Finally some ground cover

I have gotten started on covering the painted styrofoam with "dirt" and some vegetation. I have been using "dirt" and gravel from Arizona Stone Company. This place grinds up big ricks into scale rocks of a consistent color. So the dirt is really powder rock, then on top goes bigger pieces, etc. All from the same type of rock. This gives us consistent color with variation within the type of rock. I chose Apache Stone which comes very close to matching the rock and dirt in Dolores CO - what I am modeling. So the layers are a patch of dilute Elmers white glue, then sprinkle on the base color or dirt, then a spotty level of larger gravel. Then I add some very fine ground foam in a burnt green color as I model the fall. This is added to with a little darker green fine ground foam. Then a few sprinkles of very dark ground foam, some light color ground foam, and finally in places even larger rocks. Everything is then soaked in 70% isopropyl alcohol, followed with a coating of matte medium which has been diluted as well. The alcohol seeps into the material, and then the matte medium follows it so that when it drys it is solid. I am about 1/4 of the way done, but have family visiting so no progress for the next week or so. No problem as we are very excited to have them all visit - another blipper who got me started, her husband (my brother), their sons, one wife, and three grand children. It will be way fun.

Once I get all of the ground cover done, I get to fire up the Noch Grassmaster and start planting various shades of late fall grasses in various lengths - from 2mm to 6mm (4 to about 12 inches in scale). Final step will be weed tuffs from Scenery Express. Then I can finish weathering the track and finish the ballasting (rocks between the ties).

This is all sort of tedious but is really like painting a picture - but with material rather than paint.