Scenery Work Expanding

 

I have been doing some work on the layout over the last few weeks with painting the baseboard and finishing up the canning plant kitbash. Scenery application and track ballasting will be extended up to and around the canning plant. 

Tom

Wordless Wednesday 8-19-20

 

Lollipop Lollipop

 

An LCL shipment of Brooklyn Lollipops has arrived at the public siding in Owensville, Missouri on a warm August 15, 1972.

Ground Cover Application

 

I like to apply Woodland Scenics (WS) Blended turf as a base coat to the dirt areas where I want vegetation. The blended turf gives the area a "golf course" look which is not want I want for the area around the yard, so I will be adding static grass, grass tufts, and clump foliage to the scene. 

Here are the static grasses I will be using on the layout. The WS 12mm grass will go to the back. I'll add the Noch blend (2-6mm blend) to the middle ground, and the WS 2mm grass at the front.

This step is my favorite part of layout construction. The addition of scenery textures is what makes the layout come to life. I work slowly through the scenery phase, and will wait several days before adding additional textures to see if they are truly needed.

Until next time,

Tom

Wordless Wednesday 8-5-20

TerminalTalk Podcast Episode 35

Episode 35 of my podcast is now available for listening. 

http://archive.org/download/TerminalTalk/TT35final.mp3

Thank you for listening! 

Tom 

Finishing Track on the First Scene

Track weathering is completed for the right section of the layout. This section will feature a yard office and an unloading dock for a public siding. I'm using a weathering technique I learned from a Mike Confalone scenery video. AMI Weathering Powders are being applied to the rail webs. I like to use Medium Earth for yard and spur tracks. I also apply the powders to the track bumpers that have been previously painted a camouflage brown.

Ready to start. 

Applying powder to the back rail web. 

Track bumpers painted camo brown. 

Left bumper w/chalk applied. Right bumper camo brown. 

Rail webs w/Medium Earth applied. 

Completed weathered tracks. 

With the completion of the track weathering, I can now move on to static grass application. 

Until next time, 

Tom

Wordless Wednesday 7-29-20

Summer Heat=Layout Work

Ah, the joys of July heat and humidity in Missouri.  The perfect weather for staying inside with the A/C running, and do a little work on the layout.

Affixing the ballast with 90% isopropyl alcohol and Woodland Scenics Scenery Cement:

I am going the cheap route and decided to make my own timber grade crossings. These are craft sticks with some holes drilled into it, and some score lines to simulate individuals ties. An AI wash was applied and allowed to dry before attaching them to the track. Glued these down with ACC. The road bed is made from foamcore board with the top layer peeled off. A fillet of spackling was added for the shoulders. Once dried, paint will be applied and fine dirt will be sifted onto the wet paint.

It is good to be working on the layout again. 

Until next time,

Tom