Scenery

I am using the top triangle between the loops to build in a small lake. The ramp I build used a Woodland Scenics 2 grade foam ramp on either side of a little bridge. Under the bridge will flow some water. I have cut our the lake area and created a simple wooden L-Frame to tuck under the extruded foam board ( the base ). I can use plaster gauze to finish the lake bed floor and shore. At least that's the current plan.

I found a great use for my college engineering math book and linear systems book. They are holding down the foam base onto the L-Frame while the liquid nails for small projects sets...

This new image shows where the lake and the mountain tunnel go.

I have finished with Triangle Lake. It looks pretty good for my first attempt at doing scenery. I painted the entire layout brown for an undercoat. Then I created a concoction called Ground Goop to cover the foam. It's a pasty substance made of white glue, celluclay, paint, and sculpt-a-mold. Adding water provides the proper consistency. Living in a dry climate, I added more than the book's recipe called for. I'll place a link to the book as soon as I get to it.

Ground Cover Recipe

I have moved onto the right loop where I am making a road out of sculpt-a-mold. It's another Woodland Scenics product. The road looks more like a dirt road than a paved one. It's not very smooth. I will try another method using Hydrocal on the lower triangle and see how it goes. I didn't have any paving tape so I used old weather stripping with some tape to protect the spongy foam. Yes, I had to buy some paving tape to get it right.

Ballasting...

Is a royal pain! I have about 2 feet done on the lower righthand curve between the two switches. I started using wet water ( water with a drop of soap ) to soak the ballast. The soap lowers the surface tension an allows the glue to wick into the sandy ballast. I am using a medium buff colored ballast from Woodland Scenics... I'm starting to sound like a commercial...

As it turned out, the spraying of the wet water did not work so well. The spraying of the matte medium dilution was even worse. After a few key Google search sessions I came across a slightly changed technique.

I bought some small bottles with eye-dropper-like caps. One I put the same matte medium in. To get the solution to wick deep into the ballast I now use Isopropyl Alcohol that I purchased at the drug store. It smells but works like a charm. I apply the alcohol drop by drop using the plastic rail ties to soften the application (so as not to wash the material away.) Then I apply the matte medium to the ballast and it really does soak right in quite nicely. Tomorrow we'll see if it can pass the vacuum test! My first attempt failed miserably.

Road work

I have created a parking lot and a road running to the top right of the layout.

The road way in the right most loop is made using scuplt-a-mode. That was what I had on hand. I use small balsa strips as guides to pour into. The surface is a little rough to the touch. However, after painting with asphalt it looks just fine to me.

The parking lot and entrance was made using Woodland Scenics Smooth-it. I used paving tape to create the outline.

It was pretty difficult to work with. The setting time was quick and that made it hard to smooth out for me. I botched up the top coat so badly that I made a small batch to cover up the top. With a little sanding it actually looks very nice and... smooth actually. A good tip is to remove the paving tape very soon after setting.

The top of the picture was a quick rise up and down over a bridge. It just didn't feel right. I had to rip out the risers and make it flat. I build a shorter bridge out of some balsa wood and leveled it with the track base. I cut out the riser but left the banking in place. This actually adds to the tree dimentionality of the layout. The trains move across behind the banks as they rise. It peeks through on the bridge, then hides behind the falling bank as it goes into the top left turn.

Buildings

The first building I constructed was a church.

The second building competed is a ranger shack. It will be part of the hiking scene on the mountain.

The third building is a Park Office for the base of the hill.

The fourth set of buildings are the yard office and security gate.

The fifth building is a town shack kit called No Problem Joe's.

I have added a two-story house from Atlas.

I put together the Idaho Hotel. It was a great wooden model that really was fun to build.

I assembled a corner store model from Walthers in the same paint scheme as the Idaho Hotel. I will raise the ground a little before I place them onto to layout.

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