Flash forward to today – I decided to really get it in gear and get my river back between the first and second tunnels in my Quintette Tunnels scene. As it happens, I had posted pictures of my model in a Hope BC Facebook group. They were very generous in their compliments, and one lady was kind enough to post a link to some aerial shots she had taken during a flyover of the site. I was at once thrilled and distressed – being able to see the side of the second tunnel from an angle that is impossible from the ground meant I now knew how I had had portrayed it was slightly off.
Here’s the pic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/angelad7000/6750660139/
You might ask why this matters. After all, this side of the tunnel would not be visible, since it faces the wall. But I am a perfectionist. I did not want a facade of the tunnel.. I wanted it to be as detailed as possible. Even if I couldn’t see it. So I went in again, chipped away some rock, used styrene strips to fix the concrete sleeve work on the outside, spackled it, colored it.. and voila. Much closer and much happier result.
I also took the opportunity to remove and sand down the tunnel portal on the outside. It had been cast too thick, as the photo linked above revealed. I took half an hour to grind it down to more or less the right thickness. Happy now.