HOW TO CREATE A MUDDY FOREST TRACK
EXPERT MODELLERS SHOW YOU HOW
Peter Marriott set about building a cameo scene set in the West Highlands of Scotland, but he needed a suitably rough forest track – here’s how he did it.
Peter’s cameo scene depicts a spillage of freshly felled logs being cleared by Forestry Commission staff, overseen by a Network Rail team.
PETER MARRIOTT
My imagination often wanders back to the West Highland Line, as the majesty of the Scottish route is hard to forget once you’ve travelled through the mountains and glens. The rail-borne timber traffic that was once so prevalent in BR days also left a lasting impression and is something I’ve modelled on numerous occasions.
Recently, the urge to replicate a Highland scene returned, inspired partly by new scenic products, a set of figures and a sound module.
The scene that emerged depicts teams of workers from Network Rail and the Forestry Commission who, having felled lineside vegetation, are working to clear away the timber by road. Alas, something has gone wrong, with a load of logs being shed down an embankment, lying dangerously close to the West Highland Line.
Despite my original inspiration, this is a scene that is not uniquely Scottish, so modellers may wish to incorporate something similar on their own layouts – wherever they’re set – if the tracks run close to a wooded area.
A key element of this scene is the Forestry Commission track, roughly hewn into the landscape and with a decidedly muddy surface. Its creation allowed me to test some new ‘mud’ products from WW Scenics, which can be simply painted onto a prepared surface. Drying to a convincing texture and colour, the ‘mud’ can be enhanced further by adding tyre tracks, rutting, potholes and puddles.