New Plants

Last week I experimented with some soft plastic broad leaved plants and I decided to carry on with the work. The soft plastic took paint reasonably well and I liked the contrast to the overwhelmingly grassy growth on the layout. My layout is too small for 1/19 scale trees so variety in low growing vegetation is important.

Butterbur plants with an assortment of grass tufts, stones and ground cover on the small slope next to the fuel and lubrication shed.

Before fixing the plastic plants, I glued some grass tufts in place and also fixed a piece of scrap wood and some rusty scrap metal to the slope. Then I scattered some finely sieved brownish sand to the slope fixing it with thinned white glue. The holes for the plants were kept open with tooth picks that kep away sand and glue. Further holes for plants were made after the glue had dried. I simply punch holes through the top of the layout with a screwdriver.

Before the glue dried completely I added the first butterbur plants. While I was working a sign saw the staff somewhat baffled. 

With the plants in place I'm now wondering if I should fit some more in the same area and perhaps also add a little 'colony' of the plants near the lorry loading ramp. The most important development is however, that I've now begun to add ground cover and vegetation to the layout's right hand end. I hope to have the whole layout covered by Christmas.

A zoomed out view of the fuel shed (a resin kit from Kippo Models) showing the right hand end of the layout with the fence creating a minimum of a scenic break. I built the shed back in 2019.

Politics at Nystrup Gravel

Most model railway enthusiasts are not incorporating politics on their layouts. On Nystrup Gravel on the other hand it's actively integrated into the history of company, layout and the figures giving character to my Nystrup universe. For general elections period election posters are hung on telegraph poles and prominent personalities on the layout have political views representative of Danish political history. Sometimes small anomalies creep in, though. 

The fuel and lubrication shed was a favourite spot for posters. As many political observations were present among Nystrup staff the political posters were often changing. The Vespa posters have been up for ages.

The new poster glued to the fuel storage shed is nothing out of the usual despite being in English. The design is 1950's with a simple slogan, although one of the symbols seems to be a little off for the modelling period.  You can't get everything right. It turned out the conservative owner of Nystrup Gravel didn't approve of the poster's anti-royal statement and as the chief mechanic didn't like the anti-communist hint they both agreed to let it quietly dissappear. 

Experimenting With Vegetation

In February I acquired some artificial grass from IKEA for an experiment with high vegetation looking a bit like the rushes growing in poorly drained areas. Although intially very promising, I ditched the solution after having installed a few tufts of cut down IKEA grass. It was too obviously plastic grass from IKEA and no amount of matt varnish or detail painting could hide that - particularly as they were placed at the layout's front edge. Now a new experiment is unfolding at the same location: planting butterbur.

At the right end of the small layout new, experimental plants have started growing

I don't know where I bought the plastic plants with large leaves, but they were probably cheap. I found 3 wraps of them in a bag while cleaning out a cupboard and they look like a type of plastic plants used by by people keeping fish in aquariums. They are from the time when I modelled in 1/35 scale and I probably decided they were too large for 1/35. Now I wanted to try them out in 1/19 scale.

A handful of plants were wiped with a wet cloth and when dry given a spray with black primer. The root end were cut off and the leaves painted green. Once dry they were stuck into holes on the small slope at the layout's right end.

3 stages of butterbur for Nystrup Gravel (from top down): unpainted plant, primed and painted. The fourth plant is as bought with stem and roots still attached.

First impression of the plastic plants isn't too bad. With some groundcover and a little colour variety these plants stand a greater chance of survival in the Nystrup biosphere than the IKEA grass.

My greatest concern is if the paint will hold on to the soft plastic over time. I have tried to rub the primer off the leaves without succes so perhaps I'm worrying too much. No one will be touching the plants regularly and they can be spot painted if needed.

The roots and stems have been put into storage. They may come in useful later.