Although the Niagara Escarpment System is being sceniced to represent early winter, I wanted to try modelling an autumn scene. As such, I deliberately divided one small corner of the layout with the backdrop so that I could try my hand modelling deciduous trees etc., without visually interfering with the rest of the layout.
As I envisioned the area densely wooded with maple trees, I needed to create the underbrush typical of a hardwood forest. As with the other areas on the layout, I first painted the scenery base a dark brown colour. Once the paint had thoroughly dried, I brushed on a full-strength coat of white glue and applied the honey-coloured static grass. Once the glue had completely dried, I began applying the underbrush.
First I sifted on some dirt to help establish the base. Next, I spooned on some of the ground up sticks, as well as some of the course cigar pieces. I sifted on some of the finer cigar material and finished with a small dusting of orange and red ground foam to represent fallen leaves, as well as some coarse green foam to represent varied leafy underbrush. Satisfied with the overall look, I misted the entire area with wet-water and permanently affixed everything by applying a generous amount of 50/50 water and white glue with an eyedropper.
