Construction work on my brother's layout continues... This is a typical piece of work, which I managed to do while I was down for a visit in the New Year. He's normally very busy with work, and so can only make piecemeal improvements very occasionally himself. The result is that the layout has been built at sub-glacial pace and one notices dust and deterioration affecting earlier work, while other sections of the layout still wait for attention. See that building down in the square, with the missing window? I probably built that ten years ago. The window will have fallen down inside and it's going to irk until I return and repair it :)
This particular building is at the front of the layout as you look at it from where the controller is usually placed, so it was nagging at me to do something. It was last left as a bare frame with a roof on top, so the main achievement is that it's now solid, and has basic building-like features. But it does look very shoddy around the roof line. I think when I return, this is one of the buildings I'd like to put some guttering and pipework on. The roof could also do with some detailing. Despite the messy look of the ground and brickwork to the left - it becomes the parapet over the main tunnel entrance - I'm content to have stopped at that point. The frontage is good enough to be going on with. I was pleased with the effect of the row of hydrangeas and the front door, or rather, back door. Remember, all of this effort came out of dealing with having this awkward space behind those building fronts. You can see where I've added extra depth on the left hand side, enough to make it almost realistic, but limiting it so that you still have a sense of space on the hill top.
If you're wondering about the building next along, with that door in the air, there's going to be a simple portico with a couple of columns and some steps down. Then an ash or gravel path running along behind these buildings. It needs saying that you can't easily view these buildings from this angle, or directly from behind, because the layout is up against a wall on this side. Obviously, I took the pictures by holding the camera out and using a close focus. This is why I didn't notice until later that the hydrangeas and the fence are on a substantial slope, which thankfully isn't apparent from the front.
This particular building is at the front of the layout as you look at it from where the controller is usually placed, so it was nagging at me to do something. It was last left as a bare frame with a roof on top, so the main achievement is that it's now solid, and has basic building-like features. But it does look very shoddy around the roof line. I think when I return, this is one of the buildings I'd like to put some guttering and pipework on. The roof could also do with some detailing. Despite the messy look of the ground and brickwork to the left - it becomes the parapet over the main tunnel entrance - I'm content to have stopped at that point. The frontage is good enough to be going on with. I was pleased with the effect of the row of hydrangeas and the front door, or rather, back door. Remember, all of this effort came out of dealing with having this awkward space behind those building fronts. You can see where I've added extra depth on the left hand side, enough to make it almost realistic, but limiting it so that you still have a sense of space on the hill top.
If you're wondering about the building next along, with that door in the air, there's going to be a simple portico with a couple of columns and some steps down. Then an ash or gravel path running along behind these buildings. It needs saying that you can't easily view these buildings from this angle, or directly from behind, because the layout is up against a wall on this side. Obviously, I took the pictures by holding the camera out and using a close focus. This is why I didn't notice until later that the hydrangeas and the fence are on a substantial slope, which thankfully isn't apparent from the front.
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