Redwood Forest at Wrights

I survived the LD/OPSIG layout operating session, and the folks attending sure looked like they were having fun. After they left, I finally had time for some of the messy scenery projects I didn't dare do before the operating session.



Wrights, in Los Gatos Canyon, was where the summit tunnel punched under the mountains and through the San Andreas fault. The photos of Wrights from the 1930's always make it look spooky -- the abandoned village up in some dark, tree filled canyon. Lots of pine trees, high hills, and poor layout lighting look like they'll make Wrights feel spooky enough. Here's photos of at least 30 Woodland Scenics trees on the hillside, and there's still room for plenty more. I also finally got the courage to paint the backdrop. It may not be very good painting, but it'll do just fine for the backdrop.



The 1930's pictures also show some old wooden buildings across Los Gatos creek. At least one was a packing shed for fruit grown in the hills around Wrights. Here's my model on its own and temporarily set in the scenery. The building is just plain white styrene; there's no paint here. I distressed the styrene, carved in warped boards and gaps, and washed it with india ink, dusted on some chalk dust, and ended up with a building that looks like it's been left up in the woods too long.
I've also read about techniques that use white acrylic paint as the base, then texture the paint coat to get a similar look.