Soyokaze Hill Build

The as yet to be re-named Soyokaze Hill is in full effect. :)

The section is toward the back of the layout, filling in a small section of the space between the layout and the wall. The suggestion was made and I gave it some thought, then started to see some upsides to the whole of it.

I could continue my Harbor Road and my farm area if I did it. Two rather major items in that section. And, doing it wouldn't mean that access would be cut off - I can still get behind the layout.


I used foam for the base and hill and sandpaper for the road instead of Smooth-it. I thought this would cut down on weight. I marked off where the farm and road hit and started planning.

I covered the foam with plaster - very rough and simple.

I mixed up a batch of paint with Elmer's Glue in it. This allowed me to lay down a base color and a layer of light green to work as a base for additional layers of scenery later.

A quick check showed that the location and alignment was working.

Another few layers of foliage and greenery were applied.

I fired in my roads and the location of the farm space.

I added a few more plant details.

Things were working rather well, so I tossed in my buildings to take a look at how they were working in the scene. Some fun stuff. :)  I was going to use artificial turf for my farm area, but I went with a simple foam dusting in layers to get a planted look. I'm not sure what the plants are, but I'll see if I can find something that has a similar look and feel in Japan.

Once the glue is dry and faded back, I'll see if I need to do an additional pass here.

The scenes line up well and once the workers are in and more equipment is in place, I think it will look good and busy with a lot of action going on! :)

I still have a lot of work to do on the harbor side of things. Road signs, line painting and more details to follow.

I also need to work the bridge into the scene with stairs and people and some additional supports. It was used on my old, old Soyokaze layout and needs to be retooled.

Thanks again to Tom Barbalet and the Model Rail Radio Crew for the awesome suggestions!

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