The College Kid Layout Building Saga - End?

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Update:
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Here is the current progress on the layout. First off I have placed some misc. cardboard pieces around the more populated side of the layout. I still don't really have a clue what I am going to do with that side but so far I am not focused on that. I think it will come once the mountain comes along farther. Speaking of, I forgot to share a picture of the mountain with the first few base layers of grey paint/glue. But here it is with the gradient and I decided to take a stab at adding a ground layer. I don't know what to think so far. I plan to do a bit more. I hope it stays glued down. I used a 50.50 mix of glue and water to settle the tuft but I think that was too little glue in the mixture. I am planning on adding a bit more and a layer of green. After that I am going to populate it with trees. Then I will start on the scarry task of creating the lake feature. I am very nervous for that part. I will update everyone on how the blue color glue is working to see if you guys have any input on using that. Anyway back to work.
 
catnippertom said:
Update:
View attachment 174826View attachment 174827View attachment 174828View attachment 174829
Here is the current progress on the layout. First off I have placed some misc. cardboard pieces around the more populated side of the layout. I still don't really have a clue what I am going to do with that side but so far I am not focused on that. I think it will come once the mountain comes along farther. Speaking of, I forgot to share a picture of the mountain with the first few base layers of grey paint/glue. But here it is with the gradient and I decided to take a stab at adding a ground layer. I don't know what to think so far. I plan to do a bit more. I hope it stays glued down. I used a 50.50 mix of glue and water to settle the tuft but I think that was too little glue in the mixture. I am planning on adding a bit more and a layer of green. After that I am going to populate it with trees. Then I will start on the scarry task of creating the lake feature. I am very nervous for that part. I will update everyone on how the blue color glue is working to see if you guys have any input on using that. Anyway back to work.
Click to expand...
You say you used 50/50 for glue, what type of glue are you using?
 


Smudge617 said:
Needs to be a little stronger, around 60-65/40-35, you may need to experiment a little. Personally I use 70/30, it gives a nice coverage if your using a brush and retains enough grip to keep stuff where you want it.
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I probably need to go over it with a better coat. I haven't had time to check it quite yet. I plan to once I am done with class for the day. 60/40or 70/30 will probably be better.
 
Update:
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Here is the mountain as it stands. I am having trouble with deciding if I want to keep the mountain as a solo piece that I can remove from the modular layout for easy transport, or glue the whole thing down and just say screw it. I think I am still thinking about keeping it solo but that will depend on the structural rigidity of the poster it is on once I cut it out. Also, I acquired more trees and painted them. So far they look pretty good. I am excited to litter the mountain and the layout with them. I think the mountain looks pretty good in its current state. Any comments or advice is appreciated as always.
 
catnippertom said:
Update:
View attachment 174945View attachment 174946View attachment 174947

Here is the mountain as it stands. I am having trouble with deciding if I want to keep the mountain as a solo piece that I can remove from the modular layout for easy transport, or glue the whole thing down and just say screw it. I think I am still thinking about keeping it solo but that will depend on the structural rigidity of the poster it is on once I cut it out. Also, I acquired more trees and painted them. So far they look pretty good. I am excited to litter the mountain and the layout with them. I think the mountain looks pretty good in its current state. Any comments or advice is appreciated as always.
Click to expand...
The only "advice" I can give is to keep up the good work, I like the way the mountain has turned out, I'm impressed 😎
 


Update:

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Here is a bit of the progress on the layout. I cut out the mountain from the poster board then glued it onto a foam board. I cut it out from there bu the sides were warping up. I had to glue and clamp down all of the sides to make sure it would be flush when set on the layout. I plan to have the mountain be removable for transport of the layout, that is why I am building the mountain this way. I put masking tape on the outside of the base so it is flush and there is nothing flying off of it. From here, I am starting to dig out the hole for the mountain. it is about a 1/4 inch deep so it is going to take me a minute to get it all layed in there and perfect. After this, I am going to start on the small dike scene to the left of the mountain. Once that is in I plan on doing the ground cover, then the ballast. I got a bag of kitty litter from dollar tree to use for ballast. I do still need to plan what I want to do for the industry area. Everything that is placed is super temporary so there is no current direction for that part of the layout, still. Anyway that's the update. Back to work.
 
Vince-RA said:
Be careful with this, kitty litter swells tremendously when exposed to water. The usual methods of affixing ballast to layouts with diluted white glue will likely be disastrous with kitty litter.
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Thanks for the tip! I will make sure to do my research and be careful when ballasting. That was something I hadn't considered until now.
 
Vince-RA said:
Be careful with this, kitty litter swells tremendously when exposed to water. The usual methods of affixing ballast to layouts with diluted white glue will likely be disastrous with kitty litter.
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I just did a bit of Googling and safe to say I am probably going to go away from using cat litter for ballast. Seems like too many problems. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
 
zzr1200guy said:
Have you considered building a Hotrack module. they are fun and portable lots of modeling opportunities.
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I have thought about building a module for a modular layout or something like that but at the moment I don't think it is something I can do. I have no power tools to work with so it is difficult to create a good module. For the moment I will continue to work on my janky layout. Down the line I would plan on making a module for some sort of modular club layout.
 
A small bag of Woodland Scenics medium or fine ballast costs less than $7 from many suppliers on the internet or at hobby shops. Probably cheaper than the smallest size bag that kitty litter comes in.
Woodland Scenics ballast is made from crushed Walnut shells. Real rock is available from Arizona Rock & Mineral at about the same cost, but what I have gotten is in smaller bags.
 


catnippertom said:
Update:

View attachment 175511View attachment 175512View attachment 175513

Here is a bit of the progress on the layout. I cut out the mountain from the poster board then glued it onto a foam board. I cut it out from there bu the sides were warping up. I had to glue and clamp down all of the sides to make sure it would be flush when set on the layout. I plan to have the mountain be removable for transport of the layout, that is why I am building the mountain this way. I put masking tape on the outside of the base so it is flush and there is nothing flying off of it. From here, I am starting to dig out the hole for the mountain. it is about a 1/4 inch deep so it is going to take me a minute to get it all layed in there and perfect. After this, I am going to start on the small dike scene to the left of the mountain. Once that is in I plan on doing the ground cover, then the ballast. I got a bag of kitty litter from dollar tree to use for ballast. I do still need to plan what I wThe want to do for the industry area. Everything that is placed is super temporary so there is no current direction for that part of the layout, still. Anyway that's the update. Back to work.
Click to expand...
I would use kitty litter that was a O gauge trick. and it will soak the glue and break apart what you move the layout.
 
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