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| A Central Vermont freight led by a pair of CNR C-Liners glides through the junction switched in the early morning sun. |
Finishing up the scenery....by Don Janes
In the previous post I showed various stages of developing the junction scene. In this installment I will show some photos of the finished scene with some trains running through it. Once I was happy with the placement of the structures and background scenery I moved on to finishing the foreground. I already had a layer of basic scenery down (a layer of dirt with some green ground foam) but it needed more texture and detail. The entire foreground was given a covering of various lengths and colours of static grass to represent open fields that line the tracks. To this I added random patches of different coloured ground foam to represent weeds and bushes to represent scrub growth that is common along railroad right of ways. Once that was done it was time to add the water to the small canal and also another stream just around the curve from the junction.
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| A B&M freight passing the interlocking tower. The foreground is still in the base layer of scenery |
I have several different rivers on the layout and have tried both Enviro-tex and Woodland Scenics water and prefer the Enviro-tex because I find once it cures it is very hard and water effects can be added to it in layers. On the other hand Woodland Scenics water takes a long time to dry but never really hardens and if you set something on the water a year later it still leaves a mark in on the surface, even if it is a small item. There have been many articles about colouring Enviro-tex using lacquer based paint (water based paint will not work) so I decided to tint the pond with a brown to give it a murky look. I found out the hard way you only need a drop in a batch of Enviro-tex to give it some colour. For my first batch I added way too much brown and the water was way too opaque and brown. I did end up pouring it in a pond behind the tracks but needed to add another coat on top to change to colour and look of it. For the canal and the other creek I first poured a batch with just a drop of brown in it, let it cure then poured a batch with just a drop of Floquil B&O Enchantment Blue. The verdict is still out on this final colour but it will have to do as I am not tearing out and re-doing it.
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| This small culvert and pond are just around the curve from the junction. Note the details laying in the water. The pond in the background turned out too dark but being hidden a lot by the bridge doesn't look that bad. |
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| Photos of the two spots where I added the tinted Enviro-tex. I feel it is a little too blue but will leave it. I may add several layers of Mod Podge to give the water some ripple effects. |
As can be seen it the above photos I have added the static grass and various ground foams to represent weeds and bushes. I still want to go in and add more brush in the scene. Another detail one can add is various junk and logs laying in the water. When I poured the second layer I placed some old barrels, pallets, tires and logs in the water when it when it was still wet. When dry they look submerged in the water. I didn't overdo it because this is a remote area and there wouldn't be a lot of junk in the water.
The junction scene is now pretty much finished and I am quite pleased with the way it turned out. Like so many layout projects, I have learned a lot from this one. Sometimes you just have to go with trial and error when figuring out how to do certain aspects of a project. I have one more larger river to pour at some point and will use the experience I have gained from this project when finishing up that area.
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| The canal and pump house at a lower angle. |
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| A few closing shots as a CV passenger train snakes through the junction switches. |
Beautiful modeling Don.
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