Another set back

I'm bound to get this right eventually.
After thinking everything was fine after the realistic water was poured, much to my dismay I find as it cured it had ripped up the entire river bed.

This is the front and back of the river, I pulled it out in 2 pieces, I built up the area yet again using paper mache, because it's the only ingredients I had on hand at the time.  I've got the levels right again, added some texture, and now beginning the show process of painting the river bed and banks again, hopefully I can colour match back to the way it was.

These are only mobile phone shots taken in the evening, not much chop, but you should have seen it before hand, I was almost tempted to toss the lot in the bin and start building a HOn30 layout.

filling the space with trees

My wife was out for the evening, so I took the opportunity to sneak some stuff into the warm house, take over the dining table and add some more trees to the module, Quite happy with how it's looking, not sure I ever want to transport it with all this flora sticking up in the air, I think the effect is pretty good, even the river does not look as bad as I thought, it should repair up nicely.

The scene is based on photos, with some poetic license to try and make it look right in my eyes.

Failure can be an option

Taking my first crack at making "water".  It was suggested that a medium worth trying was automotive 2 pack clear, the hardener allowing it to dry far quicker than if it was just an acrylic automotive clear.

Now, I was really nervous that the thin shell of paint and plaster that I built up over my blue foam base, if the clear makes it past the outer layer, it will make a mess of the EPS foam.
Of course, there was a tiny section that wasn't sealed, so approx 400ml of clear has disappeared under the shell...  even worse, because it ate away the foam under the river, it caused a hollow piece, which in turn created a crack in the river bed, allowing the rest of the clear to fill underneath.

The whole idea is now pretty much a write off, I'm kind of hoping now that once the clear dries fully and seals up everything, I'll use something like Woodland Scenic EZ Water to build up depth and fix the river.  I am certainly going to use this method again for small puddles etc on my dirt roads, but in bulk, it has proven to be a bit of a disaster.

More purchasing, not much work (but soon)

Thanks to the good folks at Murray Bridge Trees and Terrain here is another bunch of trees to add to the modules, these will for the most part cover the river bank, with some to be spread amongst the larger trees.

Now what VR era layout would be complete without a WT gracing the rails, I'm yet to assemble my kit that I purchased from Spirit Design but I've pilfered several photos from the website to show what mine will hopefully look like.

Having run past the idea of using the Tam Valley servo setup for controlling points with a few club members, the idea got a big thumbs up, so the next purchase will be these, hopefully, the same few club members will help me install them, and then Maffra can commence in earnest.

Making a start on what will be the major section still seems a bit daunting, I am still very nervous about making mistakes, but that's how we all learn, I just hope I also learn how to fix those mistakes along the way.

insert update here

I haven't had too much to report of late, real life and a short vacation has been the priority, Some more trees have been ordered from Murray Bridge Trees & Terrain, some detail items and wagons from Spirit Design. I've added some fencing, I still need to glue in the bottom wires and tidy up the ends so they sit neatly, I need to find some prototypical gates as my scratch built attempts do not look right.

I still need to decide which form of point control I want to use, many have pro's and con's, I'm now leaning towards Tam Valley  R/C servo drivers, the price is quite reasonable, once I decide, the track laying for Maffra can commence.

I'm a bit nervous as Maffra will be my first attempt at laying points in about 10 years, that effort ended in failure and frustration, hopefully with the help of some Vic N scale Collective members, I'll get it right and be very happy.

I'm still spending a lot of time searching for period photos, I stumbled upon the one below, taken by Rodney Gaulke in July 1977, shows an angle I have not seen before, being colour is also fantastic.

 

More planning and purchasing

No new physical work has been done on the modules, but I have redesigned the garage to incorporate longspan shelving (similar to the racking seen in warehouses etc), which has proven great for safely storing the modules.
I've purchased the remainder of the points needed to complete Maffra, along with a USB programming module for my NCE setup, this will allow me to use a PC to program my locos, use a smart phone as a wireless controller etc, very cool.  I'm also in negotiation for yet more trees to suit the river bank of the MacAlister river module.

I think I'm set on using manual control for my points, with Bullfrog manual control currently winning out for price and suitability, while I'd love to use Tortoise or Cobalt point motors (truly I would), I just don't think my budget could handle the purchase of 20 units. Not for moment do I think that these are not worth the money, but when the difference between 20 Cobalt motors (no switches or anything else) weighing in @ $500.00 versus all the manual Bullfrogs and wire in tube control I need, plus matching panel knobs ( they do nifty single wire single crossover kits, which I can use 2 of for my double crossovers) etc kick in @ $200 delivered.

Has anyone (If anyone actually reads this blog) used Bullfrogs before, can anyone recommend them?

Some Plantings

A few trees have been planted, along with a start of the fences, My K class which is currently under repair and detailing after "act of child" filled in for a bit of background interest.