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Remember the pinnacle near the creek and bending track at the back of the layout? Sadly that all had to go. This was made from Sculptamold and here is how I did it. Hammer!
It came apart nicely without much mess, another plus over plaster.
Then I had to 'round' the corners. I tried a saw with great results.
When you make a layout a foot larger all around you allow yourself to have much wider radius track. If you are like me this allows for more scenery. I'm not one to have yards and multiple business served by rail. So, if you are like me a runner and not an operator the this layout may be for you. In the photo below you can detect that 5'x7' will allow me to have the new track plan fully enclose the old one. Curve radius on the corners will be 22". I use Woodland Scenics 4" Risers for the new sub-roadbed. This matches up with the 4" risers I used before. Jim
Remember the pinnacle near the creek and bending track at the back of the layout? Sadly that all had to go. This was made from Sculptamold and here is how I did it. Hammer!
Sherrel, The track plan is the same as the previous layout. So probably not. Check back to Page 334, Post 3337 and you can see the plan there. On thing I've notice is that six inches on all sides make for a MUCH larger layout. Jim
After the necessary objects are removed it is time to glue down some Woodland Scenics 4 inch risers. Seen here drying.
A bit larger view show us the new risers going around near the edge. Basically the new track will fit just on the outside of the old. You can see the old roadbed. Jim
Mike, I hope so because there is much more to come.
Next photo shows a couple of things. I use leftover stucco patch on the walls of the creek. Then I got my spray can with the reddish primer paint and covered the creek bed. Then I poured some sand on the wet paint to see how this would look. If you haven't figured this out yet I'm making all this up as I go along. Sort of experimenting on this corner of the layout. Jim
Next up is building some pinnacles. On a previous layout I carved everything out of blue foam and it came out quite nice. I can't get pink or blue foam here in SoCal so I've had to come up with another way. I'm assuming someone has tried this method, but I've not seen it before.
I rolled some newspaper in to a vague funnel shape and taped it. Then plaster cloth to make sure it stays in place.
Here is a photo of this group of pinnacles finished. I use Woodland Scenics Plaster, not light weight hydrocol, this time around. It is strong, you have to work fast, and it's not cheap! Jury is still out on this product. Jim
Bushel, Slow down a minute. Everyone has the skill to do a layout, trust me. You can read through this site and get all you need to do it, or, you can purchase any of a dozen magazines that will tell you the same thing. This site is free to all, but many like to spend money and that is okay. In this site you have access to four layouts, two room-sized and two small ones. Tell me what are your goals? Myself or folks here will be willing to help you reach them.
One thing I like about building is that scenery-wise it is virtually impossible to mess up. In these photos above, I'm not copying, I'm simply making this all up as I go along! Nothing easier than that. Jim
This next photo shows three different layers of scenery material. The plaster on the towers, the tower basses are made from Sculptamold and the creek sides are made of stucco patch. The white plaster cloth area is waiting for the Sculptamold. When finished all these colors will blend in to make something reasonable realistic. Hopefully! Jim
