As an afterthought, I put together a montage of pictures taken during the design and construction of the layout. They tell the story of how a layout like this comes into being.
Malmsbury is now complete and ready for its first exhibition.
Construction of the trains needed for the layout is well under way. All the locos and passenger stock are done, with the goods wagons coming soon. The hidden tracks can store about 10 feet worth of trains nose-to-tail, so that is enough for a decent variety. All are 3D printed, with a combination of paper sides and hand painting for the detail work.
This is just a quick test of a new camera and a well known train running through the station. The train is unfinished and needs a bit of rework, and it never ran on this line, but so what!
The backscene is now complete, the station buildings planted, the water poured and proper layout lighting installed. The next stage is trees, bushes and fencing, but final detailing and cleanups will be postponed until the end of the whole project.
The backscene was formed as a composite of several pictures, with a lot of editing and colour balancing using Paint and GIMP. Fortunately, the viaduct is a popular spot for drone enthusiasts, so there were plenty of YouTube videos to harvest for suitable views. Not so, alas, for the station end. The main grassing step is now complete. To me, that is always the turning point for a layout - where it finally starts to change from a messy construction site to a real place. The station buildings and platforms have had a bit of detailing work, but have not yet been properly installed. Work on the backscene has also started, but I had to lower it slightly so the clouds are too low and will need to be repainted.
Slow and steady progress continues. The track has been permanently installed and the plastering, puttying and painting is almost complete. Test trains have been run. The next step is to finish off the station buildings by adding fences, lamps, and other details, so I can permanently install them. That will finally clear the way for grass to grow!
The Malmsbury station buildings are now largely complete. Final details such as fences, lamps and signs will be added as late as possible since they are quite delicate. As usual, while the closeups are cruel, it looks reasonable at a normal viewing distance.
After another longish pause, the scenery is starting to take shape. The underlying support is corrugated cardboard, then plaster bandage and gap-filler putty, then enough paint for the rough undercoat and final visual checks. Roads are cardboard, and the aqueduct is 3D printed.
The main timberwork is now finished. This includes the track bed, backscene, and basic scenic supports (lowest level of terrain contours). The fascia boards and possibly a small lifting flap to hide the curve between the road overbridge and the backscene are still to be done. The electronics are also almost complete.
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April 2024
AuthorMartin Kaselis |
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