Model railway progress - rocky skerry for lighthouse

While in Gairloch last September C found a small lighthouse and boat, which he decided should belong with his model railway, and he spent his holiday pennies on them with much excitement.  8 months later, and we finally have a proper place for them on the railway.

We used a cardboard base, which has bent a lot as the work has dried, so at some point we'll remake this with a plywood base cut to fit the whole harbour.

We started by scrunching up some newspaper balls and taping them to the base to make the shape of our island.  This was a joint C, Bug and Mummy effort.

Next we got a 50:50 mix of PVA and water, and lots of torn up kitchen towel, and stuck down the kitchen towel, brushing them with the mix as we went, and pressing them into the corners.  It's important to ensure that the whole surface is covered with overlapping squares.  Bug particularly enjoyed this job.

Bug, admiring her work

Leave it to dry in a sunny spot for a few days.

After that we painted.  We used poster paints.  Green and black for the rocky island, and a glittery blue for the water.  Both children did this.

To finish off I attached the lighthouse to the top with PVA.  Then I brushed a PVA water mix over the blue paint, and laid on some clingfilm, which was a bit scrunched near the island (where the waves would be).  I also brushed PVA/water mix over the green paint, and sprinkled on some model railway scenic grass.