Yup, you can do it online, but there's a $3.00 surcharge, and like an idiot, I'd rather wait in a line (socially distant spaced of course) for almost two hours. That's kind of like a Scrooge McDuck action. Next time, I'm doing it on-line. It's idiotic to make doing it in person less expensive than doing it on-line, don't you think.
Huge progress today. The Sculptamold was almost entirely dry, and those parts that were still a bit damp I used a heat gun to accelerate the process. I then painted the non-path areas with my base brown/tank Behr Paint, called "Burnt Almond". I then liberally sprinkled a mixture of dark brown fine ballast, green fine turf and blended turf. When this set up I fixed any bad spots with wet water, ground cover and finally W-S liquid Scenic Cement.
Here's the first layer of ground cover.
The second layer was lots of grass colored ground cover. This was wet water, grass and then more wet water and finally liquid glue. I blended the grass cover into the existing ground cover already in the area. The areas around the building are being left bare earth.
For the path, I took my premixed UP acrylic wall paint yellow, added white, gray, earth tone base and even black (sort of negates the white) until I dulled it down a lot. I then painted the path and applied fine tan ballast to this. In between these steps I vacuumed the loose material so it wouldn't foul the newly applied areas.
Lastly I painted the rock out cropping. I even made flat rock faces in areas that had particularly bumpy plaster underneath.
I placed all the buildings and stuff on the site and took a lot of pictures.
This shot sets up how it relates to the engine house.
Viewed from inside the layout looking outwards.
Same view rotated outwards.
Looking at the house from eye level for outside the layout.
From Outside looking at the site's rear.
Shot from a drone flying overhead...
Outside shot broadside.
Outside oblique view
Missing are trees and foliage, which will go on tomorrow. I have to hook up the electricity too. So we're only days away from complexing the Hacker's Cabin. Johnny B. Goode has been shipped from Shapeways, and it looks like I may have to sculpt my own fellas with hatchets and axes who are actually making all those ties. I may do a graphic saying "Goode Ties" or something to that effect.
When I tried closing the gate tightly enough to run trains. The two roads were a little too familiar and were a little proud of the hinge line, keeping the door from fully seating and the rails were mis-aligned.
Here was the interference fit.
To removed the stock from both sides of the joint I pulled out my Skil Belt Sander and went at it. I took enough off so it would not interfere again. I don't care that there's a gap in the road. It was more important to be able to run trains.
Here's how the tracks aligned after the mod. Trains will run!
Just to let those that don't do major scenery jobs just how much crap you need to pull it off, here was my work table in the train room at the end before I cleaned it all up.
My timing is perfect in finishing up this project. Stephen Miley informed that he's cutting the HOUSE this week. So probably next week that project will get into the construction phase.