Layout Construction – September 2010

New Scenery
Now it is starting to look a real railroad. This corner will my experimental area. It has been a long since I did any scenery work. This area will probably change over time as my skills increase and new techniques are tried. I used various sizes and colors of ground foam for grass and weeds.

The road was created using sheets of black craft foam about 1/8” thick. I tried several ways of covering the foam to simulate blacktop. The first method I read about on a website. You coat the foam with a coat of colored plaster. After the plaster has dried, you use a small object to press down on the foam and create realistic cracks in the pavement. This method did not work for me. The plaster was scraped up and coats of chalk were used to color the foam. Cracks and pot holes will be added over time.
A small dry creek bed was added to vary the terrain and add some interesting scenic possibilities.

Back Drop Painting
After thinking about it for quite awhile, I decided it was time to try some background painting. I originally wanted a detailed background, but decided on doing something simple. I wanted to avoid the background becoming a distraction to the main thing I want the viewer to see, the trains. This kind of the same principal as a stage play. The background sets the mood or helps to define what, where and why the actors are there. I will probably continue to refine the background as the foreground comes more into focus.

 

The wheat field will become an area of interest as it develops. In these photos you can see the one row of wheat stocks. It will take quite a few rows to fill this scene. The harvester will be in the process of cutting the wheat. It will be fun to create a convincing harvest scene.

 

New Acquisitions
New cars that were added to my collection over the past few months. Some were from eBay, one purchased at a local hobby shop and the others were acquired at a recent auction held at the Union station in Ogden.