One scene at once..

I suspect long time readers are probably getting tired of hearing me pushing my drivel about grass. It seems the remaining work on the layout is all about applying more vegetation and after some time, it's just a case of repetition. I have, truth to be told, nothing new under the sun to share with you in terms of technical advices on this subject. However, I think sharing before and after picture may provide some kind of genuine interest and show how subtle changes can make a great difference.

The backroad in Clermont was an afterthought. The village scene and Wieland weren't intended to blend together, but at some point in time, it became almost natural they should connect. Hence, the creation of a gravel road. We had serious reservation about that, but I think it worked out fine. Louis-Marie also played with some forced perspective on the backdrop to make sure the asphalt road didn't end in the middle of nowhere. I honestly thought it would be dubious, but his little cardboard cut out just shows he was absolutely right. It will be improve and turned into a permanent feature.

In the vicinity, the hillside is also now completely covered with leaves and grass. Instead of gluing a carpet of dead leaves, I added some death grass and bushes to add more depth to the scene. I consider the results are much better than the rest of the forest and may, in the future, add some spots there to improve the scenery.

On the left, it's just crushed leaves... lacks texture!

Another spot was the locomotive shop in Wieland. It now has a nice parking lot. As with the road, when the gravel is dry, I also use a large 2" paintbrush to add a layer of powered limestone/unsanded grout to add that light dust layer so typical on mineral surfaces.

Brushing limestone powder changes everything!

The old off spot cars siding has also received more dead grass made of jute and various static grass fibers to be closer to prototype. Same thing happened with the ditches. I simply glue more material over the first layer of scenery. It adds colors, volume and textures.