This morning I felt like a kid on Christmas morning! After my first shot of caffeine I went downstairs and removed the "C" clamps and checked out the bridge. Everything looked good. This evening I filed down the railheads, cleaned the tracks, fired up the layout and got a couple of videos of the first train across the bridge.
Over the last few days I've gotten the vegetation base and riprap applied on the Whitewater creek scene. Trying to get things prepped for static grass.
Thanks Hemi! You had asked me awhile to let you know how the "squishy foam" (the brown craft foam) worked out for me. I have to say at this point it seems to be doing just fine. Once I got it painted and glued the vegetation to it, it seems to have worked just fine. I must admit that I wondered if it would be firm enough to support the bridge, especially when I'm pushing down on it while cleaning the tracks. I know others have used it with good success to make roads out of it.
I finally got around to getting the static grass applied at Whitewater creek, and touched up the rip rap with some Pan Pastels. It might be a little lusher than I had envisioned, but the next step will be to apply random coarse weeds and low brush over the area and then try my hand at making some tall reeds along the edges of the creek bank, all this to help break up the lushness. The trees will come later as I have a need to make a lot of them to add to several areas around the layout. Once I get things set up for making trees, I can proceed like an assembly line. With this step finished I'm going to start getting most of the heavy scenery material stashed away and start cleaning up the layout. What's left can be done without using the layout as a workbench, I hope? Speaking of the workbench, that's my next goal as I have several items that's been sitting around for several years that I want to get wrapped up, including two locos that need painting.
Thanks Hemi! And there will only be more a coming! There's a skeeter on my #$@&$, smack him off! There's a dozen on my cousin, I can hear the @*$^#%)&'s buzzing!