[KensRedZed]

Cool and funny video. 

I can only imagine the work and time put into it behind the scenes. 

[Anthony B]

A multitalented man!!! fantastic!!

[Tibbs]

Unfortunately, there was no room to take any shots from a distance. The track was set up in our old house, and it took up every bit of the room apart from maybe a metre's width along one wall for the drivers. So getting a shot of the whole layout was impossible.

This cobbled together series of shots was the best I could manage to give an overall impression of the full layout.



Hopefully I'll be able to set it up in our new home sometime,  where there is much more space, and I might be able to get a wider view.

Or perhaps I'll just make a bigger track and fill the space to bursting point again. 

Your track is awesome Jason, how the hell is it made to be taken apart? It's seamless. Have you got it back out yet?
Cheers
Tony

[JasonB]

Thank you very kindly.

Designing it in modules which could be dismantled wasn't too difficult, and I really, really enjoyed doing the scenery work. In fact I got kind of addicted to it. But I have to admit that dismantling it, and carting it all upstairs, and then up a rickety set of ladders into the attic was a major operation.

As for how it was made to be taken apart, well, it wasn't that difficult really.

The layout is on the floor, so I didn't have to worry about tables, and probably two thirds of the track is flat, so that was no problem. The fun began with the raised sections and backgrounds

If you look at the wide view you can probably see the three main sections by looking at the background, because I used different techniques as I was going along. All three are a simple cardboard construction, but on the left I used chopped up polystyrene to represent a kind of cliff face look, in the middle it's a mixture of polystyrene for the for the underside of the hill, and papier mache for the background, and on the right I've used printed bricks with another section behind of papier mache, and if memory serves cotton wool greenery, and heather for small trees.

As you can see, I've dropped the background of each section down towards the track level where it meets the next section, so the joins are less noticeable. Then I painted up a big roll of paper with sky, clouds and a hint of distant scenery, and wrapped it around the outside  of the track.

So, most of it was really simple, it used cheap materials, and it was fun.

But I haven't had the track set up in a long while, partly because it's a pain to drag all of it down from the attic, partly because life tends to throw up things that get in the way, but also because I think I might enjoy the process of making a track as much, if not more than the actual racing. So now I'm now enjoying the possibility of making my next track.

[Tibbs]

Oh I completely get the addictive element of the building.
I've just sold my Lathe to make room in my garage, I've got a couple of really old Pelican cane cheers and a bamboo bar to sell next and then I can get my base set up.
I'm already making scenery aspects and it really is addictive.
I'm going to do a thread but would rather start once I have the base, these cheers aren't cheap but it's finding the right bloody buyers  
I'll study your pics more, mine's going to be just over 3 metres by 1.3m so trying to fit a join in one end would be good for moving in the future.  

Thanks Jason

[JasonB]

That's a decent size for a track, good luck with the build.

[Tibbs]

That's a decent size for a track, good luck with the build.

Hi Jason, have you got the track out the loft yet?

Can I ask if you remember the colours you used to paint your mountain face?
   
I really like that look.

Cheers

Tony

[JasonB]

I've barely been back home in the last year and a half, so no I haven't had the track out.

The colours were just mixed up as I went along, from whatever acrylic paints and emulsion I had to hand. A basic light grey wash over the whole thing, a watery dark grey mix to sink into the crevices, then a light coat of dry brushed white on the peaks.