Sandy Shores - Returning to the spit


I've had a break from Sandy Shores for a while to focus on making music for a video game, but now that I've almost finished that (and the fact I've been to a couple exhibitions in the last month or so), I'm finally ready to carry on where I left off!

Now, where was I?

Ah, right. The grounded van. I still haven't managed to get to the model shop to buy some thin plasticard for the metalwork needed on the van, so that put that little project on the back burner.
Instead, I decided to turn my attention to the landforms again.

A little while back I mentioned that I wanted to get some sand dunes onto the layout. With a little bit of research of various locations, I've started to have a go at basic shaping. Also, the pillbox that I knew I had somewhere was finally found resting upside down on Calshot!

My current thinking is to have the pillbox half submerged into a sand dune at the front of the layout (as shown below, sort of). The sand dune being covered in marram grass, but an "informal" path (there's that geography knowledge again!) winds its way from the back of the pillbox, to the walkway to the lighthouse. The idea being that people would probably have a bit of a nosey around the same interesting areas - hence the informal path.




Looking at the photos above, the sand dunes (also seen at the rear of the layout) might be a tad too tall, but I'm not sure yet. It's hard to tell when everything is so white! The pillbox will need "distressing" and repainting into something more concrete coloured, rather than its current grey state. It will also need a battered concrete base.

Which brings me onto a final idea - I've also been researching WWII defences. I plan to add a few anti-tank blocks around the layout. It made for some very interesting reading - how bridges had holes in them to accept explosives to demolish them in case of an invasion. And the various other types of anti-invasion installations. I'm hoping to add a few of these onto the layout in relevant locations.

There are also a few other ideas that I've been mulling over, but I'll leave that for the next post!

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