I have continued work on my scenery. The masking tape has been applied over the cardboard webbing and plaster has been applied over a small portion.

I used a 50/50 mix of plaster of paris and fine vermiculite, per Joe's Scenery DVD. I mixed in some baking powder to retard the setting. I can't remember how much, it was what was recommended in the video. I think the cool basement also helped keep things slow. I had no setting up in the time I was working with it.

I added a few teaspoons of burnt umber paint tint to provide some color. I had read about this in Dave Frary's scenery book and it seemed to work pretty well. I think that I will need less if I can get the bottle shook up better. It had been sitting on the shelf of the paint store a long time and seemed to have settled quite a lot. I will post back with a more precise measure when I do.

I applied the plaster with a putty knife until I had used most of the mixture. I added some water to what little remained to make a very watery mix. Putting on a latex glove, I dipped my fingers in the soupy mixture and used them to smooth and shape the plaster countours into what you see here. That worked really well. I was really able to get some of the areas nicely shaped. For instance, the edges by the faciaI was able to work the plaster mix right up onto the edge.

The end result was a fairly strong textured surface. It has an almost rubbery texture. I have not tested how strong it is, but I am impressed with how it came out. I am really looking forward to finishing off the rest of the scene!

One part of the process I skipped was painting over the masking tape with a thinned earth color. I really wanted to slap some plaster on so I decided to skip the step and see how things came out. It worked pretty well but it did seem like the plaster would slide around on the tape as I applied it. I will try putting some paint on the tape and  see if that helps. Another thing I did not do use was Joe's method for handling the scenery where it meets the facia. I didnt think that removing the facia was going to be an issue for this layout so I brought the whole thing right up to the edge.

I need to make a decision about the backdrop. The scene I am trying to replicate has a much deeper hillside. I have considered trying to paint in a hillside between the peak of the hill on the left and the edge of the hill on the right. It would be a very nice effect but I am concerned the quality of my artwork would reduce the overall appearance of the scene.

My idea is to paint in an earth colored first layer for the slope then paint in heavily with tree shapes. When viewed behind a screen of trees I am hoping a camera shot of the bridge would have a lot of depth and give the appearance that the entire scene is set on the slope of a tall hill.

More likely I will content myself with just painting a few rows of trees directly behind ridge. That will provide some depth  without taxing my limited backdrop skills.

Anyway, this is all coming around nicely. I still have to tackle the bridge and the abutments. I know I just need to "get it done" but I am having fun with the scenic countours. I still have some time before it has to be in place. Maybe after I have planted some trees on the back ridge so I can get them off my work bench..

Chris