The continuing improvements.
During the building of this railway I have learnt lots of new modelling techniques, and occasionally I look back at what I have already made to see if there is a better way of doing it. I recently starting to plan out where I intend to have the model people on the platform and realised that the medium I had originally used for the platform surface was, although aesthetically pleasing, somewhat uneven and did not allow the people to stand correctly. As I type this I am still yet to decide if I am going to glue the people directly to the model or if I am going to mount them on stands separately. However I did decide that if I left the platform surface as it was I would have no alternative but to paste them directly to the model as they would not stand for long on their own accord. However if I change the surface to something flatter then I would have the choice to mount them either way.
So I needed to find a way to resurface the platforms without causing too much unecessary damage to the rest of the layout. At first I considered complete removal of the platforms and building new ones, but I decided against this because the platforms are largely hollow, made from foamboard but the hollow compartments are filled with expanding foam, and to start again would mean having to cut all this away and would be a very time consuming job. I then had a though about sanding down the existing surface, but after a test rub down I realised that this could take an age to do and still may not be a flat surface once finished. Then it struck me, just as roads are re-surfaced sometimes by just pooring a new covering of tarmac on top of the original, I too could cover the original surface with premixed pollyfiller (the stuff you buy in the tubes) and once it is dry using a palm sander, I could sand it down flat. This worked and gave me just the solid flat surface that I was looking for.
(See pics below).
So I needed to find a way to resurface the platforms without causing too much unecessary damage to the rest of the layout. At first I considered complete removal of the platforms and building new ones, but I decided against this because the platforms are largely hollow, made from foamboard but the hollow compartments are filled with expanding foam, and to start again would mean having to cut all this away and would be a very time consuming job. I then had a though about sanding down the existing surface, but after a test rub down I realised that this could take an age to do and still may not be a flat surface once finished. Then it struck me, just as roads are re-surfaced sometimes by just pooring a new covering of tarmac on top of the original, I too could cover the original surface with premixed pollyfiller (the stuff you buy in the tubes) and once it is dry using a palm sander, I could sand it down flat. This worked and gave me just the solid flat surface that I was looking for.
(See pics below).