A change of pace I see, very

A change of pace I see, very nice.

Look forward to seeing more.

looks great, Marc.

Can't wait to see the moose and beaver!  Signature parts of the Canadian landscape.

Blair

Great first effort

I love the pond scum idea.  I saw plenty of that when I was a kid playing in the woods and fields.

A little bog inspiration

Not even as big as that diorama but I present to you "Bob's Bog" which came about to fill a small gap in my layout benchwork between two different thicknesses of material.

Mock up of what the final version will look like

I finished the basic ground cover and bushes on the diorama and decided to put the various bits and pieces together to get a sense of how it will look.  I still need to add static grass, cat tails, reeds, trees and telegraph poles but I am liking how this seems to be coming together. 

I have also started work on the poles and trees with grey washes to get a less brown look to them.  I trimmed some of the branches on the Woodland Scenics trees to see if I can get a more black spruce look to them. 

Most of the telegraph poles in photos are a very weathered grey colour, so I'm aiming for that.  More washes and paint to come.  

Looking good

What are you planning to use for water? Mine is two part epoxy resin but as I said, it's a very small area compared to that. The Envirotex is my go to though and I have made bigger pours. I love water features of all types so I will continue to follow with interest.

A culvert

If there is water on both sides of the track there is probably a culvert under the track somewhere.   Drainage, drainage, drainage especially with beavers "engineering"  the water flow.

Nice work so far.  Looks like my beloved U.P. of Michigan!

Robert

water = plexiglass with Modge Podge gloss

I plan to try using the Plexiglass as the water base and add Modge Podge gloss for ripples and surface texture.  I have a pile of the Plexiglass from an office remodel and have kept it with the idea of using it as a water surface.  I'm going to paint a panel under the Plexiglass to get colour and depth as well as being able to change it out to give variation in photos.  I'll also be changing up the backdrop as well to get variation.  It is cheap to print photo backdrops so that is another option for variety.  

Culvert is just out of view

The culvert is just off the edge of the diorama...

I thought about adding one but figured since this is my first attempt I would save it for the next time I am doing scenery.  

Marc Simpson

last section of base texture is done

Now I need to get the static grass down so I can start adding trees, telegraph poles and other details to finish this up.

1st pass static grass

I borrowed a Scooters Static Stick from my friend Mike M to see if I could apply static grass to the diorama.  I picked up a few different lengths of Woodland Scenics static grass in some colours that I thought approached those on the photo backdrop.

  Sloppy grass tufts.  Better luck next time

I tried doing some grass tufts/reeds first but I am finding the 12mm fibers are a bit too big for the applicator, or perhaps it is operator error.  I'll retry with some 4mm fibers and see how that goes.  I followed some of the ideas in Luke Towan's Youtube tutorial about using a piece of plywood with holes drilled in it to keep the fibers upright and I think that  looks very promising.  

I put a layer of 2mm light green grass on the diorama, trying to keep it on the slopes and above the break in the slope where it goes to the water.  That will get different treatment.  I like these initial results, I'll be adding some 4mm grass as well to get some areas with taller grass.  

I picked up some Vallejo Weathering Effects Thick Black Mud (73.812) as it seems pretty close to the black muck you often see in swampy areas of the north.  I used a skewer and a small artist trowel to apply the mud to the bottom of the ditch and at selected spots on the lakeshore.  I like how it looks; now to get more overgrowth and such applied.  

Grass and bushes

I have progressed along with another layer of grass that I think adds sufficient depth to the slopes.  I also sprinkled some yellow Woodland Scenics "pollen" to represent some flowers in a few areas as this is common.  

I dug up some "Halloween Hay" that my wife found a few years ago.  It is black spun polyester that works well for bushes.  Some cheap hairspray  and various ground foams gives a nice look without looking bulky.  

More grass tufts have been added to the flat areas, and I have put bushes over the muddy ditch to blend it in a bit more.  A few more passes with bushes and tufts and I can start on the water.  

Northbound

@Marc

Marc,

Nice looking mucky swampy water!  That's something that isn't often modeled - you've done a great job capturing the "feel" of just such a place.

Al Carter, Mount Vernon, WA

Southbound VIA Hudson Bay from Churchill

The southbound VIA Hudson Bay passes through typical northern Manitoba scenery.

Compilation of bog thread

I have set up a Blogspot blog to compile the various threads on this blog into one coherent(?) post.  You can visit the compiled posts here:  https://hudbayrailway.blogspot.com/

I'm calling it done

I'm pretty happy with how this one has turned out, plenty of photo opportunities in a 36" diorama.

Bravo Marc! A pleasure to

Bravo Marc! A pleasure to see.