Basic scenery was applied to the second module today. It’s still pretty wet in this picture. I also tried doing things a little differently, with regards to the grout scenery base.
What I have been doing with the grout is to apply a fairly liberal coating of white glue to the layout and/or scenery forms, and then sprinkling the dry grout over that, smoothing it out by pushing it around with a brush. Today, I actually mixed the grout up and applied it with a combination of putty knives and cheap chipbrushes. I initially thought I had made too much of the mush, but, it actually turned out to be just the right amount.
Mixing grout is a little hard to judge, because, unlike plaster, you don’t start with powder and add water. Rather, you start with water and add the dry grout until you get the consistency you’re after — think stiff, unpourable, pancake batter.
Once the grout was mostly dry (but while it was still damp), I came back, working in smallish sections, to add ground cover and ballast. The track along the front, being the station track, is made to look a bit better maintained than the yard tracks beyond what will be the station area. Since I wanted an overgrown look in the yard, I did ballast and ground foam in a single pass, securing it all with dilute matte medium.
I decided to add the possibility of lengthening the yard sometime in the future. So, I added some cork roadbed beyond the ends of the yard tracks. Should I decide to add to the yard, it’s a pretty easy matter to scrape off the scenery there, and lay in more track. If I do that, it probably won’t be by more than about 2 feet or so. Maybe slightly curved, though. Hmm … We’ll see. Anyway, I don’t want it to go too far, as that far-back track is the lead to the turntable/steam shops module.
Which reminds me, I got word that the turntable has shipped, and should be here in the next couple of days.
The track to the back left leads to the diesel shed. I haven’t done anything with that one yet, as it’s too hard to reach. Once the part that’s done dries a bit, I’ll spin the modules around and work on the back side.
I’m almost ready to add the fascia, too. There’s only going to be a real fascia on one side (the one shown here), although the back side will be painted to match. Since this is going to be part of my permanent layout, and will only be viewed from one side, I’m not as interested in the back having a “furniture” finish — it’s only going to be seen a few times each year. The wood on that side is pretty decent, though, and the contour back there is completely flat, so finishing will be easy.
Once that back track is presentable, I’ll probably start on the passenger station and platform (the big, white-and-brown area). I’m not sure exactly how I’m going to make the platform. I want to revisit a few photographs first.
