Early start, but I have a moment and may not tomorrow.
Back to Terra-forming. The Kanyon is done and I have built a few buildings. Now it is time to start Mt. Redukulus, location of Redikulus canyon, home of the Redikulus gold mine, the reason for the railroad. The plan is for floor to ceiling again, with the top of the mountain disappearing into a cloud at ceiling level. But now only the basic start of stacking foam on the work bench. Also a pic of the mess this makes.
Here is a pic of the hole where the mountain sits with the quarry and Kanyon in the background.
Here is the first tentative placement of the two mines, the engine house, and the office.
For about a week I’ve been painting my backdrop, only around 30 feet to go! Yippee!! Here’s a photo of a (not quite finished) portion of it with my B. Spectrum consolidated. That is a sweet little engine!
Thanks. The pond was carved out of a beaded Styrofoam base, so the bottom was rough to begin with. This translated through a couple coats of Gloss Medium to give it a wavy effect. To be honest, it was unintentional outcome. I’m not exactly sure if I could duplicate it. I’d also think twice before using beaded Styrofoam again. Very messy!
The bottom was first painted with acrylic paint (Apple-barrel brand), lighter at the sides to give a shallow effect and darker towards the center to give it depth.
I chose gloss medium over other methods because I thought it was a bit easier to work with for my application (just apply from the bottle and brush around). However, I’ve seen many stunning water scenes using other methods (like Environtex), so I’m not sure if one is particularly better than the other.
I made a scenic cover for this one. First, I put down a piece of clear plastic wrap, and then a layer of plaster cloth. After the plaster cloth hardened up, I took it off and removed the plastic wrap. Then I covered it with Gypsolite, added a thin wash of green acrylic, and then glued on turf and some ground foam.
Friday Night Lights:
I just installed these in the Scollay Square station of the Moose Bay Transit Authority. Originally, I’d planned that the station would be dark and abandoned, but it came out well enough that I put in lights, and now I’ll add some details and passengers.
Great photos so far. Terry and MABruce, great water scenes!
Here’s my contribution:
The main stage of helix construction is now complete. The helix will connect all three levels of the VAST railroad, linking the modeled railroad to the main staging yards as well as providing the ability for continuous running when so desired. The helix measures 6ft square and has an overall rise of 20 inches over 5 loops. The helix gives a track radius of 32" and a grade less than 2%. (I’m proud of it [:I] )
The next step will be constructing the connection at the top and two intermediate connections.