Recently I began work on the park for my layout. This is situated on a 2 inch thick square of white bead board that is a lift out area. There's a covered picnic area, plenty of space for traditional picnics on the grass, a playground for the crumb snatchers, a mailbox, antique phone booth and assorted trash cans. There's also a magnificent looking K4 as a centerpiece which will eventually have a fence around it. Now for the K4. I took this old beat-up loco and cleaned it up:
And now it looks like this: Here's a birds-eye view of the scene. The open areas around the section will be covered by strips of cardstock covered with bushes and assorted clump foliage.
Jeff Looks like an excellent start just add some more tables and maybe some horseshoe pits. A pair of his and hers outhouses too.
Better get a barbed wire fence around the display engine - otherwise the graffiti will start showing up...!
What about footways? Here in Europe you would have footways and are not allowed to leave them. :angel: Wolfgang
I think it is a creative and nice addition to any layout, Jeff, an I applaud your efforts. So far I think it looks very good. Some thoughtful advice offered by others already. As Wolfgang suggests, perhaps a boardwalk or beaten path or two approaching the tables and engine compound. For appearances sake, if you don't mind further suggestions for improvement of the overall appeal, particularly in subsequent images, you should probably make the outer pillars on the picnic shelter more vertical. It may just be an artefact of imaging, but it seems to me that they are tilted inward at the bottom. Great idea, and you get full credit. -Crandell
They are tilted inwards at the bottom. The pillars are tilted inwards at the bottom, for what reason, but they're like that way all the way up to the roof. I'll have to see if I can heat them a little and bend them out.
I've since added a VFW monument. The mailbox has been removed and is now beside Mr Smith's gas station.
i like the giant Air Conditioner shaped building in the background of the first pic ok, I admit, I a geek
That's the good thing with model pictures. When you discover something at the pic you didn't like, you can make another pic. Don't ask me how often this happens. :angel: Wolfgang
Here's most of the items I picked up yesterday. Two boxes of green shade trees. Three packs of figures. Satin pins and tulle (material used for wedding veils) that will be used in fence construction. I also picked up a new Bachmann Silver Series flat car. Not shown is a jar of fine gray blend ballast.
The park has been rearranged a bit. I moved the loco over to the right side and rearranged the playground equipment and benches near it to make room for the baseball diamond. It's small as ball fields go but the kids are enjoying it at this moment. I'll get photos after the glue dries.
You've provided me with some excellent suggestions for the park that will be a part of the layout I'm building. A river and large lake are the scenic "stars" of the layout along with a long bluff with rock and trees, dead and alive. A park will be located on one side of the lake. There will be a boat docking area, boat repair shop and some of the suggestions from your pike. Thank you.
