A phrase I have heard many times over the years describing the chaotic path you sometimes have to follow to get to your desired destination. In this case on my 009 narrow gauge layout I have had to weather the track and start on getting some of the main landscape features in place. The best way to weather the track was to airbrush it and I was not doing that in the man cave AKA The Room of Gloom! So the two boards were separated which meant moving anything loose on the boards off and then getting underneath to undo the joining bolts and wing nuts and separate the wiring. Once out of the room it was outside for an airbrushing with various browns for the rail sides and sleepers. However before I did that I was wise enough to mask the points where the blades contact the main rails. This avoids paint getting onto the contact surface and preventing electrical continuity. I will be brush painting these parts later. Although a lot slower than airbrushing the use of a brush allows a much more controlled and accurate application of the paint even with my shaky hands! If you have ever had issues with electrical contact on points you will understand the frustration that can be caused in trying to rectify it so anything that can be done to avoid issues gets a big thumbs up from me. .Working smarter, not harder as I get older! Once the paint was dry the tops of the track were cleaned with a Peco track rubber. The boards and wiring were rejoined and amazingly the loco used to test the track had no issues! Result! Yes I am still reeling from that success!
With the boards back together I have started work on putting the road in which carries on from the first board, goes over the river ( I did think of using lazy way of crossing the river and avoid a bridge by just creating a ford but then I came back to reality as the slopes down to the river would be far to steep) and through the village before crossing the track and exiting into a reality that is not modelled. Like the first board, the road surface is 2mm mounting card and I have sprayed it with some Halfords grey primer just to give it some colour. It will need to eventually be matched in shade to the road on the first board which will no doubt lead to some contributions to the swear jar as I fail to get that exact match. I think I need a cunning plan to try to deal with that. I also need to work on some pavement areas and put the bridge in so that the road can be fully fixed in place. At least I have tidied up a bit and it doesn't look to much like an omelet making franchise anymore but I guess I will be breaking a few more eggs yet as this project progresses. For some reason now, I have a desire for an omelet for dinner! Better get some eggs in.
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