Gziffo

Port Kittoch is virtually complete now. The fascia has been fitted and I have replaced the backscene with a slightly higher one. Most of the work since the summer has been adding details- the relief station sign from Scalemodel scenery and 3d printed fish boxes from Peedie models. Some low relief buildings have been added at the end of the tracks. I've still not perfected the water, having built up layers of transparent pva and clear tacky glue, it appeared to become opaque after a while, so it has been repainted and covered with several layers of gloss varnish.

Some more progress on the layout - some point rodding and a new scratchbuilt fishing boat. Also some great cars from Lychett Manor models, Oxford diecast and redandy767 on ebay.

An update: More scenic work on the landscape, and have started on another low relief cottage. I've started making some trees, I had some plant roots that passed for tree branches and these formed the windswept tree in the background. I've also made some tree armatures from twisted wire and DAS clay. A few good details were purchased from Peedie models- the oil cans and the rowing boat.

I came across this fantastic film of 'Past railways of Edinburgh.' Have you seen it? At 38:00 in, there is colour footage of Corstorphine station and Balgreen Halt in 1966. The film is a treasure trove of long gone Edinburgh railways.

Some progress had been made on the station embankment area, including some stairs and retaining wall. I'm also trying out some maquettes for more houses along the road.

I ordered it on Ebay, although I have scratchbuilt the cab myself as I wasn't happy with the one provided.

Thanks @slow8dirty!

Some progress on the landscape, and running in the new Dapol class 26

I've now installed the backscene, and made progress on the sidings with the use of DAS clay and scatter. Now onto the embankment, and finishing the bridge.

The bridge construction process

An update: Ballasting is now complete, and the tracks have been clean and tested with all rolling stock. I have made a start on the landscape form. This is made from carved polystyrene blocks and mount card for the gradient. I have experimented with a road surface on thin craft foam which seems to work quite well. It has been cut and provisionally placed but not glued down yet. I've made a test section which has been painted and weather to resemble tarmac. The road marks are made from thin strips of label paper, although they could do with being toned down a bit. I decided to scratchbuild a new bridge as I was unhappy about the overscale walls in the one I bought. This was quite arduous as I decided to carve out the stone facing on styrene sheets, but I'm quite happy with the results. I've added in backboards which are 5mm foamboard. I've also added a fiddleyard cassette made from foamboard to test operations. More to follow..

Looks like a great layout, and the scratch built sheds look good. I also noticed the Rev Awdry box set in the background, which my son has, the illustrations in those books are good to have around!

Some more progress has been made on Port Kittoch. I have finished the platform, which has been made from two sheets of 5mm foamboard, with embossed plasticard stone courses for the walls. The surface is some buff coloured sandpaper that I think gives a good approximation of the gravel surface that I wanted to achieve. The platform edges are thin card, painted with acrylic wash and lightly scored with a scalpel. I've painted the quayside walls with artist's acrylic paint, a mix of raw umber and grey. For these, I've used 00 scale Slater's plasticard for the oversized stones common in harbour walls. As you can see, ballasting has commenced too. I actually rather enjoy ballasting, I know others often don't, but for me, it is very satisfying seeing the railway become 'life like.' For ballast, I have used some fine grade sand from my son's sand-pit which I mixed with watered down artist's acrylic paint before leaving to dry and sifting through a sieve. I'm quite pleased with the results. For a steam era layout such as this, I find most of the available ballast too large in scale.

Some pictures of the finished inset track

Some progress has been made on the layout. After much adjusting, the wiring and track laying is complete. The wire in tube points are all operational from their respective SPDT switches at the back of the layout. Track has been painted using enamels for the rails and acrylic for sleepers. I've made a start to the harbour wall and have been levelling up the area of inset track at the goods shed using card and mountboard. I've purchased some Redutex N scale stone sets to finish this area.