Contoured the fascia with a hot wire cutter, now it’s time to start filling in the scenery. Foam and sculptamold to start. Still working out the last photo’s hill and tunnel portal arrangement, the initial cut is just a rough first go.
Working out one of the water scenes for the corner of the layout. A Barr Mills kit on a stick built pier and dock paired with a Mudd Creek craftsman kit. I need to pick up some N scale boats and then start the shoreline.
Float planes are generally boarded from alongside, not from the front (for obvious reasons), so the planes are generally tied up parallel to a dock, not perpendicular to it. Note that small float planes do not usually have reversible props, so they cannot back up (unless the wind backs them up). Another reason to dock parallel to the pier, with enough room lengthwise to approach and depart via forward motion. Note that selective compression could be applied to the latter aspect. A windsock would make a great addition to your scene! See this photo, where they use two parallel piers to keep the planes' wingtips apart (these are much larger float planes, but even small planes' wings will extend over the pier/dock): Vancouver International Water Airport on Google Maps https://goo.gl/maps/6XqGNx62uwWzaofA6 We visited there last summer before departing on a Rocky Mountaineer train trip (that was fantastic!!!) Unfortunately, we did not take one of these sightseeing flights. We had dinner at a nearby outdoor restaurant where we watched the float planes come and go. Across the bay was a floating gas station island for both aviation and boat fuel. There were underground hoses/pipes for supplying the station from tanks onshore. However, this is YOUR layout, and YOUR vision of what YOU want. First rule of MRR applies: Do what YOU want!
BigJake, I like the windsock idea. Since this is a removable diorama, I have the option to make it bigger to accommodate a different pier layout. In my travels, I’ve seen floatplanes moored in all sorts of positions with the dock. Still experimenting on this one.
So, this will be a removable part of your overall layout? That's a really cool idea! Do you have ideas for different scenic modules to "plug in" from time to time? The modeled area is a smallish place, so the docks could be shared with small boats too? I keep thinking about the show Port Protection Alaska, but this seems much smaller than that. Taller commercial fishing boats would interfere with aircraft parked nearby, but maybe small, open, row boats, outboard runabouts, jet-skis, etc. could co-exist. If nothing else, a small motorboat could go fetch unmoored planes and tow them back to the docks!
The structures will be in removable sections for ease in packing and moving the layout. I’ll strategically place alignment pins between the base and the structure elements to make reassembly easy.
Where did you get the dock and building, a kit, scratch built? I love float planes also, and it looks like the Yellow one would fit in the Slip, I think it is called? I also own that Yellow aircraft, but not the float version, yet Are they all Osborn aircraft?
The picture above was our first real trip with the boat and was to Idaho and then to Canada. Above we are at Priest Lake, ID and the plane behind our boat landed and then tied up on the other side of the dock for a bit. I didn't get a picture of that but... ... got the one above as they were leaving. We were the only sailboat at the dock. Lots of power boats on the lake. It was a beautiful lake and we were able to take (motor) the sailboat up a beautiful river to the lake above it, Upper Priest Lake, and that was a unique experience. Doubt anyone is interested but ( HERE ) is a link to the trip. We learned a lot on that trip and got lucky a couple times. Sumner Sumner
The building is Moony’s Plumbing from Bar Mills with some artistic license. The wharf and dock are scratch built with basswood and bamboo skewers for the pilings. I used tichy barrels in the dock for floats.
The Piper Cub and De Havilland Beaver are Osborn kits and the biplane is an F-toys kit. It is 1/144, so a little big, but still works. Actually, the cub seems a little small. I’m thinking of reconfiguring the dock, not sure yet.
