The ALL-New Palmer Divide Raceway!!! Updated 02-01-2019

[padirtfan]

David,
The latest iteration of PDR looks great! I like the blue LED's, they'd look great in my guitar room.

[Nor Cal Mike]

As always nice work David. Under the blue light she looks kinda like a supersized grand piano. Interesting effect.

[dreinecke]

Thanks guys. Mike - Funny! My daughter said the same!

[dreinecke]

A little more work done this week - the big news is that safety fencing has been put in so the little people can return! Turf in these areas will be next on the to-do list.

[btaylor]

David, your track is looking great! Some of the charm of your other tracks is showing through. I like that! New, but familiar. Its a great look, keep it going.

Bob

[dreinecke]

Well finally! Life is sort of slowing down enough for me to get back to slot cars and the PDR.

I managed to get 3 Ikea Besta' shelves for almost nothing from a neighbor that I've put under the track for storage. I plan on putting some of my RMS Resins masters and other kits under it as I needed a little more organization to those.




I also was able to get the last of the base down: pink foam covered with plaster cloth. It does look angular, but the turf will soften it. I managed to throw paint at it to get rid of the blizzard effect and then had enough time to get the fascia painted.













Next up is the turf, some trees, more fencing and I still have to figure out my pits.

Starting to come together!

[BARC 1]

Looking good David. I am amazed at how fast you got the layout to the stage it is at.

[ourwayband]

That is becoming a work of Art!!

Rusty H

[chappy]

Looking Great Doc , really coming along nicely.
Bob

[CJR]

The track is looking great. But, I wonder if your neighbor is OK. :roll:

[dreinecke]

[dreinecke]

Had a few hours the last few evenings to burn and made some progress:

1) All structures are in their final resting place
2) The junkyard from the old PRD has a home on this track - didn't think I'd have room, but I'm happy to say I do.
3) I made 30 hay bales to start and need a few hundred LOL. Resin block of the right dimension that is covered in glue and then sprinkled with cuttings from sisal rope. Looks pretty good to me.
4) I planted the little amount of trees I can fit on the track - remember, the track is an homage to the shape, but not how RIR was. This is the PDR and we have pine and aspen trees here! I am keeping them out of hand-reach this time to make marshaling easier.
5) I plan on moving the grandstands in the event of a "real" race like a proxy for the same reason as #4 above - marshaling.
6) Planted all the fence posts and guardrail that I think it needed. The PDR exists in that time where wood fences and hay bales are slowly being changed out for Armco and concrete walls.

So, now that I've done that, I'm ready to start spreading turf in the next few weeks - I have to order more static grass as I didn't realize I was almost out. That's fine, I'll run some laps while waiting!

[arroldn]

David,
What is the paint you used. See it was a base then a speckled top finish. Thinking about repainting my plastic and removing the Rustoleum textured paint.


Arrold

[MoparGreg]

Your track is coming along nicely David. I'm always amazed how much you get done in a short amount of time. Cant wait for the next instalment.

[dreinecke]

I can't believe it has been this long since I've worked on the track. Part of that is due to the fact I've been releasing new resins and frankly, just having fun driving the track. I've hosted the vintage slot car club from Denver for an afternoon, the last leg of the 2017 Trans-Am Proxy and a number of "play dates" with friends. All-in-all, I really enjoy driving the track.

I laid down all of the base turf over the areas that were simply painted tan - it is a combination of Woodland Scenic ballast as well as sanded grout in a tan color I liked. I simply spread Modge Podge glue down and sprinkle. I then go over the entire area with a water/soap mixture applied with an eye-dropper and then more diluted Modge Podge to hold it all down. While that is wet, I sprinkle some ground foam in areas to give a little texture and look like larger weeds. The next step in the process will be to add some 6-8mm static grass in areas. I'll do that when my order of grass shows up.

The pits have new, longer roof structures over them than the last version of the PDR. I liked the way these turned out. Simply basswood with corrugated paper on the roof and some dowels holding it all up.

The junkyard from the old PDR is back! One of my favorite visuals from the last version of the PDR, it is not completed, but is starting to take shape.

I also began to place figures - not a bunch yet as I'm not 100% certain where I want them all, but at least the track no longer looks abandoned.

I still have lighting, my Miller Engineering billboards, the aforementioned grass, etc to do, but the track is beginning to come alive!

Lastly, I still get comments like; "RIR didn't have trees.". I know. This is an homage, not a replica, and I like trees. So there.