More progess photos of Shifting Sands on the road to completon.
The boardwalk path across the sand dunes was weathered and then set into place, after which the dunes were given a dusting of MIG weathering powder - 'Beach Sand'. After this Silfor grass tufts were carefully placed onto the dunes, using photographs of real dunes to get realistic grouping and patterns. I used lighter coloured tufts towards the back to aid the illusion of depth. Once everything was firmly in place I lightly weathered the tufts to get rid of the slight sheen they have, and also to blend the colours with the other grasses on the layout. Both Silfor tufts and MIG powders are available from International Models.
After the dunes were completed the backscene board could go into place. The sky colour is from a matchpot paint, whilst the sea itself is a manipulated digital photograph that I took at Cayton Bay (near Scarborough) this summer. The beach huts were taken from a greetings card/painting and have just the right colour tones and perspective.
Alongside the fiddle yard entrance, the beginnings of the 'Funland' amusement park can be seen. A few trees have since been added to this area and the effect is to hide the hole in the sky reasonably well, although photographing it can be tricky!
Around this time a lot of the buildings went into place and were bedded in to avoid a gap around the bases. The exception to that is the ice cream parlour, which is supposed to be sat on a concrete plinth.
And finally..... with the exhibition appearance of Shifting Sands rapidly approaching I started to get gitters about the loco fleet, with four diesels, and the steam tram to use, I felt that the public might better relate to the layout if there was a steam loco of more conventional appearance.
I had bought a Bachmann US 2-6-2 some time ago as a basis for a narrow gauge style loco, however time wasn't on my side so I opted for the quick 'temporary' job to satisfy the need for a conventional horizontal boilered steam loco in time for the exhibition, just something to re-enforce the fact that this is a 'miniature' railway.... |
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The dunes before the grass was added, very fine sand was held in place with both PVA and Matt Medium. |
The left hand end of the dunes with grass in place. All the grass is dry brushed with lighter colours to tone it down. |
The path across the dunes, I weathered this using watercolour washes and some dry brushing of acrylics. |
The end of the line. I decided to have less growth in this area, as if it were a 'blow out' in the dunes. |
A tricky corner of the layout to photograph. Behind the fence is the 'Funland' amusement park. Trees will hide the various sins in this area. |
The fence and sky both continue into the fiddle yard, helping disguise the hole in the sky. |
With the backscene and vegetation in place, the Ice Cream Parlor forecourt awaits benches. |
A wooden building that hides the rods to change the points from the back of the board. This was a quick build using Basswood. |
The station buildings, fencing and other details still to be added. |
Close-up of the ticket hut, complete with modified Preiser figure. |
Distant beach huts on the backscene. They are copied from a greetings card, whilst the sea is from a manipulated digital photograph. |
The 'Somerthorpe Hilton' - the old caravan in place outside the workshop. |
A quick build steam locomotive, modified from a Bachmann USA model. |
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