8/10/03 Rock outcrops painted with india ink and drybrush colors
8/11/03 Some ground cover added
8/13/03 I spent some time yesterday making trees, and today I planted them (temporarily) around the big cut.
I followed Lynn Gobin's tree making techniques fairly closely, but used materials on hand.  My armatures were Hawthorne twigs.  I had some white polyfiber and some green spray paint, so I stretched the polyfiber, sprayed it green, then used it while the paint was tacky.  Not only did it stick to the armature well, but the paint held the Woodland Scenics foam ("burnt grass" and "weeds" plus some "soil") until I could spray it with some hairspray.
8/16/03 The upper end of the ravine gets a small trestle.  This is just set in place; I still have scenic work to do under it.  By the way, just visible on the left is sort of a reddish patch on the low vegetation.  I used some spices from the kitchen to add some color and "flowers" here and there: nutmeg, cayenne pepper, and ground mustard, all fixed in place with hair spray.
8/18/03 Test fitting the big trestle at the front of the layout.  There will be horizontal and cross-bracing between the two bents when it is complete.

This page last updated 01/16/2007