Shaping Mountains

I didn't like the way the train went through the back of the houses, so I decided to build a mountain instead. After spending too much time thinking about how to frame it, my Dad finally recommended wooden ribs.

We covered the wooden frame with chicken wire and stuffed it full of newspaper to give the "Great Stuff" spray foam a surface to stick to.

I went through a total of five cans of foam to cover most of the surface. Once the foam had cured, I began carving it with a fine-toothed pull saw.

So far, the effect looks pretty good. The marshmallow mountain slowly began to resemble rock as I cut away the smooth edges.

The next step will be to paint the surface with a latex primer and then airbrush in rock details with grey and brown. I'm still debating how to add the snow -- I may just sprinkle on snow rather than painting it to allow for more than one season's worth of use.