Extensive Landscaping Work

Since Woodland Scenics C1203 plaster cloth finally arrived, work could resume on the missing terrain. What better way to see some progress than by extending the landscape to the right of the C(ross) segment (that would be the line partially covered by masking tape, and the 2 old flat PIKO cars at the end). This also involved finding a way to blend the right tunnel portal as well. For the portal, I took a look here to see how it should deal with abrupt terrain, and decided to go, just as the picture shows, with a wall next to the portal itself. Having made a mock-up of the whole area, a flow-chart diagram was created (second photo, the text is in my native language- romanian) so I'd know which tasks should be done, in what order, and what are those that could be done in parallel.

First thing was to solder together the 2 wires between segments P(re)-T(unnel) and S(mall) R(amp) - visible in the 3rd photo. Next, an infrared pair had to be installed on the remaining end of the C segment (where the cars are in the first photo), meaning that a place would have to be found for the MRD board (these boards were first introduced to this layout here).As was done previously, a hole was dug in the foam baseboard, 2 spacers - 5 mm long - were cut from the insulation material provided with the emitters/detectors and the corresponding holes drilled in the base wooden board. The 3rd photo shows the MRD along with the handmade spacers and the supplied screws right above it.

For the walls needed next to the portal, I used what I had left from the Noch retaining wall (seen first here) and glued the pieces together, two by two. Once these were glued, I looked at the way I painted the left tunnel portal, and the retaining wall placed there. Then I came up across an article from Chris Nevard, where the method I initially used, and quite popular around the web - picking up individual bricks in an uniform color - is not seen in a good light. So this time I went for multiple layers of drybrushing, using the same colors as before - Stone Gray, Raw Umber, Slate Gray and Concrete (all from Woodland Scenics). The result looks more natural, however I'm curious how it'll look when I'll take some photos of the finished area.

  Most of the work however went into cutting and gluing the foam walls that would support the plaster cloth. The holes for the wires will have to be accessible after all is done, so the "mobile covers" must be employed again. The infrared pair was secured in place using plaster, and a check was done to make sure that the gaps between cars don't trigger false readings.

  A couple of rocks were fixed in place using plaster and the same set of washes used - 1:4 Yellow Ochre, 1:4 Burnt Umber, 1:16 Black (parts of paint : parts water).
  As of now, things are looking as shown in the last photo. Click for a bigger view.

Right Corner

The Noch tunnel lining has been extended, so that the white foam can be covered due to issues examined before. This seen here is the one covering the IR detector (for which the hole seen in the bottom left exits). The small trimming in the upper left corner is due to one of the piers of the tunnel overhead system.

At the same time that the lining was glued in place, the right corner was prepared for the plaster cloth.The one I had left fitted exactly for the 2 layers needed, and now I'm awaiting a shipment containing 3 rolls (Woodland Scenics C1203).

Avoiding IR Reflections

Trying to fix the infrared detectors on one end of the tunnel segment, I've ran into an issue with the detection - even though the infrared path should be blocked, the receiver was still sensing the radiation. However reminding my past hard times I knew it must be some sort of reflection due to the white foam around the receiver. Just using a black card solved it completely, and now all is well.

All that needs to be done now is for the emitter and receiver to be fixed using some plaster, and the black card replaced with special Noch tunnel lining.

More Plaster Cloth

More foam walls are being cut to size and glued in place. After masking tape is also added to help preserve the final shape of the terrain, the plaster cloth is dipped in water and applied. The hill pictured here gets closer to completion, with the final edges being built now, and a large lid being planned for the center. A lid is needed because a number the boards for the infrared detectors will he hosted underneath, and also the switch visible in this photo will need the motor dismantled and cleaned from time to time - covering them permanently is not an option.

New Terrain Construction

The hills surrounding the C segment are starting to take shape. Just on the bottom of the picture, that space, containing 2 holes in the foam baseboard, will have to be covered by a mobile lid. The same kind of "cover", but a larger one, will have to be used to the left of the vertical (in this photo) divider, while the part to the right will have fixed terrain, supporting the Viessmann model cow that just arrived. Seen in the second photo - although that's not the final position since it will have to move further to the back and to the right - the cow has a really natural movement and, as a bonus, Viessmann also throws in a separate, static cow to hold company.

  The small sharp edge next to the bridge was designed specifically so that some infrared emitors/detectors can be hidden inside the steep hill that will result. One of the detectors, 61 (segment 6, detector 1), is visible right to the left side of the Brawa long car.

Drilling and Plans

 In the unlikely event that the current layout will be electrified at one point, it's going to be hard installing the overhead wire in the tunnel, even though a "cover" is being manufactured now. So with the plastic masts from the Viessmann tunnel overhead system glued in place using some Bison solution, tonight I went ahead and drilled 2 holes at each extremity of the brass strip, as indicated in the Viessmann manual, in the event that overhead wire will have to be connected.
  In a completely separate process, I'm also trying to make a sketch of how the PT segment will look like next to the Faller station. I also ordered a Viessmann yard lamp (6384) that I'm thinking will make some nice lighting effects, especially during nighttime.

Making a Tunnel Cover

Since the tunnel is planned to be about 1m long, it will have to have visiting holes, in case trains derail or the line needs inspection from time to time. This means that the land above the line will have to be flexible. In photo to the right I've experimented with some 6,5 mm summer Silflor grass applied on the fixed terran and the same grass and several Silflor weeds glued to the cover.

  I've discovered these weeks 2 things that make things better and faster: 1) applying the brown latex paint in 2 layers has been thrown out of the standard procedure for applying the earth formula - simply applying the earth on top of the wet plaster cloth (previously hardened), in 2 layers, provides excellent results, with nearly none of the colored plaster becoming loose, as was the case before with the paint; 2) the formula for the white glue used for applying the static grass has now changed - from the old 1:1 Noch glue to water to 1:2 Noch glue:water. The old formula would result in visible stains at the zone's border, now they're much more subtle.