Back to Scenery

 Well, it has been a while since I have posted as it has been a madhouse around here. I am falling behind schedule! In the mean time, I have been talking to people who are excellent scenery makers like Chris Smith, John Sethian and the fellows in our local group who have started scenicing their layouts. I have also become a major investor in Scenic Express, buying lots of supplies for ground cover and tree material. So, here is where I will start to learn how to place trees and ground cover. This is the west end of Weigh Scales which was in a forest in real life. I have painted the backdrop, and now have to add a foreground.

 This is the long view of the area. I painted the plaster with my ground color  - a camel color.

 Now I have added a brown dirt material (which can be seen at the far right of the colored portion), then several colors of green foam with a coarse multi-hued ground foam in the foreground. O put some lichen that I covered with fine ground foam along the seam with the wall. The spot is immediately looking better!

 This gives a lower look showing the rough texture of the area. I added fallen leave material on the ground where I will place the trees.

Another longer view showing the transitions

 Now I have added some Super Trees that I have made from the Scenic Express kits. They really look pretty good as a tree. I am trying to make them look like a random growth of a grove. You can also see how the dead leaves help out. I have to integrate them with the backdrop. Jack Brown suggested I make the rear trees darker to get them to blend more. Good idea!

 Another view looking back. I have to add a lot more trees and have more problems ahead with my vertical scenery. Chris Smith has a great technique for this which I will try next. I do not know why the camera varies the color settings so much!

Final view. I am generally pleased with the result but am concerned about the slow pace! I also have to figure out how to treat the foreground so it will stand up to visitors.