell of celluclay. At the time they were put in, the hills were as wet and soggy as a Anaheim rainy day. 

The uncovered foil sections represent where the buildings will go. 

Since it would take days for the celluclay to dry because of the high humidity, I changed gears and jumped to the other side of Rainbow Ridge: the train load/unload. This stage of construction is critical since any mistake now could be costly, since I can't just slap plaster and cover it with scenery (considering it's all buildings with hard edges). As a result, this area will be a slow process until all details are accounted for. 

The first step is the platforms, for both the load/unload area and for the building facades across the track. These were cut from masonite and raised on spacers. This will allow for wires to run underneath for lighting in the buildings, light poles, and the sound speakers. 

What's pretty amazing is this was done 7 years ago this month in 2005, but quite a bit more primitive. 

Since wiring had to run to the Pack Mule area for lighting, the light package Beaver Valley was finalized. 

The Marmot tunnel was also lit, with the usual all-LED lighting. 

Speaking of the marmot tunnel, something peculiar has occurred at the prototype tunnel over in Anaheim...

Some fresh paint has been applied to the tunnel, however, this is simply no refurbishment. This is actually a color sample test for the upcoming lengthy Big Thunder Mountain rehab. After the rockwork job on Cars Land and the Matterhorn, Big Thunder should look fantastic. It's also nice that the ole relic is spruced up a bit, even if the whole thing isn't repainted. 

November 2012 Update

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, the extensive Cascade Peak rehab and waterfall replacement project is finishing up with the last set of waterfalls, Big Thunder Falls, finally installed. There was no update for October since layout progress halted during a research and development special effects project that was on the main burner. Since Halloween has come and gone, that project has lost inspiration and momentum which means gears are shifting into coming back to Nature's Wonderland.

Big Thunder Falls took the longest to do out of all the waterfall sets, despite gaining experience and practice with the other two sets. This was mainly due to the fact that not only are there more waterfalls, they're also bigger-- and there was a time lapse camera. 

To somewhat "redeem" myself from the tutorial featuring waterfalls that will eventually fade and turn yellow, I made a new tutorial video showing how to make miniature waterfalls the new way I developed. Of course, this slowed down production time, but it's a technique many other modellers will appreciate. 

While the new technique is much more realistic, it's also much more tedious (as you'll see on the sped up clock in the video). This is the big waterfall the train passes under, clocking just over an hour to shape/form/melt. 

It was well worth the time though! The usual followed, with enviro-tex lite resin pools.

Finally, here it is all put together.

And the waterfall tutorial itself:

One thing to note is the special clip at the very end of the video, with the POV of the Mark Twain. This was something that was just a simple idea that grew into this crazy composite project. For some time I had been thinking about doing a POV from the Disneyland Railroad passing by the Living Desert, shooting the background from a miniature foreground. Since that won't be for awhile, I decided to try it out on the Rivers of America. Since my skills in computer modeling and rendering have greatly improved over time, I thought I'd give it a shot on this, well, shot. I decided to model the foreground in Maya rather than do it physically, since I can control the lighting, movement, and angle much more precisely. 

When I shot the background plate, basically my DSLR on a PVC pipe as a steady rest, I matched the movement and tried to mimic the (unintended) camera shake as close as I could in the Maya model camera. Then it was a matter of modeling the Mark Twain railing and columns. 

 

When everything looked right in test frames, the whole foreground was rendered and composited over the background (hence the blue screen above). 

The result was a very successful and fun shot to work on! After doing this, the original Railroad POV mentioned above will be done like this when I get around to it. 

Now that the waterfalls are finished, so is the lighting package for Cascade Peak! 

September 2012 Update

As of today, the layout has been in production for 7 years. While at the snail pace that it progresses, it's still slowly becoming the finished and professional layout that it was intended to be.

If you haven't checked it out already, the layout has been getting updates posted over at FaceBook at
Facebook.com/nwrrmodel

While the layout is rotated into the orientation that allows easy access to the waterfall side of Cascade Peak, I took advantage of that. Continuing the new look of the waterfalls I redid during the summer (scroll down to the June/July update) I worked on the middle set of falls to reflect the updated style.

First order of business was to rip out the silicone falls and get the base part of the falls ready for the new ones. Since the silicone is extremely flexible, it was easy enough to peel off the pools and falls from the layout with minimal repairs. However, with the addition of the new LED lighting, those minimal repairs were just a starting point.

I punched a couple holes through the scenery to run wiring for the LED's. Unfortunately, in the process I knocked the speaker that broadcasts the sounds of falling water out of position and it need to be re-attached (hence the bigger hole in the middle).

Once the wiring was finalized and the LED's soldered on, patchwork commenced with celluclay and paint touch-ups were applied. Good as new!

The falls themselves were fabricated from 0.040" plastic sheets and a soldering iron was dragged across in vertical streaks to create the shimmering look. I'll go into much more detail when Big Thunder falls get their rehab in the next update. 

As with the last set of waterfalls, the pools were poured with Enviro-tex resin and later coated with a layer of Mod Podge to hide the glass-like finish. 

A plastic sheet protects the resin from unwanted dust while it sets. 

And finally, the new waterfalls! 

Not only do they look great during the day, they look even more spectacular at night! 

Even though Big Thunder falls haven't been updated yet, the lighting package had already begun installation. The greenish light at the top of Big Thunder Falls is the last incandescent light that was once the standard for the layout before LED's took over. 

August 2012 Update

Still got a bunch of things keeping me from working on the layout, but I still managed to get something done. As I slowly ease myself back into working on the layout, I started with something small before jumping into something more complex. This corner of the layout next to Cascade Peak has never been fully scenic-ed until now.

This work included finishing off the actual layout base corner properly and continuing the fascia until it reached the edge. 

Then it was matter of applying the various scenic materials to the hillside. 

It's not much, but that'll do for now!

By the way, I've created a BookFace page for the layout. Basically it's what's on the layout, but with more random photos and blurbs. If you're into that sort of thing. 

http://www.facebook.com/NWRRModel

June/July 2012 Update: Water Special!

Waterways, finally poured!

June saw a major step forward in the layout progress: the waterways in Bear Country and Beaver Valley were filled with.... water!

Once all the details and figures were completed and installed, it was ready to pour the Enviro-tex resin. I tinted it a dark green color and did the first pour to get the waterways "level".

The Beaver dams just before the resin pour and figure installation.

Here's a look under natural lighting...

Beaver Valley getting it's water for the first time ever....  

Another layer of clear was poured to fill any nook or crannies that didn't get hit. While a perfectly glass-like surface looks great, it isn't quite realistic or not good at hiding dust. To create waves, I dabbed Modge Podge--a gloss medium-- all over the surface. This also conceals any issues with the paint or scenery below the surface that could be visible. 

A long-lens look at the creek between the two areas: 

Here's the finished Beaver Valley, captured with a wide angle lens:

Waterfalls: Cascade Peak Rehab part 2

Over two years ago, I finished a complete rebuild/upgrade of the Cascade Peak structure. The crowning achievement of that project was the waterfalls. They looked spectacular when first installed and really added a sense of realism to the layout. 

Fast-forward to today. Unfortunately, time and UV lighting have taken their toll on the once glistening waterfalls...

Now, it's one thing to have water with a slight color tinge, but to have it turn COMPLETELY yellow to the point it looks like sewage is not right! While the silicone caulking I used looked great first installed, demonstrated here, it's not the right choice long term. 

Looking for a replacement, I looked over the materials I used on similar projects. If I were going to redo the falls, I had to use materials that didn't fade or yellow. The silicone Caulking is out of the question. Modge Podge was used on the Rivers of America section at one point, but that turned yellow too. Perhaps thick quantities is the culprit. As with any waterfall technique, I started with a piece of clear plastic or polyester sheet. Rather than adding to it with caulking or mod podge, I decided to shape the plastic instead, since I knew the plastic itself wouldn't yellow (I've used this stuff for years; some examples I used in the past still haven't been affected). 

As a test, I dragged my soldering iron across the plastic strip in vertical streaks. I later formed the curve in it with a heat gun. Even as is, it looked great! I added shavings from grinded/drilled out casting resin to simulate the water breaking up at the bottom. I locked the bits in with a coat of Modge Podge (only lightly so if it did yellow it wouldn't be noticeable). As in the last set of waterfalls, I added faux spiderweb to create the mist. A little white paint on the top edge added a little punch in highlights.

Here's the test waterfall and the original waterfall it's replacing (the one on the left was actually the demo waterfall in my YouTube instruction video). You can tell how much the silicone caulking yellowed!

After the test waterfall, here's the rest of Twin Sister falls put in. 

Wow! Even better than before! Not only will these not fade or yellow (at least for the next decade) they are more accurate in scale, proportion and form.

While the falls look great as is, I had to plus-it. As with the rest of the layout, I decided to add LED's for nighttime layout running, not just to Cascade Peak (which has never had lights up to this point) but also the waterfalls too. Inspired by the Matterhorn's latest rehab with it's new cool-white lit waterfalls, I decided to do the same. 

There's one LED under each fall. Of course, that led to some scenery destruction to run wiring, but it was worth it. Here's Cascade Peak with it's flood lights underneath. The rest of the waterfalls are next for this major upgrade!

Onces the LED's were in position, I poured the pools for each waterfall with enviro-tex. 

 

A neat thing about these waterfalls is that the way the streaks were formed, the melted plastic literally makes them shimmer and shine in the light! 

At some point I'll have a new tutorial to show this technique. 

Watercraft: Adding Another Attraction

When Bear Country and Beaver Valley were finally tackled with their waterways, I knew the next section to get poured with resin would be the Rivers of America side of Cascade Peak. The main issue is the large spanse of resin that has to be poured in front of Big Thunder falls. Of course, to break-up the space, you need to add something.... 

A Keelboat!

Currently, a 1:48 version of the Gullywhumper is being made, so far only the hull has been fabricated. This will be the third attraction to be featured on the layout; something I didn't anticipate 7 years ago!