A naked model (railway)

indentUnderneath all the paints and textures that make a model railway look like the real thing is usually an awful lot of timberwork.v In the foreground is a trackbed for some double track (notice the narrowed section where the girders will go and the bases for the masonary piers which will sit at either end), while beneath that is the trackbed for a narrow-gauge line serving the quarry behind.  Road access will be added later, with the scenery, between the latter and the stream which drains the quarry.  This can be seen wandering off across the floor of the quarry itself.
indentThe substantial timberwork which will form the face of the quarry can be seen at the rear along with an entrance to some underground workings (from which the quarry train will appear).  This is made from rough plywood and 3/4" chipboard snapped into fragments and arranged as various levels of shale above the rock being quarried.v If the finished rock face is to be believable it is vital that these layers follow the contours of the landscape above - which it is supposed to be supporting - and are not just built up in randomly.
indentA coat of black paint to seal the broken timbers and colour the shadows comes next followed by dry-brushing appropriate colours onto the surface et voila!v A finished quarry!