Trimming the fat, er, foam

After trying out a few different building arrangements I felt confident that the track plan and general organization of ground features was suitable for a layout.

I think the problem I was having was that the TD Centre mockup was too tall and too black. It dominated the skyline and put everything else off kilter. Once I removed it, and did some adjustments to the placement of the other buildings, things seemed better.

I also found that the one-way street that separates the urban from the open shore should be angled a bit, and not run strictly parallel to the main downtown street. I can't say why, but angling did improve the feel of the layout.

I tried a few more arrangements just to see how other building placements made things feel. Yes, that's a Kenner Girder & Panel frame in the scene. I think with some custom panels it might make for an interesting feature, both from modelling and sentimental perspectives.

I then traced the major landmarks onto the board with Sharpie pens. The board was now ready for trimming.

First, I rough cut the perimeter with a drywall saw, and the cut close to the line with an old Japanese Dozuki saw. Finally, a sanding block with a medium paper was used to clean up the edge. I've still got a little sanding and finishing to do, but the general shape is done.