I recently picked up the above Kodachrome image on eBay and had it digitized. Not much information was given other than it’s “somewhere in LA”. It wasn’t dated. A post on the SoCal forum seemed to place the vicinity near the LA River, where everything comes together. The first thing that stood out to me, and the reason I bought it, was that it’s what you’d expect to see when you’re out in the field. This is what the rail environment looks like. In no particular order there a few things to take note of:
-Notice the absolutely dead flat sheen on everything.
-Note the subdued color tones, the lack of saturation.
-In the early decades of our modeling career, we tend to work in monotones and singular textures. To advance, we need to become more nuanced and work with numerous color layers and textures. The lot in the center would NOT be easy to model. I’d probably start with a grout mix as the base and then overlay a slightly darker tone for the tire tracks. But…only after spending a few hours dialing things in on samples.
-Note the darker and larger-grained gravel piles. I’d handle those with Arizona Rock and Mineral ballast. I believe they sell sample packs.
-Note the multi-tone, weathered 55 gallon drums. They’d be a project in their own right.
-Note the joint bars. They aren’t a single color. I’d start with Model Master “Dark Earth” and then overlay Bragdon “Weathered Brown” powder.
-For the foreground weeds I’d start with 4mm Woodland Scenics but give it a soaking first in India ink.
The beauty of a scene like this is that A) it would be very inexpensive to model, B) it would be very challenging to pull off, and C) if you did pull it off, you’d have advanced your skills and created an understated but great scene.
(Sidebar. Atlas makes that Alco S4)