This may not look very exciting, but it is!  By giving underwater section of the harbor a 'floor' of foam core (glued down and held to dry by thumb tacks) I was able to design in certain 'panels' which can be removed as desired to make small scenes and other elements to populate the underwater world.  For instance, one panel may have a large octopus on it, which can be swapped out for a lit-up underwater research base, sunken sub, etc.  Also included, some work toward utilizing clipped beach bush greenery to make (eventual) sea weed.

Still lots to do with the landscaping and entrance gate, but the main structure is - at last - done!  Here you can see I used glow-in-the-dark bat wings for the skylight glass and you can see how it's situated on the layout.  

Roof tiling inspired by that on the Governor's Mansion in downtown Raleigh, NC.

In the room above the solarium, something spooky is brought to life!

Work done on the solarium room.  Love the broken glass.

Ubisoft held an internal photo contest challenging people to share pictures of their hobbies.  A good excuse for me to take some photos of various areas of the layout.

  Travenstein Manor is an extremely complex assembly on the layout.  It has multiple light up rooms and effects, some of which are controlled by the kids with buttons on the front of the layout.  The close observe will notice a seance being interrupted by a collapsing book case, tentacles smashing through a bedroom ceiling, a glass solarium with a pool table and a mad scientist's room (or two).  There are even some miniature jack-o-lanterns included.  The building kit from Faller began as a 'house of ill  repute' and was extensively repainted and modified to fit my needs.  Tea lights were used to give a 'fire light' effect in some rooms.  Unfortunately, they didn't last and I'll have to dig inside the structure to replace them.  :(

The mine, one of the oldest kits I have on my layout and one of the oldest buildings in the 'story' of the town, gets a ramp for its mine cars and a machine room that runs the winch that pulls the mine cars in.

On the 'right' (North) side of the mountain there is a hidden highway.  It is visible only through a small hole in the front facing of the layout or by looking down onto it from above.  Two vehicles can be seen; a minivan on the highway and a pickup truck pulled over on the side.