Hello all from Cullman Alabama


B

bigken462

Member
I'm not sure if there is a formal area for introductions and greets, but since looking for scenery information led me to this site, I may as well make mine on this forum.

I'm Kenny Taylor 39, and due to the limitations of my living area, I am restricted to a Christmas layout only. Up until this year, I've only had a small 6x7 foot layout with a passing area. This year, I added a second train to the inside. While it is better than before, I'm still not quite satisfied with the fake chopped plastic snow. Grrrr that stuff makes a mess! I haven't posted pictures of this years effort just yet, but in this link is some from last year. Again, I have added a second set on the inside of the loop. Pictures to follow this weekend.

Last night while on You Tube, I came across some very informative videos on how to make tunnels and mountains. The fella doing this video was very informative in giving details of each product used, web address etc. etc. It looked however that most of his stuff was purchased in bulk since he was making foam and plastic with A&B mixes for quite an extensive layout. Quite honestly the stuff looked like it would be very expensive.

Having to take my layout apart will limit on what I may be able to do, but I'm thinking some mountainous rock popping up from the ground between my mainline and passing loop, or perhaps if I'm brave a inside tunnel with a track on the outside back half of my layout. I should be able to form these small 3-5" of rocks without too much of a challenge and I'm thinking those will serve as some practice stepping stones for later ideas. I may can build these in modules and then later place them around the track as needed before adding snow and other items.

Financially I just can't poor a lot of money in this extra hobby. Being a technical scuba diver, I know ya gotta pay to play sometimes, but I'm really hoping I can learn some inexpensive ways to give my small apartment layout a lil pazazz.

In closing, and the main reason for this post. Does places like Hobby Lobby carry those rock molds many people are using for mountain scenes? How much of these products can people find off the street? If I can look at what I'm buying I can better judge what it is maybe I'm looking for. I can't paint so much as a stick man, so what ever I do, this is going to be a challenge. I think I would like to give it a shot though. I would love it if their happen to be a model rail club in my area, but doubtful there is. Grrr

All the best,

Kenny Taylor
 
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Hi Kenny, welcome to MRforums. I fixed that first link you posted (but in this link) because it pointed to a commercial directory and the filter stopped your post.
There are many members who are very knowledgeable about all facets of model rail and will answer your questions with informative and helpful suggestions.

Cheers
Willis
 
Thank you Mr. Willis, I had seen that and thought I had it corrected. SmugMug usually copies over without any problems. I must have gotten in a hurry and deleted part of the link.

Once again though, thanks for your welcome,

Kenny
 
I've just started my landscaping using the same materials purchased after watching a demo at a local show from Bragdon Enterprises (mentioned in his first video). Interesting to work with ...
 
I spent an hour or so pouring over the web sites he mentioned. While expensive, not quite as bad as I first imagined. I don't think my needs anytime soon would ever require two gallons on the foam and casting resin anytime soon and see they have smaller containers a little cheaper.

I'm interested in making some boulders and outcrops that can be placed easily on the floor or base of train. I may buy some 1/4" plywood to have a better base. I did a lil searching tonight and came across an old thread that had a picture of a boulder in it. I think mold # 79 from Bragdon may be something I am looking to make. Never making anything like this before, I'm not quite sure what to look for.

On the Bragdonet website, I think maybe I may have found something close however. I thought maybe a few of these outcrops or either a something with a rough texture on the outside, the pick a smoother mold for the topside where granite is more flat. Its hard to describe what exactly I want, never had doing it before.

This weekend, I'll snap a few photos of the track and place a placard or something in the areas where I would like to add some granite if that were to help get me some suggestions.

I just realized I was still placing these post in the special announcement section. Would it be better if I were to start a thread in the scenic area?

Thanks,

Kenny
 
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Hobby Lobby will carry some of the rock molds, most likely from Woodland Scenics, which you can use with Hydrocal and turn out just fine. The one local to me carries a variety of these molds, one that includes 3 different molds in one form. If I recall, these molds run ~$20, and a quart container of Hydrocal runs ~$10. Regardless, it wouldn't hurt to check out what's available at your HL ... you get a first hand visual of what you can work with. When I first started, I picked up one of those small Woodland Scenic diorama kits that includes everything for building a diorama in it ($20). I built a 1'x2' diorama with the contents, which included rock molds, hydrocal, ground cover and foam, glue and paint. It was a good way to get some experience with scenery.

Another approach is to hit up a local train show where Bragdon Enterprises has a booth. They sell "flubbed" molds, those with an imperfection, for a significant discount. I picked up one of their retaining wall molds with a flaw on one end that is easily hideable with plant growth for $5.

In regards to thread location, you can ask a mod to move this thread using the little red outlined triangle in the upper right of any post to report the thread.
 
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I had thought that Hobby Lobby was discontinuing Train related items. I hope I was misinformed because every once in a while I need something they carry and it is a lot closer than going to INDY.
 
Hey Ken, welcome to the forum!

Your Christmas village/railroad setup looks great. The kids must really get a kick out of it.

Hobby Lobby (Birmingham area, haven't checked in Cullman) does still have some of the Woodland Scenics latex rubber rock molds. They are very easy to use with lightweight hydrocal. We live just down the road from you. That being the case, you are welcome to borrow our WS molds for a few days to save some money and try them out. Shoot me a PM if you are interested.

When you get everything completed, please consider participating in our Merry Christmas 2010 photo contest. http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=204962
 
Hi Kenny! Nice to have another Bama Boy on-board :). There are several of us on here, with most in the B'ham area and then myself in T-town. All great guys and we get together every now and then for an "Alabama Rail Gang" (ARG) meet.

One option for the expensive Hydrocal is cheap Plaster of Paris. Don't misunderstand, Hydrocal is best and the strongest, but PofP will work and is a lot cheaper. The Woodland Scenics molds are very good molds and after the form has cured, you can use a dental pick or sharp instrument to carve and customize the looks (if desired).

If I were going to build a small tunnel, I would first build a form to match the layout area using cardboard strip lattice (weave) work. Shape so that any vertical rock faces (molds) will roughly fit on the sides/entrance, etc. A Hot Glue gun is ideal for this work.

Use either plaster gauze (Woodland Scenics or Medical), utility type paper towels soaked in plaster, or screen wire to cover frame and the holes between the strips. Cover with about 1/4" plaster and let dry. Some have used masking tape to cover the lattice, but the plaster needs to be thick or it will slip until tacky.

I like to attach the mold's plaster rock forms using more plaster as a mortar: put a glob on and stick form; glob some on around edges and attach adjacent rock forms, just like brick laying;). Before the mortar between molds gets too hard, pick out crevices, cracks, etc., between the rocks to maintain continuity in looks. Always wet the dry plaster on the foundation before attaching mold forms. Otherwise, the foundation will try to wick the moisture from the mortar to quickly.

Also and after the frame and molds have been completed, you can apply globs of plaster in different areas and carve them to be a rock outcropping or a boulder. The amount of the "glob":D would be dependent on how large you would want it. I generally shape this with my wet fingers and then carve after they have set.

This is rather brief, but perhaps is enough to get you thinking.;):)
 
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To Grande Man and Rex:

Thanks for the reply: My lil two and half year old buddy (nephew) took a field trip to HL yesterday to scout out some supplies to grab up on the next payday......While on the mission, Trystan and I picked up about 3 bags of thick foam snow. I was thinking this would look awesome to use as filler, then sprinkle the flaked fake snow on top. I'm learning very quickly that once ya have the set down, leave the blooming thing alone! But never the less, I grabbed the bags up. We then zipped over to a RC hobby shop to take a gander at what they may have to offer. The owner was also into public safety so we hit it off pretty fast. Since he didn't have but just a few pieces of train stuff in the store, our attention turned to the huge airplanes hanging from the ceiling. I had made a comment that I wanted to carry my lil man to a the local modelers air strip so that he could see them fly. Luckily for us, the owner happened to have 50 clear acres of land which suited just the purpose. Lil T and I spent the next 30 minutes watching some pretty neat flying of those RC planes. His mom and dad just love me for getting their son hooked to all these expensive hobbies. But ya know, it's damn better than any TV game I've ever seen! While I can't recall every gift my parents or grandparent gave me, I just about remember every second of life I got to spend with them:)

Later when I arrived home, I pulled and plucked at the foam snow to get it kinda where I thought it needed to be. Trystan was on my heals wanting me to turn the train on. Even at 2 1/2 he's glued to the set and can just near make all the simple sounds himself. Lol So when I thought all was good, I fired up the steamers and off they went. The newest aet I had thankfully was on the outside track, and although was not running well (it will be on the way to Amazon for exchange Monday) was clear of the foam, the other however managed to snag a bit of the foam strands and it sucked them up like it was sewing a blanket. Two hours later with tweezers, needles and a magnifying glass, I managed to get all the crap unwound from the wheels. What a quagmire idea that was.........Its safe to say that there is no more foam snow within 6 inches of the track. I'm beginning to think that fake chopped and shredded plastic for fake snow is not such a good idea either. I think I'm going to power up those lil power poles with some live electric fence wire so that eventually I'll learn to leave the track alone once its in place. Lol

Anyway, I had been asking around if there was a train club anywhere. I wish I had the space that I could keep mine up year around, but it is what it is. Grrr. How often do you guys meet up for some coffee and lies? It would be nice to meet some folks, shake a few hands and say hello sometime.

Kenny Taylor
 
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Kenny, I usually have an ARG every year the first of this month, but I've been held back scheduling one. I've been waiting for the company to repair our fireplace and it has been tomorrow, no, tomorrow, no, next week, no.......on and off. I will probably try hard to have one in January. It has been awhile since all have been together. In the meantime, the "Wrecking Crew" club, located at the McWane Center (B'ham), has their very large and detailed layout on display (at McWane) during the holidays. Mike (PNKFlOYD) is a member of that outstanding club that is full of talented model railroaders, including a couple of NMRA Masters.

Don't be down about not having enough room to have a permanent layout. Many on here have them in attics, bedrooms, utility rooms, etc. and have come up with some neat plans. Some are around the room, bookshelf type. N scale is ideal for small space and impressive layout can be had using an old door for the base.

BTW: My Mom and Dad lived in Cullman for many years while Dad worked for Drummond Coal Co. I always liked that town and loved Smith Lake.

Bama Boys: PNKFLOYD, CJCrescent, L&MCastle, Grande man, Lil Grande man, UP2CSX, and of course myself RexHea. That's all I can think of right now:eek:.
 
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Hello guys, I didn't want to clutter the forum by starting another thread, but I had a question regarding a post by a forum member about a nice caboose he found. Someone had made a comment about it being built for O gauge, but for O scale. It could have been vise verse, but My point for the question since I thought those were used interchangeably is: What is the difference between O gauge and O scale.

Thanks,

KT
 
RexHea said:
Bama Boys: PNKFLOYD, CJCrescent, L&MCastle, Grande man, Lil Grande man, UP2CSX, and of course myself RexHea. That's all I can think of right now:eek:.
Click to expand...

Include me. I may reside in Tennessee but my home will always be in Alabama. Roll Tide Roll!
 
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