Rare photo of DoLF CF-046 as seen from chase plane

While sorting through the archives of the Department of Lands and Forests railway I came across this rare photo of the Horten Go229 flying wing the group obtained in 1946 when DoLF was still part of the Department of Lands, Forests and Skies. This 1965 overhead photo of a low altitude pass was taken from the chase plane escorting the newly refurbished and freshly painted CF-046 back to its home base at Lake Timothy. It's thought the photo was shot somewhere over the area where NASA was training its astronauts in lunar surface operations. Normally all one sees of this rare bird is its distinctive shadow skimming across the landscape.

Another tall pine

Prototype | Tall pine #1 | Another tall pine | Another prototype

Tall pine #2

This is a pine that will appear further back on the layout, and has had its lower branches trimmed a bit to fit amongst the shorter cedars. The trunk has been painted with the stone grey wash, but the subtle light brown tones introduced by the sand on the trunk can't be discerned in the photo. I think the next trees will need a darker grey overlay wash to compensate.

Piece #2 = Cowshed

Left image snipped from MR Jan'66

Many thanks to Paul and his excellent sleuthing skills! He provided the important clues that identified mystery piece #2 as the cowshed that's attached to E. L. Moore's The old red barn project that appeared in the January 1966 issue of Model Railroader. I don't know if the barn still exists somewhere, but it's good to know part of it does.

One further note. You see that cabin in the upper left corner of the black-and-white photo? I think that's the Elizabeth Vally Cabin being reused in the photo shoot.

A tall pine

This is the first of the tall, eastern white pine armatures to be completed. 

The foliage was created using the same method as used on the smaller cedars: teased out poly fibre pieces were laced onto each branch, which were then sprayed with Mod Podge Ultra Matte spray, and lightly sprinkled with 4mm, light green  static grass fibres. I think what results is more a sketch of a pine as opposed to a high-fidelity representation. That is, the shape, colour, and size are there, but in extreme close-up, the approximations can be seen. 

How tall is this tree? In HO it measures around 92 scale feet, which is more-or-less the maximum height for a fully grown example.

Stone grey trunk

I've also been experimenting with trunk colour as my previous mixes have seemed a little too brown and dark. I'm finding that Revell Aqua Color 36175, Stone grey, heavily thinned and painted directly over the sand used to cover the armature is getting closer to the shade I'm after. It might require a very thin overlay wash of a darker grey to accentuate texture, so more experiments are needed.

A Mini Moore Mystery

Piece #1

I've been puzzling over these two stray pieces of E. L. Moore buildings for quite sometime and can't figure out where they might come from. So, dear reader, I'm asking you, do you recognize these pieces?  

Piece #2

I offer no prizes other than glory. If you think you know which models they're a part of, please let me know in the comments.