Something different...

In the flow of cars, it's time for a break and something different. I've took some time this past week-end to finish the concrete pad for my River Raisin Poage water crane. The crane was repainted and wheatered in 2016. Before she was dismantled from the support plate, I know that I need a concrete one to fit. That's what I did. The concrete pad is a 3 mm MDF sheet with Monster Modelworks Cocnrete glued on it. The edge were slightly rounded and the whole was primed with Citadel Corax White primer (a really good primer used by wargamer). Then two thin coats of warm gray acrylic, a followed by a wash of turpentine with a hint of black and raw umber, when dry, a dry brush with undiluted warm gray and Naple yellow, and the basic wheathering was done. The crane was assembled with the pad and the crane base was wheathered with some rust wash. Add some greenish tone here and there for the moss and it was finish.
But why a Water Crane? Did a little terminal ever had such a water crane? Such a detail scream "steam" to me and I'll have steam on my layout. But in the late 40's and early 50's the closest watering point on the district was in Perris. Some photos were made there, and what a marvelous atmosphere that I want to duplicate on my layout. I really want this kind of detail for long. I've bought this crane from BTS back in 1998 during a visit to Florida and she stayed most of the time in her box. Fortunately, all was not lost because a water crane existed in San Jacinto. A track chart from the late 1910's showed one with inspection pit and a carbody next to the track. OK, it's modelling licence for my era but I really need one on my layout! So...
See ya'

The "concrete pad" before painting. The laser engraving from photos of the Monster Modelworks part is incredible.

The first wheathering step

The final wheathering is done. The photo does not shows that the whole is more on the warm side.