The Haunted Hamlet Layout | Part 2
Last time in the Haunted Hamlet build, we got our layout base together and rough arrangement of the buildings in place. This time out, we’re finalizing some of the hamlet’s details. Even on a layout this small, I want to have a sense of a place; roads that come in and out of town, like structures or businesses grouped together, etc.
The base of the layout is 1” pink extruded polystyrene with all 4 corners elevated a bit with additional pieces of 1” and 3/4” polystyrene. Even on a small scene, a little variation in height can add interest. I originally wanted to make these higher sections rolling (albeit small) hills made with OrthoTape plaster cloth. The problem was these buildings needed to be so close together, the hills would have been near vertical.
I decided instead to take a cue from a couple of the Haunted Hamlet buildings and make these elevated corner pieces loosely mimic the rock foundations of the buildings themselves. Not an exact match, but there will be ground cover between the buildings and my carved rocks so they’ll tie together well. I mixed up some Gorilla wood glue and inexpensive craft paint to give the carved foam a dark brown protective shell. The paint / glue mixture is still wet in the photo below; I’ll add highlights later to better match the stone under the buildings.
The other feature I wanted to add was ambient Halloween sound as part of the layout itself. I had one free corner that was structure-free so I drilled a 2-1/2” hole in the foam, just big enough for a wireless Bluetooth speaker so we can have Halloween music and effects fed from any wireless device. I’ll cut a small piece of mesh and camouflage the hole with lightweight ground cover, maybe tack a tree on to it to act as a handle and we’ll have our ambient sound source.
We’re still on target for completing this layout by October 17th, so make sure to come back for the next installment of the Haunted Hamlet!
Article Links
Micro-Trains Line Haunted Hamlet Buildings
Haunted Hamlet BuildingsBluetooth Speaker
Anker A7910 Wireless Bluetooth SpeakerPlaster Cloth
OrthoTape
Category: Raildig Build Projects
