The Beck Bridge - Flowers and Fences

A few hours on Saturday morning saw the Beck Bridge diorama really come to life, with the fixing in place of the concrete fence and scenic treatment around it, plus various extra bits of plant life added to the scene. I am now at a point where I can consider it completed, but in no way finished as there are a few items to add that are still in the works.

The yellow flowers are MiniNature products whilst the red and purple ones are Noch/Gaugemaster laser cut examples, some of which were interesting to extract from the packaging in one piece and one particular plant end up being used in smaller pieces in several places, which has actually been quite effective. I've also experimented with the Peco brown grass tufts, cutting small sections off to add into the grass areas, then cutting them about a bit with nail scissors.

The static grass tufts have had a dry-brush with a grey-green colour to remove the shininess and tone the colour down a little and I've also used weathering powders to add some more tones to the ground cover, notably the track and ballast.

The eagle eyed will see that the fence hides another seaside attraction, the Model Village. The sign was manipulated from a photo found online, printed on photo paper and then sprayed with matt varnish. I then distressed the edges and corners to make it look like it was painted on plywood and de-laminating. The pile of junk in front is not secured in place and is just a test to see what works there, the area looks too empty without anything but I don't want to overcrowd it. Maybe a stack of new sleepers might do the trick?

Thoughts then turned to how to store the diorama and as I have tentatively said it will accompany 'The Old Quarry Line' for an appearance in July, it needs some form of box. Not wanting to go to the extent of a hardboard/timber cover I have opted for a cardboard box modified to suit, the idea being that it will then sit in a stacking crate. Having appropriated a cardboard box that a computer monitor was delivered in, I cut it down considerably in height and also cunningly reduced the length to that required to fit the diorama. Bubble wrap both protects the diorama and also makes a convenient way to actually remove it from the box!

There will now most likely be a short intermission in progress as I need to get a certain layout ready for the 7mm NGA show in Burton....

Colin