A New Alcove for Wieland

Another significant step toward completing Wieland was made this week. A new alcove now create a visual separation between the furnace room and the layout.

The first idea was to create a curved backdrop to create a smooth transition. However, our cardboard mockup clearly prooved this solution wasted a lot of space, making the siding too short to hold a 65ft car. Also, the visual gain wasn't as interesting as we first thought. Sure, it was seamless on paper, but in reality, the tight radius created non trivial shadows that nullified the wanted effect.

At the end of the day, a pragmatic approach was taken and a rectangular box built. Louis-Marie also wanted the alcove to be easily removable if the furnace requires maintenance in the future.

Given Hedley-Junction isn't a museum-level diorama, but a working layout, it was a compromise we were ready to do. However, the alcove was enlarged so it wouldn't be too distracting. It must also be noted I don't expect this spot to be a place where we shoot photos. For this reason, I believe it is less crucial. Lighting modulation and scene composition will be used to make sure the hole in the wall isn't the main focus of the scene.