Tracks laid - what's 'next'?


P

Prime12

New Member
I am working on my very first layout (a HO 4x8), and just finished tracklaying and wiring stuff (plywood - 1 1/2 foam - cork roadbed - track).

My next objective: How do I make my foam layer look like, well, a real ground layer? I tried to look around but 99% of guides out there seem to be for at least somewhat advanced modelers and I couldn't understand half of it.

Since I'm modeling an industrial park, it'll mostly be just a flat ground layer.

My LHS owner suggested that I build the layer up with plaster or hydrocal and paint over with oil based paint. By saying 'plaster,' did he mean the kind we use on drywalls? and I have no idea what hydrocal is.. I should have stayed and asked him but he was closing the shop and I didn't want to keep him there forever.


If you can suggest a good method or anything I can learn from (books, websites, youtube vids..) that'd be great.


Thanks in advance! :)
 
Prime12 said:
My LHS owner suggested that I build the layer up with plaster or hydrocal and paint over with oil based paint. By saying 'plaster,' did he mean the kind we use on drywalls? and I have no idea what hydrocal is.. I should have stayed and asked him but he was closing the shop and I didn't want to keep him there forever.
Click to expand...

exactly the thing. i use foam for my terra-forming and cover it with drywall joint compound to cover the roughness and unwanted dents. i use latex paint however, cheapest wallmart one. friendlier to work with sticks well enough to both plaster and bare foam (scuffed with sandpaper actually). then before the paint dries you can sprincle it with ground-cover, either store bought or hand made . i use both: WS ground foam products and earth i sifted and baked a bit in the oven.

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i used moss (preserved in alcohol/glycerin solution) from my backyard for vegetation BTW, i like it better then clump foliage of WS
 
People use a lot of different stuff - sand, sanded grout, sifted dirt, "ground goop", Sculptamold, plaster, texture paint, etc. I've been happy with taking a fine metal brush or a sanding block to the extruded foam to make the surface less "perfect" and then painting it with cheap latex paint. I toss on whatever (cheap) texture material I have handy onto the wet paint, usually sifted beach sand.

After that, I add ground foam or ballast or sawdust or whatever - anything that will give some kind of texture. Sometimes, I paint over the texture material again.

IMO, the key is to use any technique that will make the surface texture rough enough so it doesn't look like perfectly level newly-poured concrete.
 
If you've got a few bits of foam left, do a few practice runs on those before you lay anything down on your layout. Keep track of what you used so you can repeat it later. It's easier to chuck out a scrap of foam than to chisel a failed scenic layer from the actual layout. (I found this out the hard way.)

Consider the height of the foam to be the average elevation. Cut a little below it here and there, with the wire brush, to get some contour in, then build above it with the plaster. Make sure you keep (or create) a flat base for your structures, or you'll drive yourself mad later trying to get them to sit flat. Even an industrial park won't be totally flat. Then hit it with the paint, add whatever cheap texture you want (just to give later texture something to stick to; I use sand) to the wet paint, then add your other layers of ground foam, sawdust, static grass, whatever.
 
My first M&WV's scenery was made from foam, and I used Perma Scene (no longer available) and Brandt's scenery mix. If you want relatively level terrain, what you can do is use plain old cardboard cut into contour shapes (like on a USGS topographic map) and then cover that with commercially available products such as Sculptamold or Celluclay, or even after you put the ground contours in place, coat them in white glue and then sprinkle sifted real dirt over them, then add grass, weeds etc.
 
A thought - if you're going to install signals with opti-sensors under the track... I'd consider doing that next while you can still lift track and get under it (Before you're putting scenery down)! If you're going to do timer-signals, then you can of course ignore this post!
 
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