For the front edge, I recommend using a scenic fascia, or basically making the edge part of the scene. Paint it your brown base coat, then put ground foam and some clump foliage in the same way you apply it to the rest of the layout (of course, you might have to put the layout on it's side or find a way to defy gravity some to do that). Especially with the bridge being close to the layout edge, having the scenic fascia will help create an illusion that there is more space between the bridge and the end of the layout than there actually is.
Little update.... Laying ground cover is a pain in the butt....at least snow anyway. I am using the woodland scenics stuff, but having a hard time with it. Its not sticking too well, and is tough to work with. Plus, the dye from my ballast is staining it yellow. I am sprinkling it dry, misting with 50/50 alcohol water mix, then driping on 60/40 white glue water mix. It is holding, but even after a day of drying, its not completely hard. Coverage is "meh", gonna take MANY coats and long hours to cover it all....... lemme see if I can snap some pics.
That looks good from the pictures. I think you might be applying it a little thin in spots, particularly next to the ballast, which is why it might be turning yellow. But remember, snow next to a mainline will be discolored from soot, dust, mud, ect. that falls off the train anyways. What I do for my base layer of ground foam is first paint on 100% Elmer glue with a cheap/old paintbrush. I work in areas about the size of a CD or DVD case at a time, because the glue will bead up like water droplets soon (adding rubbing alcohol might break the surface tension of the glue but I've never tried that yet). Once the glue is painted on I sometimes give it a puff or two of water mist. Then I sprinkle the ground foam on top as generously or sparingly as desired. Once the base layer is dry, I then apply second round of details in the same manor, brushing on 100% glue and sprinkle/dab scenery in place. Finally for the third round I squirt glue into a dish and use tweezers to apply shrubbery, weeds, detail elements and stuff like that. I grab hold of the element with the tweezers, dab it in the glue, then place it on the layout.
Perhaps the yellow snow occurs when passenger car lavs are not available. Seriously, I think your progress is admirable.
Thank you all for the replies. I think the camera hides some of the defects....but then again I am a perfectionist by nature. Today I experimented with a different method. I mixed up a slurry like mixture of white latex paint, water, and flour to thicken it. I spread it on like plaster (which I guess would have worked in the same fashion), then sprinkled the snow on top. It gives a more even coloring, but the texture is not as good as the snow alone. I am on the fence......
I am finally all snowed in. I will get some pics after work, but I found a method that I really like, and the results are pretty good. 1. Make a mixture of ultra white latex paint (I had some behr laying around), and baking flour. Maybe one tablespoon of flour per cup or cup and a half of paint. I didn't really measure; I just made it runny enough to spread, and thick enough to stick to slopes I slathered this on like icing. i found that thick layers would crack during drying, and thin layers would of course leave spotty coverege. Neither situation turns out of matter much. 2. While the goop is still wet, I sprinkled on the Woodland Scenics soft snow flake. I put it on thick, then vacuumed off the excess after drying overnight. This gives texture to the goop. 3. Finally, after completely dry, I finished with a coat of 100% ultra white latex paint, same stuff I mixed in the goop. This does three things. Covers the thin spots, fills and blends cracks and uneven spots, and gives a nice white finish. (the flour tends to dull the paint.) The last step might be to give it some sheen or sparkle. I have seen some people use some sort of sparkly-flake stuff from craft stores. I am wondering how a sort of clear coat would work.
This is looking much better! Interesting technique for the snow. I'll have to remember that if I ever try my hand at a winter scene. Not sure what effect a clear coat of paint will give the snow. I'd test it out on a small corner, maybe about the size of a CD case, to see how the end result looks. If it works, great, if not, you'll only have a small area to "undo". Keep up the good work.
