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Reading Topic #467
In my post on route building, I described something called a "Micro" Scene. I think perhaps so people better understand it, I shall make a quick one and post pictures of the process on the web. I'll update as soon as I'm done.
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Ok, I don't have pictures up just yet, but allow me to relate a Micro Scene I have recently built on my Cactus Mountain RY.At the terminus of Mountain Air, the user will find a small Wye big enough to turn a 6 car train of 20ft cars. While much of the wye is left open, I utilized a varying type of ground cover to give the impression that there is more there.For example, entering the wye, the groundcover is a grassy tint, on the highest scale to give the impression of mown hay. As the train enters the first leg of the wye, the grass fades into a kind of sandy texture, and then into a kind of patchy grass.On the right side of the wye is a small town, since the user will never see more than two sides of the town, I faked a road by painting part of the ground a muddy color and only built six houses. Coming out of the wye, (while backing) the user finds a single spur leading to a cattle yard. Since there is none in Trainz, I supplemented the austrailian shearing shed in its place.Placing a few horses in the pens, I give the impression that the shearing pen, (with the sounds of sheep) is actually a horse corrall.continuing around the wye, the user's eyes are then directed to the right side of the track, where a highly detailed water tank and brick building reside. This building stands across from the freight depot (USA) which makes for a very good looking old style station.Since the speeds here are less than 10 mph, the user finds several little details along the station. Buckets and barrels, a wash tub, and a bench with some oilcans on it. Again I direct the user's view away from the fact that there are no passengers, by drawing them into the scene with some scattered boxes. At a distance, the boxes look like stacks of lumber, and cause the user to think that the station is still under construction. Directly in front of the train, as the driver leaves the station, the viewer's perspective is again directed. This time I dominate the scene with a large grain silo, which while out of place, does make up for the lack of accurate ones. This silo dominates the skyline, and leads right into the second scene within a scene. On a siding near the grain silo, the user finds a single stall enginehouse (by slugsmasher) and numerous details inside. (tool box, trestle bench, oilcans,) all from sirgibby's website. A few cacti dot the surrounding area, and the scene then melds into the empty wasteland of desert running.All in all, the scene I have described above (and will photograph probally tomarrow) takes place in an area about 8 of those little squares that the baseboard is made up of. This is the essence of a micro scene, by drawing a person's eyes to minor details, they fail to notice things like the lack of streets, crossings, people, vehicles, and anything period to the railroad.
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