Hi,

Well since the last Blog entry it seems like most of the build team have either been on Holiday or are getting ready to go, so progress on the scenic work has been a little limited, but enough for an update.

Having worked on the dis-used bridge last time and built up the ground either side of it, we decided to work on the terrain on the remaining curved board. As the land slopes gently down, we basically picked up the profile from the centre board and then worked towards the other end of the board bringing the ground level down to what will eventually be surface level. Again we made use of some extruded foam blocks to provide a rough base level and then filled in and around this with newspaper or ripped up hand towel. We then cover this in a fine mesh which is stapled to the surface of the boards and we can then push and prod the mesh to provide the final desired profile. We then carefully cover the mesh in plaster bandage and leave it to dry for about 24hrs or so and this creates quite a hard exterior shell.

Here are some pics taken after the work.

For those following the blog, you may notice that we have also added some ply profiles at the scenic break where the dis-used bridge is. This has been done in an attempt to protect the scenic work when the boards are being transported and to also make sure that the boards mate together properly when erected. For the other board joints, we aren't able to use this method as the height of the terrain means we can't secure the ply properly without making some serious changes to the board ends. So for these we will just use some profiled timber off-cuts, which can be screwed and glued in place.

We are also going to be facing the front of the scenic boards with 6mm ply, this should be thick enough to prevent damage from accidental knocks and is flexible enough to bend to fit the curved boards. The profile of the faces will roughly follow the terrain on the scenic boards but will have a slight 1-2cm lip so that they will provide protection and we can then butt the scenic work up to them.

Cheers, Mark.