Productive Weekend

I took some time this weekend to do some work on the layout. Main mission was to get some track work redone to accommodate the new 8ft. section I put on. I took out the pads for the transloading facility and extended that area to make it a runaround track. I also plan on putting a small crew office there and my locomotives will sit there when not in operation. I got this idea from a Google Maps search of an industrial park area and thought it may be a good idea to put in.

This is a shot looking towards the curve to the bakery. 

The siding that was installed will be leading to an industry.

This is first two feet of the new section that was added. 

The siding installed will be leading to the future home of Blue Star Cement.

Tonight I also took some time to work on some trees. I am using the Scenic express SuperTrees. I bought these maybe two years ago and they were sitting in the box. As I started to pull some of the trees out, I saw that the trees were all together and took the shape of the box. I have the box open and have been taking them apart carefully and slowly to see if I can get them to not hold the square shape. I took some of the smaller ones and started trimming them up. For these trees I used two methods. First was just taking the tree and spraying them with a spray adhesive. For that I used Locktite. (You could use any kind. I recommend Locktite or 3M). Once the spray adhesive was applied I took some blended turf and sprinkled it on. I placed a small basin below my area to catch the extra turf. I that way you can reuse the stuff that fell. Once the tree was covered, I took some hairspray, any kind will do, and sprayed the trees to seal the work. I would suggest unscented, unless you want your trees to smell. After making some trees I placed them in a foam piece to dry. I also used the same method as above, however I sprayed the trees with brown camo spray paint first. I didn't really notice a difference.   I have included a YouTube video from D. Glass. Great guy and great modeler. 

I plan on ordering some leave material from Scenic Express. Once i get that in i will see what that looks like on some of the trees.

Mr. Glass' YouTube video below.

Static Grass Test

So a few weeks ago I was looking into adding static grass to my layout. Hunting around I found the usual ones on ScenicExpress. I found Noch and another brand (name escapes me). One was $190.00 and the other about $150.00. I wasn't sure if I was ready to make the jump into that type of investment. I had use the old ground foam from Woodland Scenics and while it doesn't look horrible, it is just to bright for my liking, even with different shades.

I was hunting around on eBay to see if I could find a deal, which I really couldn't find, unit I came across a seller in Massachusetts. Guy had a kit for about $55.00 (including shipping). Kit included a mini static grass device and a  larger one. Also included was a small wire rack with wax type paper. This is to make grass tufts. I figure this wasn't bad and made the purchase. A few days later it came in the mail. Per the instructions I held the alligator clip close to the solder joint and it sparked. This meant it was working (per the instructions).

With work and a kitchen repaint going on, I did not have the luxury of time on my side to test out the devices. Today I went over to my local hobby shop, Iron Horse Hobby House, and picked up some track along with some Woodland Scenic Static Grass. I fired up both devices and secured the alligator clip to a nail.

I spread a mixture of glue and water down to the test piece. I began spreading and the turf dropped but wasn't standing on end like I though it would. So I took a closer look and boom the grass was standing up.It is a little light right now but once I get some other static grasses I will blend them together.I know some guys use static grass mats for larger areas, which I tried before and they looked great. I would suggest that for larger areas, or making lawns for houses.

Regardless I think this was a great investment for those modeling on a budget.