Just a small update to keep everyone up to date and where the Man Cave is at. Scenery has begun on the layout, starting where the door is, where the main junction for the container/steel terminal and ballast sidings is located. The technique used is very simple, paint the base colour first (dark grey for the ballast areas and a light brown earth colour for grass areas) and then sprinkle over your grass and dirt whilst the paint is still wet to create more adhesion. For the ballast we use a ballast applicator to get a nice even spread across the track, and then move a bit around to suit what you need (no such thing as uniform ballast in real life!). Once everything is in place, a PVA/water mix is sprayed over the entire area to keep it all in place.
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| The signal box, now completed. |
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| Another angle. Those people are yet to be stuck down hence why the base is still visible! |
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| Bit of weathering to be done on the trolly shed but so far looking the part. Need some boards for the track too. |
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| Looking down the dirt road. A ballast pile will be in the corner in the top left. |
A project I've been working on is fitting white discs on all of our VR and coaching stock. As there are no brass etch's available I invested in a leather belt hole punch to do the job. Using thin styrene, I think they turn out pretty well!
Another project I've just completed are kitbashing a few Lima IP coaches into 'near-enough' VR Vinelander sleeper cars. Mods include lots of styrene, decals, Powerline vestibules, #5 kadees, Auscision wheelsets, decals, BGB underfloor kits, SEM handbrakes and steps that were left over from other projects. No where near exact but they definitely look the part!
Till next time!
