# Sunshine Foundation Charity Build



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Well Covid restrictions have lifted recently and a couple of our hard working members have got back to the charity build that they have created.

Plaster shell hill covered with Latex paint and tracks with the first application of ballast. On Tuesday I plan to add the Mold-a-Scene rock faces and scenery with the church on this hill.









Top of tunnel area after painting then adding some Mold-a-Scene rock areas and ground cover. Likely we will “plant” a number of trees and bushes on the tunnel top as well.










Start of the work on adding this small station to cover the access hole at the end of the swingout bridge. We plan to use a couple of magnets to keep it from falling when the bridge is opened. Likely we will add a little parking area and road crossing the tracks and heading into the background to the right of the hill in the corner.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

And a couple of panoramic further out views 


















What an awesome job these guys are doing!


----------



## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Looks great!


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Update:
Rock face added above the track in this corner with the church scene. Also the rock face to the right below the back track painted a darker grey colour.









Another corner with the repainted cliff face. Plans are to add some lighter rust and ochre shades over this base coat.









The third corner with repainted cliff face which is still a work in progress.









Small hill added in the 4th corner using a white Styrofoam base covered with plaster cloth and with a layer of crack filler plaster smeared over the top of the plaster cloth. We are still considering what to do on the wall with all the plug outlets. One idea is to place foam core board around the outlets in the form of a silhouette of hills. This would be about the same thickness as the outlet covers. A layer of cardstock could then be glued over the outlets and then either printed scenes or painted background hill scenes applied to this.


----------



## The Southern Railroad (May 22, 2021)

BigGRacing said:


> Well Covid restrictions have lifted recently and a couple of our hard working members have got back to the charity build that they have created.
> 
> Plaster shell hill covered with Latex paint and tracks with the first application of ballast. On Tuesday I plan to add the Mold-a-Scene rock faces and scenery with the church on this hill.
> View attachment 561947
> ...


What is the Charity ? 

The outlets on the wall can be dropped below the table - Code guys might have fit if they are covered.

Other wise nice start to a build


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

The Southern Railroad said:


> What is the Charity ?











Home


Since 1987, Sunshine has been fulfilling future-boosting dreams for kids and youth living with severe physical disabilities across Canada




www.sunshine.ca





here is the link to the charity


----------



## The Southern Railroad (May 22, 2021)

BigGRacing said:


> Home
> 
> 
> Since 1987, Sunshine has been fulfilling future-boosting dreams for kids and youth living with severe physical disabilities across Canada
> ...


Hey BigG 
Thank you , you guys and gals? have my respect on this one.
I build small layouts and put together Christmas Trains for kids who can't other wise get one, I buy most of the stuff I give away and happy to do it , once in a while people donate a piece here and there - it will be on my website when I finish building the site - I also donate a lot of NASA stuff as well. Parents can not afford upwards of $60 per person to go to places like NASA - My firm belief : Teach a man how to use a hammer and he'll build his own future.
It keeps kids out of jail and off the street - the investment we all make doing these things will pay 10 fold - better to pay for a kid to go to school then spending 1000's just to keep him or her locked up. Give them hope - something to believe in and they will follow a better path - 
Cheers 
Ride The Rails


----------



## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

That is indeed a worthy and productive cause.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

The Southern Railroad said:


> it will be on my website when I finish building the site


I look forward to checking out your site for sure when it’s ready.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Update - our two primary builders of this layout were at it again yesterday:
This morning a base coat of light brown paint was put on the low hill made last Thursday and also used the ¼” thick foam core board to build background hills around the electrical plugs on the one wall. A spray gun and paint brush was used to add lighter colours over areas of the rock faces that were repainted last week. Progress continued on ballasting the tracks. See a few photos and notes below.

They plan to go back next Tuesday morning to continue the work.

Added hills around the electrical plugs. We can glue a thin layer of cardstock or other paintable material over the entire hill. We can also paint a more distant hill directly on the wall (behind where the two houses are now sitting). Also shows the rock faces that were painted. Plans are to add additional colors to some of the rocks.









A closer look at one of the rock faces where more layers of paint were added starting with a spray gun and then using a paint brush.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Update
This morning work continued on the charity build layout. Work was continued on the hills covering the wall electrical outlets and ballasting was continued on the upper level tracks. See photos and notes below.

Work will continue on Thursday morning on the background scenery. Our resident ballaster may get over on Saturday to continue his work on the ballasting.

Pieces of 1/8” thick Masonite were cut out to match the shape of the hills and two coats of contact cement were applied to both the foam core board on the wall and on the back of the Masonite.


















Masonite glued to the foam core and painted the base brown colour. We will likely use some Mold-a-Scene plaster along the base of the hills and then paint them to look 3 dimensional.









Base coat of paint added to form a background hill behind the houses. Not sure what we will end up putting at this location.









Full wall view, a small 3D hill will be added in the corner on the right side of this photo.









Ballast was added to the sides of the roadbed on the upper track and soaked with a thinned glue mixture.









View of the bridge area with ballast added to the upper tracks. Plans are to add more detail to the painting of the river and hills behind the bridge. I think we are still planning to put a roadway tunnel going into the rockface with the road crossing the rerailers on the lower tracks.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Update 
One of our great modellers Ballasted and glued the rest of the upper track and around the bridge station. Apart for some touch ups he said the upper level is done!

He also replaced the ledges with aluminum flat bar. Though everything is sitting a tad better the “swing-in” will need to be rehung.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Good morning everyone,

Work continued on the layout again yesterday morning with one of our primary builders. Painting was done on the hill areas that were plastered last Thursday and then Mold-a-Scene plaster was added at the base of the hills. The plan is to return next Thursday to add some ground cover and detail the hills a little more. See photos and notes below.

10 decoders for the engines were purchased from Maritime Hobbies. Mike at Maritime Hobbies donated one as well. Thank you Mike ! 

The wall with covered electrical outlets painted with the base colour and Mold-a-Scene rock faces added along the base of the hills. Don was suggesting that since this is supposed to be an island that we should have some views of the sea. This could be added on the wall behind the station that we had not done much with yet. Also in the center of the wall below, with the small hill painted between the two raised hills, we could add a view of the sea here and perhaps use the top of the small hill as an island.









Opposite wall with the background hills roughly painted with the base colour and Mold-a-Scence added at the base of the hills behind the upper level track.


----------



## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

Really starting to take shape now, good job.  

Magic


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Latest Update

Lots of rain this morning in Halifax today so it was a great day for one of our builders to work on the Charity layout. Work progressed from 9 AM until noon, doing more work on the background scenery. See photos below.

Started this morning doing a little painting of the hill behind the station and added the roadway.









Grass was then added and roadway up the hill to the church. The road and grass should look a lighter colour once the diluted glue that was used to soak the road and grass materials dries. We will add some trees and shrubs and tombstones are being made to place on the right side of the church.









More painting of the hills and river behind the waterfall. Work was also started working on the roadway tunnel. We can use Mold-a-Scene plaster to make a portal around the tunnel opening.









The barn and house have been placed in this corner where we will likely make a farm. Fencing will also be built to use around the farm.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

One of our modellers went solo today, he got some ballasting done but more importantly, started to work on the harbour and road for the tunnel.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Tunnel portal added today with detailing continuing next week









A little more painting on the 4th wall. This is still pretty rough and there will be houses in front of this wall scene.









Work continued on the port area using the black foam core which we will paint to represent road/loading areas between tracks and along the dock.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

More progress being made on painting background, ballasting near the docks, and landscaping areas. Two modellers working around each other…..


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Our primary artist continued painting details in the background scenery.

We have also found out this week that Truro will be holding their annual show again this year. We will see if they will have room for our large display layout or not in the new venue.

Finished painting the lighthouse that was started last week but may tweak this to straighten it a bit now that I look at the photo.









On the adjacent wall details were added to the ocean scene. The HO figures make the rocks look larger than initially thought they would be.



















I think the painting is awesome !


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

More progress this week despite now having to prep for the upcoming train show as well.
New bridge being added, looks like the one here in Bedford in my opinion. nothing is glued in place yet. Hard to see the tunnel behind it going into the hill. The camera view is distorting both the left bridge pier and the lighthouse. Both are actually closer to vertical









Trees and shrubs added behind and in front of the bridge.









Some trees and shrubs added around the church.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

More Pics

View of the tunnel portal with road painted to look as if it is going through the hill.









Another view of the portal









Views with bridge competed. We will do a little work where the bridge stonework joins the rock faces, perhaps add some vines etc.










Trees and vegetation added behind the station









Vegetation added to the hills on either side of the bridge.









Wider view. I think next Tuesday, plans to do a little more coloring of the lower rock faces and then we can add some vegetation to it also.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Update again today. Glued down the platforms for the main station on the side of the layout opposite the entrance door. Also worked on ballasting more track. Continued work on the background scenery and did some excavating in one corner where we decided to install the young fellow’s motorized windmill. See photos and notes below.

Glued down the main station platforms and removed the roof support columns to make it easier to ballast the tracks and work on the scenery behind the platforms. Started adding ballast between platforms but it hasn’t been glued yet. This is the last section of tracks that needs ballasting. There was discussion of adding an additional track along the edge of the layout in front of the station platform to run a trolley. The club still has the reversing circuitry that we used to run a trolley track on our earlier layout which we could use here to control the trolley stopping at each end of this track.











Ccompleted the laying and gluing of ballast of all the tracks on the right side of this photo. We also dug out the young fellow’s lighthouse with working light and decided this is probably the best location for it.











We also unpacked his working windmill and decided the corner behind the farm was the best place for it. Did some excavating of the hill and covered the area with fiberglass mesh tape and plaster.











Painted the plaster with brown latex paint and then added some Mold-a-Scene rock faces. Next session, drill the hole for the power wire going down to the underside of the module and redo the scenery around the windmill.











Also added trees and shrubs on the hill in the corner to the right of the entrance doorway.










and finally some panoramic views


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Hi everyone

This morning the two primary expert modellers of this layout worked on adding ground cover to the remaining areas on the side of the layout with the main station. We finally have at least basic ground cover on the entire layout. Still more scenery and details to add including trees and bushes. One of them also looked in the club’s two binders of information on our older layouts and found a diagram of the wiring for the trolley control module. On Thursday he will likely look at wiring the trolley tracks. Next they will likely add the 8” tall Masonite facia around the inner edge of all the modules and connect all the wiring for the other trackwork. See photos and notes below.

Area to the left of the main station. I added the darker gravel area around the small building at the end of the harbour and the ground cover behind and in front of the roadway with trolley track.










A bit more gravel around the station to level out some bumps and dips and also the ground cover on either side of the front roadway.










Ground cover around the right end of trolley line. This will darken to match the ground cover on the right of photo once the scenic cement dries.










Area that they added ground cover last week now that the scenic cement has dried.










Throw in the work that they did with the Truro Model Railway show and these guys are incredible !


----------



## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

You have made a lot of progress, looks good.


----------



## Andreash (Dec 30, 2018)

Enjoyed reading this topic, really good work…cheers ☕🍩


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Thanks Gramps and Andreash! It is train club related charity work that many different groups do and I think the work of these volunteers always deserve the highest credit !


----------



## Andreash (Dec 30, 2018)

I’d donate to the charity, how do I go about it…


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)




----------



## The Southern Railroad (May 22, 2021)

Looks like we have plasticville being added 😁😁👍👍👍👍 Nice - looking good


----------



## The Southern Railroad (May 22, 2021)

BigGRacing said:


> View attachment 571235


And it has been said : " It will be a child - who changes the world "😁


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

The young boy that we are doing the layout for, wanted his Thomas trains integrated into the layout for sure and his mother had many little houses from a collection that were added as well. Truly family inspired !


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Landscaping continuing and working around the harbour.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Hi everyone

Work continued on the charity layout this morning. Members of the club installed the remaining two short sections of Masonite facia board by the roundhouse and then gave it a first coat of green paint. They also did a little more gluing of the ballast and tracks at the joint in the tunnel at the hinged end of the swingout section. Work was done on the wiring for the turnout switch machines. See photos below of the painted facia.

Next week we are thinking of going Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings and would like to have trains running by the time we finish on Thursday. We should get the second coat of paint of the facia.

Facia boards installed by round house and first coat of paint. After a second coat of paint, we will touch up the scenery along the top edge of the facia. The facia by the bridge and stream is still just temporarily installed. This will be removed when we are ready to open the swing out section and cut into two pieces with one on the swingout section.









Painted facia board by the harbour.


----------



## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

Looks good!


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Update here before Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

Fergus and Dave spent the last three mornings working on the Sunshine Foundation Charity layout including completing the Masonite facia board, completing the track wiring, working on the tunnel tracks and connecting the turnout motor dropdown wires to the control switches on the facia board.

Yesterday they continued soldering extension wires to the dropdown wires on the switch motors that were then connected to the control switches. They still have three of the nine turnouts left which need wires attached. Yesterday Fergus and the young recipient cleaned the tracks and then Fergus started testing with one of his engines and then started pulling his track cleaning care around the tracks. After fixing a few minor issues he then ran one of the young fellow’s engines successfully. See photos and notes below. Fergus also posted a short video on Facebook of the trains running, see




__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=980162322584477




They plan to go back in the new year for a few sessions to finish a few things including completing the harbour scene, touching up the scenery along the top edge of the facia board, finish the wiring of all turnout motors. Some of the turnout motors also require a little cleaning of ballast etc. to get them to actuate properly. Also likely the family will find a few track issues over Christmas that we will deal with in the new year.

Hope everyone has a good Christmas holiday and Happy New Year.

They were still having a few issues with track alignment in the tunnel with the swingout section. Over the last few sessions Fergus created the floating section of track in the tunnel where the tracks butt up to the two tracks on the swingout section. This allows for some adjustment of the track alignment is case changes of room temperature and humidity cause misalignments.










Switch installed to supply power to all tracks when the swingout section is closed. The mounting holes in the aluminum angle holding the switch are slotted to allow adjustment so that the swingout section needs to be almost fully closed before the switch closes to supply power to the tracks.










Pullout drawer with the Digitrax controller with wires attached for track power and for the programming track by the turntable. Fergus had his hand held controller attached to this for his testing.










Track cleaning car operating on the inner track. The dangling wires of the track power bus will be trimmed and fastened to the underside of the swingout section.




















Swingout section open. We plan to cut a slot in the facia board so the that the swingout will rest of the ledge on the right for extra support when fully open.










Harbour scene where boats still need to be glued down and water poured around them.


----------



## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

Looking good BigG. 
Really coming along nicely.

Magic


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

I wish my own was looking this good…..lol


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Search April’s Maritimers of the Month on the CTV News this evening!





__





News at 5 | News & Current Affairs | CTV Atlantic


CTV News at 5 is the Maritimes' most popular news and current affairs program, consistently drawing more than 210,000 viewers from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.




atlantic.ctvnews.ca





Great Video










you will have to search the link


----------



## Longvallon (9 mo ago)

Great video. Thanks for sharing.








April's Maritimers of the Month


April’s Maritimers of the Month are model makers who volunteered to make a dream-come-true for a young Nova Scotia man who loves trains.




atlantic.ctvnews.ca


----------



## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

Great story.


----------

