“Hi Al
Been awhile since I sent anything in. As the summer has been busy I’ve been making slow progress on my second 4×8 section of my switching layout.
As was the case for the first section I’ve quickly grown tired of looking at pink foam board everywhere. Just like the first section I decided that adding in the gully was where I wanted to start.
With pink foam board it’s easy to cut and pry out small pieces to contour shapes below grade. Once I had the basics in I built firms out of balsa wood to frame up for the concrete abutments. I line poured plaster and pulled the forms out once the plaster was firm.
As I did for the maintenance buildings floors I then used a metal putty knife and shaped the plaster into its final shape. I scraped and cut until the 30 foot thru girder bridge sat where it needs to be to keep the track smooth over it.
I painted the abutments a concrete color and the rest of the exposed foam board a mix of tan and gray acrylics.
Next I added in two metal drains coming out of the factory complex. For them I found a bolt that had a coarse thread and cut a strip of heavy duty aluminum foil about 3/4 of an inch wide and about 1.5 inches long. I pressed hard as I wrapped the foil around the bolt to get a good pattern. Once off the bolt I used liquid super glue to hold the layers together and give it a little more strength. These I inserted into holes I put in the foam board.
Next was adding in the bed of the gully and vegetation. I used shifted dirt and woodland scenics products. I always like to add a base of coarse foam then soak it in diluted glue then add in less coarse material of varying shades of green to build up depth on the vegetation.
All in all a fun little project as I tinker with other things on the layout.
Thanks
Bill in Virginia”
A huge thanks to Bill – his last post is here if you want to pick up the thread.
I do love all these updates, where I can, I always link to the previous post, so you can follow the process and progress. Everyone has a different style and pace, but that’s what’s makes this hobby.
That’s all for today folks.
Please do keep ’em coming. And don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide is here. Course, I’m biased, but it’ll point you in the right direction and save you hours of frustration.
Best
Al
PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
