Tim's 2024 Mik Project - Nocturne Mine

[Tim1 (Tim)]

It has been an exercise in frustration with more to come, but here we go.

Nocturne Deep is a mine with an attached village on the upper level of the layout. I’d long intended to put a mine there - mining being a major reason for the railroad’s existence, but things kept happening. As it is, Nocturne Deep sits on a 12" shelf, part of it on a corner, with the mine proper at the shelf’s end. With a two-track siding, space is at a premium.

If I go from R1 to R2 switches, I might be able to wink out 4 inches between the track and the wall, giving me about 3 inches to play with. Otherwise, the usable space is maybe 2 inches. So, a bit of a challenge.

I’d originally intended a sort of ‘cutaway’ of the mine proper, but that doesn’t look feasible at the moment. Right now, the plan calls for a 2-3" thick cliff against the wall with a mine building made from leftover Colorado Model Structure’s bits for the mine building atop it.

![envelope|600x375]

Now to the ‘fun’ stuff…

I I had two pens come completely apart doing the back of the envelope sketch - which accounts for its roughness ) well, that and my bad hand and lack of artistic ability.

The next step was to take the digital camera and snap a couple pics of the sketch and the shelf on which Nocturne Deep resides. Dead battery. Today, I went and got fresh batteries. I took the pics - and then had the computer tell me it couldn’t upload them. I spent much of the past hour tinkering with a second, not-so-great camera and downloading an ap off the web which finally let me grab the pics.

That is the adventures thus far. Next up, I’ll have to relocate the shelf above the mine so the building will fit and inventory my dwindling collection of scrap lumber to see what is feasible.

[Tim1 (Tim)]

Of course it didn’t load the first time…

[Devon_Sinsley]

I look forward to it. I like indoor layouts and seeing g the creative way people use limited space. I like this idea.

[VicSmith]

Tim that frustration factor is why all of my most recent entries are modest in size. That way I can be sure to finish in time, also I’m not committing myself to something that might too ambitious or just plain too large for the layout.

[Hines (Bill)]

Finishing on time is my worry… gluing sticks together is time consuming.

[Tim1 (Tim)]

The frustration continues. Three steps forward and two steps back. Finding anything, be it wood or tools or parts can be time consuming. Still, I did make some progress…with the scenic background.

First, the space is skinny - even after redoing the siding, it is still less than three inches deep. The challenge, to me, was to put up a facade with at east the illusion of depth while avoiding the impression it was growing out of the wall. Enter ‘strange sky,’ a poster I acquired years ago.

Call that the first layer. I cut that into strips and stapled it to the wall. (It looked so horrible I decided to skip posting the pics.)

For the second layer, I needed at least the impression of distant mountains that had at least the illusion of separation from the sky. (And hide the abomination.

To get that separation, I screwed 1/4 inch scrap plywood to the wall as a spacer.

Then I took cardboard and cut it into shapes that could possibly be mistaken for a distant line of peaks. I tried painting it, but the ripples in the cardboard disgusted me so much I took ordinary paper, cut it to fit, and glued it atop the cardboard. Still not great, but an improvement.

I put another spacer of 1/4 scrap plywood atop that, to create the the illusion of distance between the mine building and adjoining cliffs and the supposedly distant mountains.

Then I laid out the Colorado Model Structures panels to get an idea of the building placement. I’m considering going with one more panel, but that one has a door in it, which would make for a rather steep first step, and the space is so tight (maybe 3/8ths of an inch between the cars and the cliff face) I doubt it will work.

Then it will be time to gather up whatever scrap lumber I have laying around to make the base for the cliff face proper.

Cost update - my modeling glue apparently vanished, so I bought some at the grocery store last week – almost seven bucks! Yikes!

[VicSmith]

Tim have you seen the more recent pics on my layout page? most of the buildings are flats, the station is a House of Balsa kit only 2-3" deep with building flats set directly behind it. I creates the illusion of depth in a minimum of space.

[Tim1 (Tim)]

Yeah, I did the same thing with Cliffport Platform -

This time, though, the background is a cliff with mountains behind it.

[Devon_Sinsley]

cool way to deal with such a narrow space. I think you are making the best of what you have. Can’t wait to see it come together.

[Korm (Korm Kormsen)]

@Tim1

i like your poblation. i even spy a Betty Boop!

[Tim1 (Tim)]

Mario, Waldo, and the super villain Harleyquinn are also in that pic, along with a witch and other oddball characters. Other parts of Ciffport Platform feature…well, take a look.

I tend to view my structures as either ‘background scenery’ or props for gags.

[Dave_Taylor]

Tim, Are you using your phone to take the photos? They all look kinda blurry… If you are, try cleaning the lens and see if that helps…

[Korm (Korm Kormsen)]

@Dave_Taylor

They all look kinda blurry…

don’t you realize that the area modeled is on Melmac?
they got some foggy atmosphere, there…

coat, hat, door…

[Tim1 (Tim)]

Yeah, those were old pics taken from my old, cheap, and now dead cell phone. The new cell phone is cheaper yet…so I took some new pics with the so-so camera. The quality is much improved. Good luck finding Waldo and the rest.

More relevant to the thread, here are a couple pics of the rest of Nocturne Deep - the Nocturne Hotel (would the Mueller clan be brave enough to book a suite here?) and the wizards cottage.

[Devon_Sinsley]

those pictures are much better and with the brighter light it shows of the colors much better. I already liked it but now in that light I’d say you are learning to master the “flat” form of construction.

[Tim1 (Tim)]

Blizzards (Snowblowed 7 inches of snow this morning.) Cold snap (-15F for a while). Balky vehicles (transmission line on one, busted hood latch on the other.) Not so great news from the doctor (new diet.)

And yet…a bit of headway with the Mic Project - or at least the scenery it will be parked on. Got the wooden frame for the cliffs at Nocturne Deep built. That took most of my remaining scrap wood. I had to screw the frame to the wall (bad idea) because the wood was so warped. Decided to call it quits after glueing my fingers together. I night have enough bits and pieces left to ‘finish out the shelf.’

The lighting is terrible, so the one pic isn’t great, but…

I will probably slap on the paint and plaster in a day or two. The building itself isn’t much - just a facade. I did decide to add a dormitory to the work area, given the remote location.

[Devon_Sinsley]

I am more interested in your scenery than the actual building front. I like how you are layer a bunch of basically 2d pieces to give at least the appearance of depth. I like it.

[Hines (Bill)]

@Tim1

Decided to call it quits after glueing my fingers together.

Yeah Tim it’s hard to get help when the only sign language you can use to attract someone’s attention your hand glued in the “international I’m ok👌 position!

[Devon_Sinsley]

That’s the sign for “F” just sayin’. . .having a deaf wife can be a curse.

[Tim1 (Tim)]

I found enough bits and pieces to run the cliff to the end of the shelf. No pics for now because the light in that area is dark. Have to think about it…

Anyhow…a bit of fictional history (for a railroad that is…somewhere other than Earth)

Originally, Nocturne Deep wasn’t supposed to be anything but a tunnel on a rail line to an’Unobtanianium deposit. The crew digging the tunnel found a vein of Unobtainium, So, the line stopped there - on a fifteen-foot-wide shelf blasted into the side of a mountain. More blasting made space for the mine head. Unobtainium got pulled from this deposit and others for a while before starting to decline. These days, what ore comes out of Nocturne Deep comes from secondary deposits, and those are running thin. Then the sky went strange. Bizarre celestial phenomena appeared above Nocturne Deep. Assorted Alphabet Agencies took an interest and part of the mine was repurposed. Now, all sorts of strange freight and stranger people come and go from Nocturne Deep.