Coal Diorama | Final
In this article we come to the end of the Coal Diorama build, it’s been a fun build and just a little challenging, fitting in enough track and scenery to keep things interesting in this compact size.
On the coal tipple I was going to go with tar paper for the roof but I wanted something that would add to the scene without being too obvious. I went with our basic black wood roof with very fine ground (almost powder) ballast and once dry, I sanded the ballast down for a worn look. For our roof, a couple of masked off areas sprayed black to simulate some roof patches then a bit of weathering powder, and then one final sanding to blend it all together.
Static grass was added to lots of small areas, not a large continuous area of grass, but interesting little patches here and there. The track was treated with weathering powders mixed with alcohol to soak into the soil. A few random piles of coal are always a good touch!
Speaking of coal, on the rear of the diorama we had the angled coal chute and I thought it would be fun to have some coal spilling down the hillside. In a small scene, I’m always looking for visuals that suggest some type of scenic movement. I think our coal spill achieves this.
The conifers trees are from John McCarthy, some of them with John’s trunks attached, always good for those close up shots. Final touches include some ground-up twigs and leaves to act as ground debris and weathering powders applied to give this scene a little extra depth. Finally, several more black alcohol washes were applied to the structure, and the edges of the scene were filled in with soil to meet the edges of the wood base.
It’s been a fun build and I hope you’ve enjoyed it too! Now this diorama is off to Denver to be given away at the 2012 National Z Scale Convention dinner banquet. Thanks for following this build project with us here at Ztrains! Thank also goes to Micro-Trains Line for not only this kit, but for the work they do for the National Z Scale Convention.
Category: Ztrains Build Corner
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John,
Love the way this scene looks, the coal on the hill is cool!
Thanks for these articles :)
Tim
Thank you Tim for following this MTL-based build!
John
Ztrains
Elegant! So when are you going to start working in N scale?
Mike
Hi Mike,
Thanks! Soon on the N scale accessories, I promise!
John
Ztrains
Hey John. You’ve created another masterpiece. If I modeled coal country I’d surely want this on my layout. How large is the footprint for this diorama? It looks like it can’t be more than a foot long. I’m impressed at how much detail is compressed into the scene without looking one bit over-crowded or forced. Kudos to you.
Jim in Boston.
Hi Jim,
Thanks so much! The scenery dimensions of this piece are 8 inches by 8 inches, the wood base not included.
I have to admit I really do like working on these small pieces as they are a challenge, but they make for great desktop displays at work when they’re done :)
John
Ztrains
John,
Are you going to build any running layouts soon? I really liked the snow layout you built on the Ztrack Magazine web site.
Tim
Hi Tim,
Rob over at Ztrack asked me the same thing yesterday, and yes, some small desktop layouts are on the way! I want to do some different things on these new layouts…
John
Ztrains
Hi John. I agree with you; I like to work on small scenes within a scene. Many of my dioramas are just that, a vignette inside a diorama. I feel it is important to have several focal points. The important thing is to make them as realistic and believable as possible. You manage to do that in every diorama that I have seen.
What I think ruins a good module/diorama is too much “stuff” that is not realistic, i.e. a depot next to a coal tipple or a city street next to a mountain. Clutter is good if it is somehow related to the scene you are trying to convey.
Take care, Jim in Boston.
Hi Jim,
You bring up a great point about “stuff” and making that stuff appear in scenic context. The world’s a messy place with man-made stuff but there’s usually a flow or logic to it all… usually :)
When looking at some of the massive HO layouts that guys have been working on for 30 years, you begin to get a feel for the layers upon layers of scenery and details added and altered to have a scene make more sense.
The next scenic project I’m starting is the small desktop layout. It’s based on a simple oval, like this one: Z Desktop Layout.
The feel will still be rural as I really enjoy scenery work, but it will have more structure kits and more of that man-made stuff involved! It’ll be an interesting build :)
John
Ztrains
No matter what the subject, reality lies in track first. You have a knack for getting that trackwork to look right. I have looked at so much of your work, but the way in which you make the MT flex track look is most impressive to me.
Hi Joe,
Thanks, I do like working with MTL flex track. I go through a lot of coffee grinders though, getting ballast material down to a reasonable Z scale size.
John
Ztrains
Good Morning, John.
I remember seeing that desktop layout. I look forward to seeing your next project. I’d like to do a small switching diorama based on the old MTL store displays for their uncouplers. A small train shop near me had one and I always thought it would be a nice idea. It would shunt a couple of boxcars around. That will go on the “list of things to do.” Once I complete my move I will be able to spend a little bit more time on railroading.
Take care, Jim in Boston.
Hi Jim,
It looks like the next project will actually be a course change on our Waterfront Project. Rather than a single switching layout I believe I’m going to use these structures and create a pair of desktop layouts… maybe. Still need to decide on this.
John
Ztrains
Hi John,
I love my prize, thanks. I will put a brass plaque on it saying you built and when.
Graham Jones
Hi Graham,
I’m very happy to hear this, thank you, and I hope you enjoyed the convention!
John
Ztrains