Well, lots of progress. Just a quick post today, but i'll add some more soon.
I've now added all the whole scenic base to the layout using the local free newspaper coated in plaster. I've cast all the rocks and set these into the ground, these were then coloured using black ink and white water based paint.
The bed of the river has now been added, and this has been coloured since the photos to remove the rather gaudy orange appearance. The material was Warhammer modelling sand and has produced very effective results.
This evening Woodland Scenics realistic water has been added and once this is dry Woodland Scenics water effects will be added to give the frothy whitewater where it is flowing around the rocks.
This is the image which will be used for the backscene behind the quay, kindly provided by Anne Bowker.
I will also be using this image to represent the distillery that got banished from the track plan early on, this will be cut into the backscene using photoshop.
And finally a mock up of the Inn was produced using Google Sketchup to see what the final result will look like.
Time for another update, i've had a lot of progress since the last post. I've got all the track wired for DC for the time being with two isolating sections, however it is DCC "friendly" so these can simply be left live once i've bought a DCC controller.
Unfortunately i've had issues uploading pictures to freewebs. I've managed to get them onto my thread on the RMweb forum though, so click here for a look at them.
I've added the backscene to the rear of the layout, finished adding the fascia boards all round the layout, and have put the basic plaster layer on the scenic base. The walls of the platform and the goods loading area have also been built, and cladded with Das, this was then scribed with a sharp tool to represent the individual stones.
The track has reveived a coat of Railmatch "sleeper grime" spray paint, which gives it a much more realistic, less plasticy appearance. Finally i've cast a load of Woodland Scenics rock moulds, and they are drying at present. Hopefully i'll be able to add some photos to this site once they are dry and being added to the layout.
As for the Puffer... next pay day came and went, hopefully Father Christmas will be bringing me one though...
Since the last post i've started to lay the track. I'm trying to wire it in a way that the layout can be operated by either a DCC or DC controller so the transition when money allows is pretty straight forward.
So far I've laid the track in the fiddle yard and wired one point. The points are all to be controlled by wire in tube attached to the slide switch to throw the point at the same time as switching the feed. So far pinning the track straight into the foamboard seems to be ok, but when it comes to the point that I need to flex slightly in place other methods may have to be used.
Finally, first lesson learnt from the layout... don't build the substructure of the layout and plan adding all the fascia boards to the front and back and not allow for wiring access!! I nearly didn't realise i'd done this, but fortunately I've not added the back to the layout yet so i'll be able to add a removable section to allow access to all the wiring once it is completed.
On the scenery side some Woodland Scenics rock moulds have been acquired, and once next pay day comes around i'm going to purchase the puffer kit and get that in position so construction of he quay can begin. Also i've added the woven carboard strips to the contours which will give the scenery it's shape, this has come out just as I expected, and is very pleasing to look at. I need to purchase some more foamboard to produce the backscene, I would normally use ply for something like this, but i'm not intending on the backscene being extremely high (6" perhaps), also I would like to try it with foamboard to see if it is strong enough.
Some photos to come once more track laying progress has been made...
And finally... a name, i've decided to "borrow" the name Dunbracken from the 90's tv show Hamish Macbeth. This simply means hill of the bracken, as I was planning on trying to model some ferns using some dried coloured plant with small fern like leaves (bought some time ago from International Models) I thought this was an appropriate choice.
