Use the tractor and gently “roll” the bottom of the treads through the wet scenery base creating tread marks. Place them all over the front and right side of the repair shed. You will have to determine when the scenery base is ready for this. Too wet and the treads will simply pick up the mud. Experiment a little with your timing to get it just right. After the tread marks have been added create the show stopper of a scene with the CAT and all the junk and clutter. Each casting is glued in place first with a few drops of white glue. Use extra glue to secure the CAT.
Study the photographs carefully noting how the details and clutter are layered and appear natural. Once all of the castings are added, texture is created around them on top of the plain scenery base by first adding fine to medium ground up bark/forest floor debris including finely sifted grey sand for that “loamy” soil look. Then small rocks are placed and clumps of foliage. Once satisfied with the appearance of the added details a few drops of the wet water/white glue mixture can be dripped on top to secure it. The oil stains are created with a few drops of Polly Oily Black and some rubbing alcohol dripped on top to make it spread and run naturally. This scene is the extreme kind of foreground detail I really love and is the main reason I enjoy quarter inch modeling so much. You can take this scene so much further if you like!

The radiator has been blocked up on some scraps of wood. Notice the hoses peeking out the bottom. I just love the tow bars. Lots of scrap lumber and metal bars clutter the scene. Cut the brass wire then blacken the pieces Before gluing to the scene apply a little rust. Brush the scraps of lumber thoroughly then apply the alcohol stain. Tiny nails can be added to a few pieces with snips of thin wire. Maximize these types of details by leaning them against other objects. The hose is solder bent and formed to shape, blackened, then epoxied in place.

Create natural footpaths by brushing a lighter shade of dirt then define the perimeter with junk and clutter or scenery elements. The rocks, clump foliage, scraps of wood and metal debris illustrate this nicely here.

Your rail can be added now. Notice the oil and grease stains down the center of the track. Also I created a texture difference between the two tracks. The track leading into the shed has smooth and even scenery while the side track has lots of rocks. I really like tho look of the buried ties. What better example of backwoods narrow gauge is there than no ballast, thin rail, and buried ties! Cut a small piece of the corrugated off the sheet then rust it up and epoxy it, the cinder block, and tire to the top of the boiler.

As we begin to look at the left side remember to layer your details in a realistic way. Think of how someone might set a discarded piece of equipment or scrap. The barrel full of spikes is easy to create. Place a few drops of epoxy in the empty barrel then drop some HO scale spikes in. Once the epoxy sets apply rust chalk powder. Notice more spikes scattered about as well. Another solder hose is draped over the solitary sawhorse. Scraps of lumber are placed on top of the hose to give more depth to the detail.

All of the individual details pull together and create a really nice scene. My favorite is the wheel barrow. Once all the castings are secured add your weeds and foliage along with the scraps of wood and metal. These extra pieces balance and create a transition from one detail to another.

The track bumper is nothing more than a pile of rocks with a wheel set and tire buried deep inside. Use the wet water/white glue mixture to secure the pile. Note that I created the stack of wheels by piling one old wheel up at a time from my scrap box. These are not included in the kit but make a nice detail. Lots of leaning lumber scraps gives a nice feeling to the scene.

Another pile of rocks and a scrap pipe. Paint the pipe Floquil Roof Brown and allow to dry then roll it in rust chalk powder to create the rusty mottled surface. I broke away the end to give make it totally useless and discarded.

The discarded pile of pallets, old tire and dented gas tank speak of a rarely used area of the shed. Ground cover is coarse in the rear as would be expected in an area of light foot traffic.

Here is the little scene created with the oil high boy. Notice the oil stains running down the hill. The details transition naturally between the outside and inside of the shed.

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