Well I have continued on with the scenery in the mountain area divide of the layout. I have lightly turfed the whole area to simulate ground cover although most will be hidden from all the trees and vegetation. The areas with no or less foliage will be colored further with greens, browns, yellows, etc… I use the woodlands scenics clump foliage on the mountain to represent the tops of the trees as if you were standing looking at the mountain. You can’t count the trees as they all blend in together to make on large tree mass. That is the effect I am going for here and I use 3 different colors and then sprinkle additional coloring afterwards to create more texture and variation. The close up areas and around buildings will have larger individual trees and some underbrush amongst other details to create realistic settings. I simply use a small amount of white glue to secure each clump. I am also starting to add some field grass in some of the dips representing areas were moisture settles and allows for more lush vegetation. I will make sure these areas are greener then most and will even place some wildlife looking for a drink. I will be doing some instructional posts in the near future on my rock casting techniques and field grass techniques as I seem to be getting a lot of questions which is great.

Here are some images of the mountain and portal progress to date. I still need to finish some coloring in the open areas and add detail where I feel necessary, ballast, etc…