Tuesday night at the Huff and Puff

On Sunday we started a clean up of our layout, hard to accomplish while we are still doing scenery, but at least it was a start. We have found a wiring problem on the branch line which maybe hard to find, it may require cutting each electrical feed until we find it. The areas that have scenery is now more that the areas that are still bare and it is starting to look pretty good, even the backdrop painting is done. Yes there is a light at the end of the tunnel, well we had to light up the tunnel to repair some trackwork.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Engine house, painted by Glen

Another area has trees

Ralph has reforested this logged out area

Don added a swamp, reeds are combed out yarn

Last of the backdrop painting, about 150 feet in all

Tuesday Night at the Huff and Puff

Cullen Milling thanks Glen for painting the smoke stack

A road into the quarry

Junk pile enhances the engine house scene

Don takes his engines out for a run

A lot of effort is being focused on detailing various scenes and cleaning up with the idea of an open house in October. But there is still a lot of work to do.

Brick Mortar Lines using Drywall Goop

The above picture shows two side pieces of a Walthers H.O. roundhouse kit. The upper piece is shown as it comes in the box with brickwork stamped into its face. The rather bright colour was toned down to a more realistic brick tone by an aerosol spray coat of red oxide primer. Some like to fill in the mortar lines with brushed on diluted white acrylic paint which is then quickly wiped off before it can dry on the bricks themselves. The picture below shows another method using drywall goop to make the mortar lines, a wee bit messy but easier than paint to remove with water if you don't like the end result.

After smearing on the goop and working it into all brick areas, you can start wiping the excess off just as you do with paint but timing isn't critical. If you let it dry, you can still wipe the excess off with a damp rag with good results. An X-acto knife with a No.11 or chisel blade will quickly remove unwanted goop from creases or edges.
Lastly buff up the surface with a clean rag to ensure that all brick surfaces look fairly even in colour although all real-time brick surfaces have colour variations in them.

Tuesday night at the Huff and Puff

elevator moved to Springbank with new road added

new backdrop picture added

locating lumber yard and background picture at Valleyview

added 100 trees

more scenery near the quarry

Sunday fun

Ralph set about wiring the branch line as Jim worked on the track work to the turn table. He also did some scenery near Elsewhere. With Jim's help, I put up more facia. Then Ralph showed me another roll of backdrop, a lumber yard. With many areas considered, a spot under the Long River bridge was selected, now it needs a switch. Glen dropped by with the conveyor for the ready mix plant. Bill worked on the scenery by the quarry, and all too soon, it was time to go.

Tuesday night at the Huff and Puff

Holidays or other reasons made for a lighter than usual Tuesday session on August 5 but we were all glad to see Don Pearce arrive with a tool kit in each hand after recent surgery.

Trent got into a scenicking mode all on his own

Don and Rick worked so hard, they had to take a "time out".

Tuesday night at the Huff and Puff

Heritage Furniture building was added at Valleyview

The round house extension at Wellington has been built and some of the scenery replaced. cutouts of the pit and engine house were made to see if they fit.

scenery added on the branch line

Jim painting the dock for a crane