Tunnel Portals

My latest project is a tunnel portal. I want to get the first tunnel closed up so that I can start shaping the mountain. 

I'm using Woodland Scenics Timber Tunnel Portals for the first of 4 tunnels.  I'm not sure what I will use for future tunnels. I'll decided later. 

The portals are plaster cast with pretty good detail.  There is some flash that needs to be filed off, but overall there is little prep work.  

I chose to use Woodland Scenics paint for this project.  You can use just about any paint that works on plaster.  I wanted to use Burnt Umber.  Its reddish brown in color.  Its a bit more expensive than the traditional acrylic paints you can buy in craft stores, but even with hundreds of color choices at Michaels, I still couldn't find a good brown.

Here is the almost finished product.  I still need to add some detail colors and weathering, which I will do with some paint and a bit of chalk.

  

I also painted the sides of the roadbed in the tunnel.  I used a latex paint.  Nutmeg is the color.  When it dries, I will ballast the track and start closing up the tunnel.  

Tunnels and Train Stations

I've been spending more and more time on the layout lately.  It's coming along, but its also a bit behind schedule. I had planned on building two module frames a month, which means I should now have 6 built, but I only have 4.  I guess I'll try to get two more built this month.  

This is the main passenger station for the Twin Lakes & Western Scenic RR.  I'm working on the last few details including:  windows, doors, real clocks for the clock tower, and interior / exterior lighting. I also need to do a bit of weathering to the roof.  

This is looking down module 2 and module 1.  I extended the main road onto module 2, which creates a RR crossing seen at the bottom of the pic. To the left, on the near side of the tracks, will be a drive in movie theater.  Farther down on the left will be a KFC, McDonalds, Taco Bell and a Shell Station.  Some sort of small light industry will fill the area on the right side of the road.

I painted the roof piece of the tunnel.

The walls of the tunnel are painted black. I've used dark grey in the past, but this time I want it to be dark in the tunnel. Now I need to paint the roadbed and rails, then ballast before closing up the tunnel.

Looking uphill through the tunnel site.