attaching scenery on open roadbed construction


gregc

gregc

Apprentice Modeler
how can scenery be attached to the roadbed on open roadbed benchwork?

can foam be glued to splined roadbed?

is foam strong enough to support hardscenery w/o something more rigid like plywood resting on benchwork?

does the scenery base (hardshell) need to rest on the lip of the roadbed and scenery can be built upward on top of it?

thanks greg
 
The splines, if supported properly, can have material hot-glued to the sides, yes. I used aluminum window screen cut to fit in sections, and used plastic shopping bags stuffed with crumpled newspaper shoved under the screen to provide support and shape to the terrain. Then, I used a sort-of hardshell made with a mixture of Portland Cement, plaster of Pairs, and finely ground vermiculite.

-Crandell
 
Greg the latest issue of Model Railroader includes a bonus booklet on scenery. Look for it at your hobby shop or book store in a plastic envelope. It gives a few examples of using both foam and hard shell techniques along with plusses and minuses of each. If you can post a pic or two of your benchwork I'm sure you'll get some helpful and more specific information from the gang here on ways to support the scenery areas.
 
NH Mike said:
Greg the latest issue of Model Railroader includes a bonus booklet on scenery. Look for it at your hobby shop or book store in a plastic envelope. It gives a few examples of using both foam and hard shell techniques along with plusses and minuses of each. If you can post a pic or two of your benchwork I'm sure you'll get some helpful and more specific information from the gang here on ways to support the scenery areas.
Click to expand...

Ummm...
Mine didn't...
 
Do you get yours by subscription or at a retail outlet? I've noticed over the years that subscription issues usually do not include things like this whether it be MR or any other magazine. Only retail type sales issues have them.

The booklet was with the December 2009 Model Railroader I picked up at the hobby shop.
 
NH Mike said:
Do you get yours by subscription or at a retail outlet? I've noticed over the years that subscription issues usually do not include things like this whether it be MR or any other magazine. Only retail type sales issues have them.

The booklet was with the December 2009 Model Railroader I picked up at the hobby shop.
Click to expand...

Subscription...
And I don't know about you but I have the January issue already... lol it's not even December yet and it already came...
 
Greg - 1" Strips of cardboard stapled (staple gun not desk stapler) to the frame and/or track bed and woven together and glued is one of the methods of creating the mountain/hills that I used. The other was cutting and shaping hardware cloth. After I get the general shape, I cover it the old fashioned way - strips of newspaper dipped through a mixture of Plaster of Paris, carpenter's glue, wet-water and either black or brown dry Tempera powder. It only takes 3 or 4 layers of the paper strips to make a very strong mountain.
Regards,
Jon
http://www.dollhousedesigns.com/ModelRR/ModelRR.html
 
My latest HO layout is open-grid construction...
So far it's still in the benchwork stage (in fact I haven't done any work at all on it this year:eek: )
I've been pondering this same question as you...The last time I built scenery on an open-grid layout, I usede the cardboard strip method described above...it works great, but unless you have a ready supply of pre-cut strips, you'll have to cut your own, & that's more labor intensive than I like to get these days!
This time around, I'm planning to use a combination of window screen & newspaper, & then cover that with plaster soaked paper towels...

But I still have more track to lay & wiring to do before I even start thinking about scenery! :eek:
 
All the above methods work well separately and together.
Each has advantages (speed of installation and economy).
I personally like to use foam stacked, glued and shaped for base vertical surfaces. Then, I cast plaster rock molds for rugged scenery, and sculptamold around the castings to tie them together. The blue or pink foam (in 3/4" to 2" thickness) is rigid, non-water soluable and supports tree trunks when planted.:)
The plaster and sculptamold accept paint and washs to make weathering realistic.
Making background hills and mountains with screen and woven cardborad strips covers a lots of area quickly. But, planting tree trunks usually required drilling holes carefully. If the forest can be planted with glued scenery, it does less damage and is much quicker.
 
I'm with Mikey on the foam. It's much easier to work with and it can be laminated together to form any height you need. Shape it with an old steak knife and a cheap rasp and then vaccuum up the debris. You can use sculptamold or plaster of paris as a top coat to smooth things out and cover the laminations if you think that will look better.

If you use the carboard strip method, start saving up all your paper grocery bags. I've found them to work better than newspaper or paper towels since they are more rigid and less prone to flopping down between the cardboard supports.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top