It's been a while since the last update, mostly due to a week long holiday in lovely Cornwall. However, that doesn't mean work has stopped on the layout; in fact, whilst on holiday I found time to assemble those Greenwich couplings that I've had in a box for years!
Since then, progress has continued apace, and whilst I won't be showing everything that's changed since my last visit here, I have a good selection of things to share. First off, the quay has gained a strange circular lump! Whilst initially looking like a melted marshmallow, it soon gained scribed mortar lines and a splash of paint. For those who can't quite tell what it is, it is the stone base for the quayside crane. Eventually I may even get around to installing the crane itself (which I've recently repainted, but will need more work before it's ready to be "planted" on its base). It may seem odd to have it on a base considering the bulky stone pier it sits on, but the crane needed more height; not only to be able to swing over the wooden baulks, but also to clear any narrow gauge flat wagons that would need to be loaded.
Moving on, and it was time to paint the tidal creek mudflats that I worked on before I went on holiday. In complete contrast to my early efforts, I painted the deepest sections (i.e. the channels) a dark brown (interspersed with slight highlights of green). The rest could then be painted a slightly lighter brown, stippling it onto the existing "mud" to try and blend the transition. This might need a little more work before applying the "water pour" later on in the week.
Anyway, whilst this was drying, I decided to tackle the siding that curves towards the front edge of the layout. I had long been considering options for what to put here, but I stuck with my early instincts and produced a section of rock armour that flanked both sides of the line. To stop it looking like the rocks were simply plonked onto the layout, I decided to smother the area in a thickish layer of filler so that I could press the rocks into:
Something I felt that was missing on this layout (given its tourist-y nature) was a wooden information board. As is always the way, I decided to produce something a lot more elaborate than originally planned! Using a photo from the internet for inspiration, I spent a few hours fashioning a rather complex structure out of a lollipop stick...
...which I could then paint and weather this morning, turning it into a delightful little addition to the layout. I also have made the information panel, which I will print out at some point. I know most of it will be completely illegible at 1:76 scale, but that's not really the point!
Other jobs carried out today include a rebuild of the lean-to on the loco shed, which was in dire need of stone "feet" and a reduction in size in order not to foul the roadway! It still needs some sort of flashing to blend it to the loco shed wall, but that's a job for another day when the feet have had time to cure.
Another set of long-awaited jobs related to the grounded carriage. First up was to paint the lower half and the doors of the carriage in another colour. Whilst apprehensive at first, it was actually dead simple with a bit of watered down emulsion! Guttering was then produced out of slithers of corrugated iron sheets (I'm a cheapskate at times!) and a bit of metal rod of some sort that I found in the bits box!
With only 3 days to "finish" the layout off to a decent standard ahead of the RMweb event, details such as the planned stovepipe on the carriage may not be done. However, I can tell you that the planting of variations of marram grass has been carried out tonight; and as expected, the flash of colour has breathed some life into the layout. I fear it may need some drybrushing to tone it down a bit though!
Anyway, more to come soon!
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