What happened to the balloon?

Balloon Cut out with a replacement sky

I decided  the model balloon I was building was too big  for the layout. So I  had to make a smaller one. I quickly realized that with a small balloon, I really didn't need an actual model. A cut out against the backdrop would suffice. So I looked for a photo of the balloon that might work. I found a color photo of a replica balloon. I used it to create a small composite image. I printed it on card stock, cut out the sky, and then curved it across the corner of the layout.  This was a lot easier than building the balloon model.

Here is what it looks like without a replacement sky. I plan to add a few more trees in the foreground to help break up the view of the sky in the corner. The tents are not glued down and sceniced yet.

Next, I took a crack at making another lone pine for Falmouth. I was not happy with the first one I made a few weeks ago. I had ordered several batches of preserved caspia from a vendor in Utah. They finally arrived, so I made a new tree using a pine dowel, caspia twigs and static grass. It was much faster to make and looks a lot better. I plan to us this technique for more yellow pine trees in this section.

Finally, I rearranged the furniture in the room. I placed the couch alongside shelves under the bridge scene. This opens up the center of the room. The couch doesn't interfere with operations as there is no need to work the train as it comes out of the tunnel and across the bridge.