The rear of the shed is littered with scraps of wood, an old hose, empty oil drums, and barrels. The ground cover is a bit rougher as it nears the creek bed, actually helping to define it.

Larger rocks are sunk down into the the creek itself, then envirotex resin is poured to form the creek. An old abandoned motor truck would be a nice touch, sunken down into the mud and water!

Tread marks from the tractors are visible in the upper right of the photo. This an important detail and easy to create.

Notice the small puddle of water at the end of the hose. It was created with a drop of envirotex. It is easily overlooked details like this that adds a sense of realism to the entire scene. Even though a viewer mat not notice it specifically, it is the cumulative effect of details like this that makes the diorama and its elements look so realistic.

Keep larger debris away from the open doorway as you do not want anything to obstruct the movement of rolling stock into the shed. This doorway was originally designed with large doors, but it was hard to justify their existence in an open-style structure like the repair shed!

Notice the oil soaked boards between the rails of the abandoned siding as well as the random clutter. Small bits of wood, styrene rusted to look like pipes, and bent wire representing hoses are easy to make and when mixed with the proper ground cover and castings finishes the scene off nicely.

The tractor side features the BEST model 60 crawler under repair. A crate of treads and spare parts are located around the beastie. Special “rough-cut” boards are used as flooring to create and visual separation between the tractor and logging side of the structure.

The rear wall of the logging side is crammed with details. When peeking through the open doorway this clutter is very effective in creating a scene of an old, well used repair facility overflowing with saved junk. In my mind the absolute “essence” of a backwoods logging company!

A great contrast is achieved by using drab gray tarpaper and the rusted ribbed aluminum. The frayed edges of the metal roofing expose just a hint of the underlying roof base.

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