Two things I have thought about today. 1. I have to get better at before and after photos. 2. BluTac and rubber gloves don't mix. Here is the after photo of the ute at the oil depot.
I wanted to to have a truck loading at the oil depot so I cut it in two to fit. I put a couple of full drums in the back. The two closest to the backscene are half height to cater for the wheel arches. I originally cut it in two but while writing this post I thought that I could do it just a little better. The tray was removed and filled with drums. It looked okay but before all the glue tried I went back to the layout and removed the tray from the backscene. I then cut the rear of the cab off and stuck it to the tray and then stuck it all back onto the backscene once more. The ute was a Micro Metals model which I bought from the Model Railroad Craftsman in Blacktown. Before I painted this bloke below, he was wearing all grey, just like the bloke above. I put on my rubber gloves and thought that BluTac would be great to hold him up. BluTac is great and it doesn't stick to fingers but it does to rubber gloves. It was nothing dramatic just a little awkward and almost comical. This chap is now placed on the layout next to his chopped up ute discussing his load, or football with the other bloke. I was thinking while I was painting his long sleeve shirt blue that maybe in Australia he would be wearing short sleeves. In the sixties or seventies, maybe just a singlet or no shirt at all. Fortunately the oil depot promotes sun safe clothing so a long sleeve King-Gee shirt it is.
I reckon I might have finished the oil depot now. The dairy might be done too. The next step is to put down some static grass. Until next time.
I painted the doors again. I'm not sure if it's just me but Humbrol paints seem to be thinner than they used to be. Other than that there is not much to report. I did however, update my other blog on the main layout. This blog started before Billabong Marina was even thought of. Check it out here: http://sapphirecoastline.blogspot.com.au/ Until next time.
I have to admit that the weather lately hasn't been convenient for airbrushing when I do all of this outside. I used to be able to to do this inside but I decided to build a layout where my workbench is. I have been able to squeeze in some painting over the last week.
The bakery has been painted. The doors need another coat of yellow and the whole thing could do with a bit of dulling down. Then the windows need to be glazed, backed with black cardboard, like the dairy, and then glued to the layout. But... before that happens I'm going to add a backscene to that side of the layout. It will be 6 cm taller but will provide a scenic divide from the top level of the main layout. I'm hoping that this will happen this coming weekend. I need to paint a backboard for the main layout too. I was thinking of adding a platform and replacing the lower two windows with doors but I decided against it. It would mean that when the yellow doors were open, one of these doors would obscure the loading platform and one of the doors to the platform. The wagons are shunted into the factory. If the layout is to be operated separately then the wagons can be parked in front of the yellow doors. The other bit of painting was the oil depot.
I used Rustoleum white primer and hand painted a Humbrol brown on the doors and windows. They will need a couple of coats over the next couple of days. I should do something with the wood underneath too. I reckon that lists are good as they can provide some goals for the week. Here are some things to do: 1. Paint the yellow doors and the brown doors. 2. Paint the ply under the oil depot to represent concrete. 3. Dull the bakery. 4. Ballast the line to the bakery. 5. Put some static grass down around the dairy and glue on some milk urns. 6. Get cracking on the backscene. Until next time.
I confess that I have been distracted from the marina for the last five weeks. The other layout has taken too much of my time. Check it out here.
One of the jobs was to paint and attach some H beam onto the dairy wall to act as a conduit for the wires attached to the lights in the awning. Five weeks later and the job is done. If you look carefully, you can see the H beam. During the process the sign came off the dairy. I'll need to glue that back on.
I also primed the future bakery.
Next to add a bit more paint, find the windows that are stashed in a safe place, and paint some doors. From here the famous "Billabong Pies" as well as biscuits, cakes, etc, will travel across the state. I performed a quick Google search. The name doesn't exist so I'm claiming it. I also primed the fuel depot as well.
