Here are some pictures to prove I have been working on the layout.  They aren’t dramatic changes, but change is change.

One of the last areas of Derwin’s Drop to be finished is the mine.  I’ve started by layering foam to create the base of a mountain.  The rest of the mountain will be painted on the backdrop.  I’m not sure who will paint it, or when.

The next step will be to carve the foam mountain to create rock details and then cover it with plaster and maybe a few rock castings.  The final bits will be coloring, grass, trees (of course) and other various details that would be found around a mine.

I know once I get into working on this area in earnest it won’t take long to finish.  So stay tuned!

This engine shed is a structure I made for our 5th Street Industrial District modules for the UMG.  Rather than put the structure in a box between shows I decided I could put it to good use as the engine shed for the service track in Derwin’s Drop.

I decided I wanted the back of the shed to look unkempt and wild so I added several different types of shrubs and bushes.  I used lichen, foliage clumps, and polyfiber coated with ground foam to make this area look “wild”.  A scattering of junk later will further add to the untidy look.

You get a different perspective of the back of the shed in this photo. The area in the foreground is not intended to look like cut rock.  It is where the lift out is placed to cross the great divide of the doorway.

With Chemical Hazards in front of the shed it is difficult to get a natural angle when photographing it.  There are too many things in the way.  My little photographer will have to climb a tree later to get a bird’s eye view of the scene.

Well, that’s it for this update.  I’ve been working in other areas of the layout as well and I’ll have an update on that soon.  I never really know what I am going to work on when I first enter the layout room.  I intend to do one thing but usually end up working on something else.

’til next time!

Scott

A while ago I wrote about the backdrop I put in Tidewater from Sceniking. I had two sets from them that totaled about 8′, but they didn’t have a set to extended them until recently. Les, at Sceniking, sent me an email a few weeks ago saying that they had finished developing the new set, so I ordered it on the spot. It arrived this week and I started working on it the other evening.

The new set mated perfectly with the old one. As I moved toward the end of the yard where the tracks enter from Chappellton I hoped I’d be able to do something so the opening in the backdrop would look ok. It almost worked out perfectly. A building ended about 4 inches before the opening, then there was a street that I could easily cut out for the opening. But the building on the next sheet started over the opening. Bummer!

I moved things around trying to figure out how I could get the two buildings to be on each side of the opening. I decided to scan the first sheet and made two copies of it in the hopes that I could extend the first building enough to get it to end at the track opening. It’s not a perfect match, but it worked out quite well. It’s hard to see the extension in these photos. It is the white building at the far right of the top photo. The 4th, 5th, and 6th windows from the left are the scanned/printed section.  I’ve cropped and enlarged it, below.

The next step is to start adding some 3D details to the backdrop like loading docks, bushes, and grass.

There were a few sheets of backdrop left over so I trimmed the buildings and trees from the sky and placed them around Dickie Clothing in Stevenville. They certainly enhance the area!

Later!

Scott

Chappellton Harbour got a new addition over the weekend – a 45′ Tug from Frenchman River Model Works.

You can read about assembling this kit at the Scratchbuilder’s Guild.

I needed a tug for the car float in Chappellton and this kit looked like a great choice. However, after I placed it in position it looks very small next to what I was going to use as a starting point for the car float. So, I either need a larger tug, or a smaller car float.

It might not be so bad after I pour the epoxy to simulate water. I will leave the float where it is and remove the tug. I’ll pour the water to about 1/4″ thickness. Hopefully the tug will appear larger next to the float when I put it back in place.

What do you think?

Scott