Slide show highlighting how the scenery was constructed using polystyrene. Non-Flash / Iphone users please sroll down for photos. Also scrool down for video blog.

The basic form was built up using strips of expanded polystyrene. It was shaped using the Woodland Scenics hot-wire cutter. PVA glue was used to fix the strips to each other and to the timber. Woodland Scenics pins were used to hold the polysytrene in place until the glue had set.

The modules were linked together to ensure that there was a smooth flow and transition at module joints. The fill was then built up in the same way. The polystyrene was covered with a very cheap plaster bandage from my local high street craft store (less than a third of the price of the plaster bandage from my model store).

The rock faces were cast using Woodlands Scenics Lightweight Hydrocal and also their rock moulds. Lightweight Hydrocal is wonderful; easy to use, strong, quick setting, easy to cut and incredibly light in weight - particularly useful for portable modules. The rocks were cast in the mould and arranged around the layout. The rock face was built up using numerous castsing from the same moulds - inverted, turned through various angles, cut up / cut to fit (see photo above). The gaps were simply filled with more Hydrocal. Really easy! The polystyrene is removed in the photos to show the tunnel lining.

The scenery is simply carved polystyrene with plaster bandage.

As the layout progresses, I will take photos of the same parts of the layout at different stages of development.

The video blog shows a start on the scenery. The scenery is plaster bandage over polystyrene. Rocks are lightweight hydrocal from Woodland Scenics cast using their rock moulds - all obtained from Model Junction. After the mountains had been built, the next job was to create long lengths of rock face.

Building up the mountains with expanded polystyrene .

After the expanded polystyrene has been cut to shape, plywood profiles are cut to fit the ends of the modules. Originally, the fill was going to run the full length of the layout but I changed my mind. Open-top baseboards are very flexible and allow you to do this.

Originally there was a Kato bridge installed on the layout but I couldn't resist the BLMA brass offering. If you look closely, you can see the cut-out where the support for the Kato bridge used to reside. The top of the backboard also needed levelling.