Still more about creating the landscape

I spent today's session laying the last of the roadbed supply, then went to get more before work. Plenty to do tomorrow, now!

I also did some more carving, mostly forming the river shore on the branch line right by Commercial Metals and Ergon Inc. I cut the 1" foam at an angle to form bits of river, hopefully enough to suggest a large body of water lying just "beyond the layout," and put in the actual river surface in the form of foam core board that I had lying around. Will post pictures soon -- we're due for a progress gallery.

To blend the banks into the water, I used lightweight spackle. I have been using the same stuff to form "fillets" between the track-level ground and the bottoms of the foam hills, in order to blend them together a little bit and not have these abrupt corners. It doesn't stick to foam all that well, and is kind of like trying to spread cake frosting on a floured board. But with a very light touch it is workable, and it sticks and sands well when it dries.

The ditch-carving described in the last post will take quite some time, as it involves a lot of thinking as well as a lot of doing. Where would the water drain here? Does this look realistic? Am I overdoing it? I am also trying to add a little texture and "undulation" to places on the foam board where things are just a little too flat and table-like.