I decided to combine October 27, 29, and 30 into one post.

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10/27/16 - More Changes

I've decided to pull up the deciduous trees. I originally wanted to go for a late fall/early winter type of look, but that just isn't going to work with this winter layout.

I have ordered new tree armatures so I can make 5 (5-7" tall) new deciduous trees with no leaves. It will be more fitting to the winter look of the diorama. I should have those early next week and it will take me an evening to get the trees formed and to add "snow" to them. It's a pretty simple process to pull the old ones up and glue the new ones back in place, and it really doesn't mess up anything. Once I get them back in I'll re-snow around them and you'll never know anything happened. 

I did get the remainder of the stone wall in for the park, and I got that painted and installed. I also went back and re-snowed the entire layout, but mostly focusing on those areas that didn't have much snow to start with, and I really think that it looks much better now. 

I also have a few more people on the way that are three older couples in coats (click on image), and I'll place them on the sidewalks once they arrive. 

I'm still seriously considering adding a "Just Plug" car to the scene. The Just Plug vehicles have working lights and would be a great addition to the diorama. All of their current vehicles are generally from the 1940's to 1950's era and I'd really like a vehicle a little older, so we'll see. (2323 Note - I added three cars to the scene)

I'll have some additional images that will reflect all of the recent changes once I change the trees out.

10/29/16 - Making trees

The tree armatures arrived today, so while I was sitting around watching a football game, I decided to make and paint the trees. 

The Woodland Scenic's armatures came in a package of 12 and are 5-7" tall and they come flat in the package. I used Woodland Scenic's Flex Paste to add snow to the trees after I twisted and bent the branches into shape. I'll lightly spray them with Scenic Cement and dust them with the fake snow just to add more texture to the Flex Paste. The bases don't get used as the armatures have pins on the bottom that I can just press into the plaster, but they are a great way to hold the trees while they dry. If you were actually making these deciduous trees, the stands would be great for holding the trees after adding the leafy material. These trees are going to be a better fit for the rest of the layout versus the fall colored deciduous trees. 

The six little old people arrived with the trees, so those will get glued down tomorrow along with the trees. More pictures then.

10/30/16 - Done?

Other than gluing down 2-3 little people and re-dusting with snow... I declare this thing done. 🙂

Leafless deciduous trees were added last night along with a 4 little people, so there really isn't much left to do! I'm sure I'll nitpick little things along the way,  but everything that I wanted to do has been done. I would like to do something different with the bonfire (I need flames) and still considering adding a vehicle. I'd love to find a horse pulling a sleigh but I've come up empty handed so far. I still need to glue down two more people.

It's been a fun project. I had no clue what I was getting into when I started and I've learned a lot along the way.

I've had people ask me how much did it cost to build this. A lot! 🙂 I still have materials left over and I initially had to buy some tools, but I've spent more than $600 from Woodland Scenic alone. Granted, most all of the products and accessories I used came from Woodland Scenic, so it was the majority of the build. But if you include the frame materials and the things that I've purchased elsewhere (I bought some Woodland Scenic products at Hobby Lobby), and not including the houses, I probably have $800 in materials. We purchased the houses off of eBay and those were approximately $50-65 each, and there are 7 of those on the diorama. I added lots of detail to the layout, so you could do it cheaper, it all depends on how you want it to look. 

At this point, I wouldn't  be afraid to tackle a larger, more complex project (trains?) in the future. I think I will be taking our Nativity scene and building a diorama around it... 🙂 Can I have it done before the holidays? 🙂 If you'd like to find out... stay tuned! 

The pictures in the first gallery below were taken with a GoPro Hero4 camera. It was set to 7 mp medium perspective and set to night mode. I used the GoPro app on a tablet to control the camera and take the pictures. I just set the camera down and look at the tablet screen to see what the camera is looking at and readjust my view if necessary. The shutter (if you call it that) stays open quite a while on the night pictures, so it's nice being able to do all of the camera control from the app. 

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