Grass in Villeneuve

It's been a while since I posted something related to our current layout. But last Thursday was a good occasion to make substantial progress in Villeneuve, including the ditches.

As you can clearly see, the ballasting process is nearing completion. It really helps to blend the tracks onto the layout and make the yard much more impressive.

I'm also quite satisfied with my homemade ballast. I think I finally found a recipe that works well for my prototype and that can be easily altered to fit a particular track, be it main line or siding.

Work also resumed on scenery with a new wood retaining wall made out of stained matches. This spot will hold a relay box as per prototype. The still water in the ditches is simply MDF painted with dark brown and black paint blended on spot.

Grass was put by hand directly on fresh paint and white glue. Nothing fancy, but once again, I was working with prototype pictures of Villeneuve shot in the mid-2000s in the right season. Before applying the grass, some vegetal debris, green scenery foam to represent small plants and other bulk material were sprinkled to give texture to the soil.

Keep in mind this is only the first pass. Some small shrubs and more grass need to be added, however, I'll wait both grade crossings are done before the final touch.