Westfir Scenery

I have long considered Westfir to be the "first" scene on the railroad. For trains leaving Eugene, this is the first modeled location on the railroad, it is the first section of benchwork built, and is the first scene visible when viewing the layout in person. Now, it is the first section of the layout with any level of scenery. After finishing the upper level fascia and backdrops I turned my attention here, to Westfir, and finished the terrain, rockwork, and initial scenery layers: dirt, ballast, and gravel. 

I had started terrain efforts in Westfir previously, but the area remain unfinished. I began by reshaping the pick insulation foam that was already in place to make room for a layer of rock carvings. Gaps in terrain were covered with cardboard strips and contractor's paper. Seams and transitions were smoothed out with sculptamold. 

Reshaped terrain at Westfir.

With the base level of plater in place, I began adding rock cuts and outcroppings by hand carving plaster of paris. I worked in small batches, carving the rocks as the plaster hardened.

Second section of plaster freshly applied and ready to be carved. 

Rockwork on the far side of the scene complete.

Rocks were added around the tunnel for completeness. This took multiple small batches. 

In-progress plasterwork on whole scene. 

The end result was a bare white canvas. I began coloring the terrain with thinned brown craft paint. This color is not a perfect match to the final dirt layer, but is much better than bare white plaster should additional scenery layers become worn or scratched. The carved rocks were painted with gray, black, and brown craft paints using a combination of washes and dry-brushing.

Brown "dirt" paint applied. 

Rocks at tunnel painted. Was trying to go for a darker gray rock with sections of brown. Much of the color variation and detail is not picked up by the camera. 

Close-up of the Tunnel 22 rock cut. 

Rockwork at the opposite end of the scene which included two previously installed rock castings. 

Once the white plaster had been colored I added the base level of scenery, dirt texturing using powdered paints and plaster. Being the first time I have used this technique I struggled at first to know how thick I could make each layer of texturing but improved with time. Many of the vertical surfaces require the dirt to be blown into place. 

First layer of dirt texturing. I ended up applying 2-3 layers in some areas to build up the dirt to the appropriate depth. 

I dusted the rockwork with the dirt powder incorporating all the elements of the scene together. As this dried I began to apply ballast and gravel. I am using Arizona Rock and Minerals products throughout. All was secured in place with thinned white glue. 

Ballast and gravel applied around Tunnel 22. 

Westfir with completed "geology."

With this area finished I will continue on the other side of Tunnel 22 and bring that area to the same level of completion. Cardboard and paper terrain work has already commenced in that area. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks.