[kitmen]

As my NHL team played themselves out of the playoffs, I thought that I would do some scenery work on our track as not to have an evening that was a complete washout.

Here is the work I did on the back straight of our track.

An overview of the park:

The work done last night:

Any and all comments are more than welcomed.

Thanks

John

 

[Philip P]

Hi John,

Some nice work there. I especially like the way the back-drop and your landscaping work so well together.

Keep us posted on any more progress.

Philip

 

[scudbong]

Hi John,

Nice work, some of what you have done reminds me of my own track. I too like your backdrop, it does blend in well. Have you got any pictures of the overall layout? Is the track Scalextric Sport?

Keep up the good work,

Pete

 

[kitmen]

Thanks so much for the really generous comments!

The track is Carrera which has been painted.

We really enjoy the track and the painted surface transformed the track from having okay grip to great grip.

The design is an "homage" to Spa and has elevation changes and off camber turns.

I will dig out some photos of the building of the track and post them as soon as I can find them.

Thanks

John

 

[Lloyd.L]

Very nice John, I too like the way you have blended in the background, it gives a feeling of space.

What paint did you use for the track?

Regards, Lloyd

 

[kitmen]

Thanks again for the great comments with respect to the backdrop. It is actually a panoramic photo of a landscape from Belgium.

The paint is very inexpensive latex based interior house paint. The reason for using an inexpensive brand is that lower cost paints tend to have the highest content of latex. Which is perfect for the track. No need for primer as the paint, as long as the track is clean when applied, aheres very well.

I found some photos of the build of the track.

In the beginning:

These images are a bit old (the room was quite messy at this point) and the track is completely painted and is (slowly) being lanscaped.

Any and all comments are always welcomed!

Thanks for looking

John

 

[MrFlippant]

Looks great, and looks fun!

 

[kitmen]

Thanks Greg for your very kind post!

The track is quite fun to race on, it is 55 feet in lenght and with the "lazy" cross over the lane lenghts are even.

There is still alot of work to do on the scenery, but that's what is fun! Thinking of what to do next. It helps to build a few cars while deciding what to do next and where. Great fun.

Thanks

John

 

[matthew77]

Thats a brilliant backdrop and scenery!! The park looks great!

Please can you tell me where you got the benches? Im after some.

Thanks

Matthew

 

[kitmen]

Matthew77, thanks very much for your very generous comments!

The park benches were made for Christmas town dioramas and were priced to clear so I purchased them at the end of the holiday season.

The lamp posts were purchased at the same time and actually light up:

I hope you can see the yellow lights in the photo above.

Thanks again

John

 

[mattcrackers]

G'day Kitmen,

Track looks great, especially your backdrop with the 3d effect. The park benches and working lights are also a great addition to the track.

Matt

 

[kitmen]

Matt, thanks very much for your very kind comments!

John

 

[sealevel]

Thanks for sharing.
Your use of trees and landscape which blend with the photo backdrop is very effective! Congratulations!
Also, your progress shots of the transformation are very interesting/helpful as well.
One request.... please add your city/country so we will know which team of yours is NOT going to the NHL playoffs!

Cheers!

 

[kitmen]

Sealevel, thanks very much for your very generous comments! They are very much appreciated!

Well, I live in the Toronto area, Etobicoke to be more precise and unfortunately the Leafs are the team of our town. Are you a Canucks fan? They should do well in the post season as long as the twins are back on the ice together.

Thanks again

John

 

[sealevel]

You won't believe it, but as long as I ignore the "Nucks" they play well... followed the last few games of the finals last year and .... well you know what happened.
I was a big NHL fan as a kid (in the 60's) but not so much any more.... more interested in F! on the tube!

BTW, if you add your city to your signature, you may find others in your area contacting you!

Cheers!

 

[kitmen]

Thanks sealevel, I made the adjustment to my signature as suggested!

Looks like this F1 season should be good! Have you gone to Montreal to see the Canadian GP?

Have you been working on your track?

Thanks again

John

 

[sealevel]

Re: Montreal... a colleague was there last year... on my bucket list (still have to convince the wife)

Re: home track... still in house renovation mode after a couple of interrupted years.
I am acquiring track and electronics to try and build anti-collision system and start/finish gantry with lights. Renos restart this spring and have to clear out garage AFTER taxes are done... but I finally have a layout I like and I am itching to do a test layout.

Thanks for inquiring!
Now back to work for me...
Cheers!

 

[kitmen]

I found two Britans' cows I have which were given to me as a child, so I added them to the scenery to see how they would fit in.

I think they fit in quite well, so it looks like they are here to stay.

Any and all comments are more than welcomed.

Thanks

John