It is time to fill the last large hole in the Sublime to Redikulus bench work. The dream was for a gold mine, but the mountain has been a mystery for a long while. The prototype for the S to R is the places I have been and the memories I like remembering. As I got close to starting the terra forming it dawned on me that the Superstition Mountains were my favorite memories. We started to hike them several years ago and have traveled most of the one day trails. So terra forming began after Thanksgiving. I still do it the natural way, and plate tectonics was the order of the week. I have been stacking great piles of Styrofoam, even as nature pushed up the mountains. Then, slowly erosion has begun, as I take out my trusty steak knife and start tearing into the piles of foam. The mess is half the fun, and the poodle pup loves to chew on the pieces.
I have taken the liberty to assume that The Lost Dutchman Mine was discovered in my world, thus the need for a railroad. I have started the box canyon where the mine was found (sort of inspired by the Massacre site). The face of the Superstitions will take a while and will feature (I hope) the Hand and the Flatiron as well as the hoodoos on top. I have also had to compress things to get the full height to reach the ceiling, lost in a cloud. Time will tell I I can pull that off. It will take some good backdrop painting I think. I am still debating if I can get Weavers Needle in the scene.
I wonder if any of the rest of you have tried this mountain.
Here are some pics of the early millennia of the terra forming.
That’s going to be awesome when completed. However, I for one will not be surprised to read a future post describing how you have removed the ceiling in your train room to allow more height for the mountains. [:D] I’m looking forward to more photos as you go along.
WOW!! Now you need the Lost Dutchman Mine (make sure it’s ‘lost’, LOL!) and some scattered skeletons, since I understand that everyone who has gone looking for the mine has met a somewhat ‘mysterious’ end, over the years.
But that’s gonna be SOME mountain, my friend! Keep posting progress photos, okay?
Hi ART from Sunny Scottsdale, Arizona. I view the Superstitions frequently. Each 1,000 feet of elevation is a little less than 12 feet in HO scale.
So it looks like you are going to have to cut a big hole in the ceiling.
I am having enough trouble doing the 350 foot high hills behind the Old Saybrook, CT station area. That’s near 4 feet in HO so they will just clear the celing on my upper tier of the Shore Line.
Art, I LOVE seeing your work! Your combination of grandiose vision and attention to fine detail (like your staircase in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone) is tremendously inspiring! I’m going to go do some work on MY layout now!
