Pachyderm -- Do you paint all of your under-earth that way? (Latex Paint + sand/dirt) I'm currently looking directly at a benchwork full of pink foam (and only pink foam!) and want to use your technique for this... Thanks!
Bonus Time - As a result of not having to do any last minute festive running around prior to Christmas. Although I did have to work. Buildings removed - Backdrop repainted a more user-friendly colour. I had taken a few moments to mount my CM 20 throttle control and MRC sound control to the facia with velcro. Just to neatin' it up. Backdrop applied - I was really pleased with how it turned out. I did recruit a friend to help me after the pictures were glued together and put it on in one long piece. 110" long. I plan to vary the ground elevation at the base of the backdrop to hide the white border where buildings will not be.
Just to chime in with my two cents, I am also planning the same thing with my layout. However, instead of using plain latex paint + sifted sand/dirt for the base terrain, I am going to try the new River Rock line of Ralph Lauren paints available from Home Depot. This line of paint is textured with a very fine black sand. The stuff is pretty expensive (about $40/gallon), but I have seen the results on Bernard Kempinski's USMRR blog and the stuff looks fantastic. I was wondering what I was going to do for red Georgia clay, and this stuff looks just perfect. That backdrop looks great. I definitely like the new subtle blue you have chosen for the exposed sky area. Jamie
Wow Train1, that backdrop looks great! Tonight I finished up putting the tunnel portal back in. I was having rubbing problems with the portal and my long/high cars. Turned out I had forgot to set it at the same angle as the the superelevated track! Doh! A few shims and that problem was corrected. After that, I taped up the area on the hill I had cut out to work on the tunnel. I also added some more cardboard strips between the track/facia/river and got them covered with masking tape as well. the work area tonight. Finished covering the hill with tape, added a cut out picture of the real area I'm modeling and taped it up where the river hits the backdrop, and grabbed a toothpic and some clump folage to make a real fast pine tree for visual reference. I think this area is now ready for plaster. One thing I have to say is I'm glad I started scenery on the upper level first! With all the stuff I need to have laying around and with some things falling off the upper level and landing on the lower level's benchwork, having the lower level scenery done would have made this alot more tedious to work on. Mike
Mike, Looking forward to seeing how the scene comes out with the photo backdrop. I was going to do the same thing but flipped a coin and decided to paint the tree lines and hills instead. I am also amazed at how smooth your sky looks. In those photos, I almost forgot that area is one of your curved corners. Nearly impossible to tell except for some very slight shadows in one of the wide shots. Jamie
I love the postings everyone....some really great things going on with your layouts. I will not be joining the party like I was planning as I am waaaay behind on getting my attic space ready (need to replace the entire roof....the whole darn thing). Roof replacement is on hold until about April or May (waiting on warmer weather). So I am pretty much stuck for now to get the attic area train worthy. I am however working creatining a revised layout plan that will allow for some resuse as this layout will be redone within ten years.
Skunk, Thanks for asking. Indeed, I do paint all my under-earth (I like your term for it) that way. It's cheap, quick and easy. I picked a custom color in inexpensive interior flat latex at Walmart. I oven-dry then sieve locally available sand through doubled window screen. I've got a tutorial in my RailImages you might find useful. Before I settled on this method, I used to cover the shaped foam surface with plaster and cheesecloth. Now I'm unsure why I even bothered with the plaster mess. Modifying the terrain in those areas is a real hassle. However, terrain and roadbed changes in the plaster-free portions of the layout are much simpler because of the latex/sand under-earth approach. The finished layer peels cleanly from the foam substrate with a putty knife as shown in the picture below. So, the good news is this: Applying under-earth and ground cover to your foam landforms is not a permanent commitment. You can change it anytime you want with very little mess or hassle. Once you've tried it, post pictures and let us know how you like the results.
Todd, very nice, thanks for the tutorial. I transfered it to a word document to make it easier for me to read. Let me know if you would like a copy.
I'll second that! I seem to learn a new tip or trick each week that I end up using on my layout. Jamie
Hi, Guys!! Update #2. Framing and 2 layers of foam installed. Before: After: Next is roadbed, track( at least the mainline) and wiring. Keep working, all!! Terry
Jamie, thanks for kind words. I'm hoping the photo backdrops will turn out ok. The small one I have on there already was resized and printed out on my inkjet printer. It looks pretty good right now, but I think the hard part is going to be getting the color of the layout scenery to match the photo, and hide the transition seam. I'll end up going your route if they don't work out. Mike
Grey one -- I'd love a copy -- I'll send you a PM with my email address. (assuming Todd Pachyderm doesn't mind, of course!) I'm heading to walmart now (yay for 24 hour) to pick up some latex paint. Anybody have any good (read: cheap) ways to cut foam to create their landforms?
Is is bad that i just took my entire layout and tried to put it in xtrkcad so that i can ask for advice on my plan -- and i went exact piece by piece from the layout into the program... and it doesn't fit. at all. nothing lines up where it should. I'm using unitrack, so i can't say 'oh, flex track has some variation.... erm. oops. </frustration>
Here is my progress report for Week #1: Primed & painted fascia. Replaced temporary turnout controls with permanent ones mounted in the fascia. Installed cardboard strips for the hardshell terrain between the south staging entrance and the I-75 underpass. Looking south at a nortbound train entering the layout from south staging: Same area looking north towards the south end of the Emerson passing siding: The extent of the cardboard web so far. The void in the foreground is where the I-75 underpass will be. I need to add some framing to support the highway and the overpass as well as trim the correct profile into the fascia before I can continue: Jamie
The defaults in XtrkCad allow for zero "play" between piece connections. Upping the connection distance and connection angle in the preferences will help fix this.
You have just become my new favorite person.* (*Please note that becoming my "favorite person" can expire quickly. The reasons for this expiration are can include other new great advice, it being late at night and memory lapses, or other shiny objects. Side effects include grades that are too steep, tight radii, cats on the layout, and vertigo. If the favoritism persists for more than 4 hours please consult a physician.)
Progress Report Week 1 Wednesday I used Google Maps satellite views to check out positioning of the prototype buildings between Adams Street and the CNW Adams Street Yard from the south end of the Yard near the Adams Street viaduct up to Lauderbach Lumber at the north end of the Yard. This weekend, I printed some of the satellite views as well as several of the street level views, and used them to guide creating and positioning some mock-ups. I put these houses in place as space fillers a couple of years ago. They are from the Americana Collection of Liberty Falls ceramics by International Resourcing Services in Northbrook Illinois. The houses sell for $5 to $8 but can sometimes be found at flea markets for less (like these were). Look in my Layout Projects album for pics of similar houses on another portion of my layout. After working on it this weekend, the area looks like this: I removed all of the houses and put in some mock-ups and pictures of what I want to model, put down some grass and painted the road, and threw some cars into the auto dealership that is just off of the viaduct. In the next few days, I hope to add some trees, stripe the lanes of Adams Street, and put together some more cardboard mock-ups for Title Cash, Stanley Steamer Carpet Cleaning business, and the Adams Street Market. I also want to use the under-construction house as a frame for a signature landmark of Adams Street during the 1970s: the Hubcap House.
OK with me to share Grey One's Word file. My photos are on RailImages for the benefit of all, regardless of retrieved format. I've used these tools pretty heavily for shaping foam: Surform rasp and flexible dovetail saw.
