7. January 2020 HO Backdrop (Acrylic Rendered Cutting)

Because I did not have any clearance behind the line as it ran down the side wall of the shed, I could not use the "soft rock" method to give the cutting any detail.

To overcome this I used a render of acrylic gap filler and fine sand to give some texture. 

I then dry brushed some acrylic artists paint so that I could get some sort of detail onto the cutting backdrop .

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6. January 2020 HO Backdrop (Background Hills and Mountains)

I painted some background mountains behind the cutting and then painted some mid ground hills with "dabbed on" trees in front of them to give some impression of depth.  The mid ground hills were a continuation of the hills painted to blend in the Corner Mountain.

To reduce the visual impact of the steel support post I am considering building a mountain spur the will run towards the foreground which will necessitate either a tunnel or a deep cutting across the back and in front where the loop is planned to run. These sketches show an idea I am considering.

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5. January 2020 HO Backdrop (Soft Rock Cutting)

I made a cutting face using the "Soft Rock" method, to which I added some foliage to define the upper level and "boulders" made from polystyrene foam to blend it into the baseboard..
It extends from the extreme left of the layout (across the back wall of the shed) to the extreme end of the Corner Mountain.
I could not extend it to the extreme right end of the layout from the Corner Mountain (across the side wall) due to clearance issues so resorted to a "rendered cutting" for that area.

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4. January 2020 HO Backdrop (Corner Mountain)

To fill in a corner I constructed a mountain from polystyrene foam boards which I then coated with an acrylic "render" made from Gap Filler mixed with fine sand and acrylic house paint.  

This was then dry brushed with acrylic artists paints, some foliage foam for trees to give some detail was used to define the skyline and to highlight the foreground "soft rock" cutting detail.

On either side I painted slopes that had "dabbed on" trees to soften the stark edges and to blend it in with the middle ground hills.

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3. January 2020 HO Background Painting and Mountain Construction

A mountain outline was painted on the lower part of the backdrop and in a corner a “mountain” was constructed out of polystyrene foam board
This is still a "Work In Progress", over the polystyrene a mixture of house paint tinted grey and fine dry sand (as used to make bricklayers render) will smeared on to give a hard shell with a rough texture and more detail will be added like carving the polystyrene to give some detail plus a rock cutting across the front of the mountain scenes.

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2. January 2020 HO Scenery Backdrops Started

After the base boards were cut and fitted, 3mm MDF board backdrops were fixed to hide the walls of the shed.

The Blue sky is painted with white low sheen acrylic house paint tinted by adding blue artist’s acrylic till a shade that looked good was achieved.

The clouds effect was achieved by dabbing white paint on with a cotton rag. 

The grey was achieved by dabbing the white into some black poster paint and using the rag to mix it on a plastic palette till I got a shade that looked right.

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1. January 2020 HO Underlay and Track Laying Begins

Cork track underlay was laid down and track was fitted to form the two loops that are at the opposite ends. 

The joints of the track were soldered together to prevent kinks forming when the track was bent to form the loops, this has an added bonus of ensuring electrical continuity.

The plan is to work from the extremity closest to the shed wall and work outwards.  

After all the track has been laid in these areas the base boards will fixed permanently, at present they can be removed for access.

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