I spent an hour or so tidying so decided that that gave me leeway to do some railroad bits…
First I cut out my radical flats which I picked up in Atlanta at the National Train Show. They are realistic photos printed in really high quality which you then mount on foam board. Mine are going on the long wall behind the roundhouses as there is very little clearance. I did have a Smallman Street Warehouse by City Classics as a flat but it used to warp out and derail the trains… I need to make sure that these don’t do the same!
The warehouse will come closer to ensure that all the backdrop has the same photo feel.
It took a few pleasant hours to trim the buildings and then mount them. I used 3M card mounting glue and then sprayed a layer of dullcote to knock off the shine. It also dulls them slightly but a few are much brighter as they are intended as foreground buildings. I am in half a mind to tint them a little bit paler with an airbrush coat but am worried it won’t be very even as my airbrush has quite a fine spray. Some of the backdrop will need to be closer to the front so I may just see if that works. I also mounted my last photo backdrop as it will sit slightly proud of the sky then and it is in an area where it will stick out slightly over the alcove. I’m waiting for it to dry before trying in place. I hope it looks ok!
I then finished off my Fos Scale’s Forley’s Lithographers which I’ve called R D Smith’s after a friend, Bob Smith, who was a printer by trade. It didn’t really have anything to do but I do need to put the clutter on. As it is a background building, I’m waiting to do the final details on the loading dock until it is in place. I also haven’t put the yard surface yet either on as I want to do the whole row at once.
I then felt that having cleared one thing off my to do list, I could start a new project. I’ve been wanting to get a couple of yard cranes in for when the relay boards come so that I can mount some indicator lamps and have them working… I broke out my SRMW brick and stone roundhouses to use their cranes. I was getting on great locating and staining my wood, doing both ones at once and really enjoying myself, when I realised that I don’t have the brick roundhouse photo etch for the corner braces. Annoying. It is a 20 year old kit and second hand so I doubt I can do much about it so I am busy scanning the stone roundhouse etch sheet to try and get it re-etched again. It also has the steam pipes etch too which I will need soon enough…
That means my quick project is now taking longer than wanted and I was only doing them so I could take a decent photo…
Anyway, the cranes can always count as a structure on my layout. I like a challenge and I have never done photo etch but I should be updating the Convention website instead!