After getting some motivation from reddit user /u/Duke_Thunderkiss I decided to get some more work done on the layout during my two days off. I removed the foam board from it’s home and set up shop in the kitchen. The things I used were as follows.

70% Isopropyl Alcohol in a Spray Bottle

Elmers White Glue

Small Pipette

And of course, Woodlands Scenic Ground Cover (Not Pictured…Sorry!)

I took the Satin Java Brown that I painted the Valence with and painted the entirety of the foam base except where I was going to put the parking lot at. After I painted the foam, I got my ground cover and began to fill in until I could not see brown any more. (Picture below is mid glue process)

The paint is going to help the ground cover stick somewhat but that will not be all it takes. This is where the spray bottle comes in handy. I suggest doing this in a well ventilated room, windows open if possible, away from animals and kids. You want to take your 70% IA and start spraying the ground cover. Make sure it’s on mist otherwise you’ll ruin all your hard work you just did. Make sure that the ground cover is wet. We don’t want to soak it completely, but just enough so that it is darkened. The 70% IA helps break the surface tension of the ground cover which is going to help the glue water mixture work itself into the ground cover.

Next step was to prepare the 50/50 glue water mix. Fill your container half way with warm water, and fill it with the same amount of white glue. Make sure to mix it well so there are no chunks of glue hiding in there, it will make it not so fun cleaning the pipette.

Nest we take the mixture back to the ground cover, and we empty the pipette over the ground cover. You will see where it will soak into.

We then continue this with the entire piece until all of the ground cover is soaked with glue mixture. I put a large fan on a low setting and sat it in front of this piece to get it to dry faster.

After I let it dry for a few hours it was time to put it back in with the other section. (Protip: After drying, if there is any measurement or cuts you need to make for roadwork or buildings, do it before putting the piece back on the wall) I made sure to measure and cut out my road sections before putting the board back onto the wall.

After attaching back to the wall I went ahead and built another Pikestuff building. I picked a Kitbasher Series Engine House to put on the second siding. In my mind I figured this short line would need somewhere to store the switching engine when it was not in use, and that way I didn’t have to think of a fourth industry. I did not take pictures of this process so I will go ahead and put the finished photos in.

The next order of business will be some kind of foliage or trees to give the layout more of a real feel to it. Right now it’s just flat and green. I guess it’s better than blue! Hopefully I can update again soon. I need to get paid so I can get more modeling stuff.