I went back to my first module and started wiring…probably something that I should have done before the scenery.

I have all of my machinery parked on the module, they are all from Rio Grande Models.

More wires in front of the ice house…and a new sign for the ice house.  I used the Model Builder software to modify it from the gif file I found.  I used white glue to attach it to the building.

Here is a picture of one of my tunnel portals in place and one of the rock castings from Bragdon ent.  This will be the only place where I used the entire casting in one piece, I will break different pieces off and reassemble them for the other rock faces.

Here is more of the rock casting used in pieces to create one side of the canyon.  The bottom of the river is in place and partially painted. (note to self – should have used flex paste to fill holes before installing gravel).

Here is a view higher up the canyon, showing where I have started to use Woodland Scenics water effects to create the rapids and small falls.

A final view shows the beginnings of my trestle, which I am custom making each one at my desk before installing it on the layout.

Here is a picture of the tree making machine I have been using for a little while.  While a very simple machine it has the ability to create very realistic model trees with moderate effort and little cost.

Here is a picture of the armatures ready for painting:

The next step will be hanging them upside down and painting brown.  After that I will use hairspray and sprinkle on ground foam.

Today I spent some time terra-forming, fancy speak for making more plaster rocks using the various molds I have accumulated.  I am beginning to realize how many pieces it will take to complete this section of the layout, and it is quite a lot.  My preference is to model the scenery of the Pacific Northwest down into Northern California.  Along the coast it can be quite steep.  I am also creating a waterfall scene that winds down the mountain, so will need even more rock.  So far I have several rubber molds from Woodland Scenics, which work pretty well, and a silicone mold from Bragdon.  The silicone mold creates incredible detail, which on the other hand makes it a much more delicate job to remove the casting from the mold.  I think that I have only created one complete cast using the mold.  For all of the rest I poured thinner pieces which I broke to fit the scene.  This technique works pretty well to allow you to re-use a rock mold many times over.

I found out the hard way that it is extremely important to seal the area completely when using the Woodland Scenics realistic water.  It found many small holes and drained out after a period of time.  I still haven’t figured out how I will seal the pond areas before filling them.  I am thinking that I can use the Woodland Scenics water effects as a sealing coat before adding more realistic water.  I will post the results when I do figure it out.

Work on the Get Out and Push RR has been continuing, albeit at a snails pace.  I am working on creating the landforms for the site of my waterfall.  I am finding that it is taking a large number of rock castings and batches of plaster to create the desired effect.  I am also in the process of building the trestle that will support my reversing loop.

As usual I am in the middle of a couple of different projects at the same time. Currently I am working on a Campbell model, Bret’s Brewery.  This kit has been a pleasure to build and is nearing completion with all of the major components assembled with the exception of the roofs.  I tried an interesting technique for creating the mortar lines on model stone.  I watered down a couple of drops of grey paint and used a large brush to apply it to one side of the building at a time.  Leaving this side up, I placed it in front of my heater and waited until it had dried.  Gravity held the paint into lines and using the heater allowed me to quickly paint all three sides.  In hindsight I probably should have painted them before assembling the walls, but I still would have had an issue on the corner joints.  The technique worked quite well.

The other major project I am working on is a freelanced building for the San Leandro Historical Railway Society .  It is the second building that I am using to represent the Del Monte fruit packing plant which used to be in San Leandro.  It will be placed across the tracks from the first building, connected by a bridge for pipes and electrical wires.  These structures will help to hide a spot where the tracks disappear through a hole in the backdrop.  Test fits of the building show that this will work very well.  I have the structure assembled, with the doors and windows in place.  I am currently working on painting the structure, I need a little touch-up and the exterior will be done.  The next step will be to paint the interior and install desks and people to represent an office scene.

I hope to post pictures soon.

Merry Christmas