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Confession time. As long as I've been involved in model railroading, I've never used static grass. That's not entirely true. For many years I've used the Farm Pasture Blend from Scenic Express as my base scenery layer, both on the IAIS Grimes Line and now on The Hills Line. To my eye, the blend does … Continue reading In The Weeds
Construction continues on the Eldon C. Stutsman tank farm at the south end of The Hills Line. After finishing the individual buildings, I ran them through the paint booth to get the base color applied. Spray paint made the process fast and simple, especially since most structures were flat white or metallic gray. I did … Continue reading Tank Farm, Part Two
With the completion of the Surroundings Interiors warehouse, I can finally get to work on one of the biggest visual concerns on The Hills Line, the Hill Track. On the prototype, the Hill Track connects the Iowa Interstate's yard in Iowa City with the Maiden Lane interchange on the industrial spur. On the layout, it … Continue reading Now You See It…
Even when it's nothing more than a base layer of scenery, seeing bare benchwork turn into a real-world representation is both cathartic and gratifying. My methods on The Hills Line are nothing ground breaking and follow well-established practices in the hobby. My base material of choice is Scenic Textures Farm-Pasture Blend, available from Scenic Express. By … Continue reading From the Ground Up
The Hills Line 