Construction Update #15 - The Redbanks Depot, New Backdrops, Woodlake Packing & Photo Stacking

Redbanks Depot

As previously mentioned, to the best of my knowledge, there was never a depot at Redbanks or East Redbanks.  The nearest depot was at Woodlake, about 2 miles east (railroad west) of Redbanks.  Regardless.  Regardless, I decided my version of the Visalia Electric needed a depot.  Background on the model was included in Update #9 January of 2024) so I won't repeat my self here.  I did, at that time, indicate that the model was missing some parts to include some windows and the roofing materials.  

Since Ammerican Model Builders in no longer in business, finding replacement shingles turned out to be a challenge.  I watched the ebay listings for about 3 or 4 months before a couple of packages of AMB 3-tab peel & stick shingles for about twice their original cost.  In accordance with my research, the shingles were painted True-Color Southern Pacific Moss Green.  They took about 15 hours to apply and once they were on the depot, I thought they were way to dark.  A lighter green, in my mind, corrected the problem.

 

 

New Backdrops

Last Spring I traded a couple of emails with Tony Koester from Model Railroad Planning about the layout.  At the time I was agonizing over my backdrops and he suggested that I try and find something with a little more "depth"; not an easy task when it comes to representing the San Joaquin Valley foothills.

I finally found the following picture on the internet; a perfect picture of the valley with some hazy foothills in the background.  

 

 

Since the original photo was way to small (length) I used Photoshop to reverse it and paste several versions together.  While it is relatively easy to spot the replication in a small photo, it's much more difficult to spot it once it was installed. 

 

I had Walgreen print a 6 foot by 2 foot banner.  Since my backdrops can only be around 11 inches tall, two images were printed on each banner as shown below.  The total cost for the 12 feet of backdrop was $18.75, or about $1.50 per foot, using one of Walgreen's promo codes.  The backdrops were then glued to foam core that rests in a slot at the back of the module.

 

Here is my first attempt of using a second photo to extend a foreground road into the distance.  The street scene in the background came from a commercial backdrop I purchased for my old HO layout.  I took a photo of the backdrop, darkened a portion of the road with Photoshop and have it temporarily held in place with a couple of "framing" structures.  

Woodlake Packing Company

The Woodlake Packing Company fills the void that was behind the Redbanks depot. The nondescript structure was cobbled together from my kit bashing left overs. It's 3/4" deep.  The first (left hand side) part combined two side walls to increase the overall length and eliminate two doors.  Parts from two end walls were stacked to increase the height of second part (right hand side).  Scrap styrene was used to join and strengthen the parts on the back side.  Not sure were the metal roofing came from but it also came from left overs bin.

 

The resulting parts were sprayed a light gray. 

 

Here is the Woodlake Packing Company tucked in behind the depot.   It still need weathering, a loading dock; and maybe a sign.

Photo Stacking

Another thing discussed with Tony Koester was achieving publication quality photographs.  He suggested using photo stacking software.  I tried several free online version but decided to purchase Helicon Focus Lite; it just worked better.  Along with the focus stacking software I use Camera Pixels to take the photos using my iPhone.  A one year license for  Focus Lite is currently on sale for $24.  A lifetime license is $94.00. The Camera Pixels is a free download.

Here is a sample,
 

 

As always, your comments, suggestions and questions are welcome 

sdepolo@outlook.com