Thunder Ridge: A Freelanced Focus on Scenery

Mark Watson Apr 12, 2010

  1. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    nitpick time on chemical companies.

    Owens Corning makes the pink foam (they make the pink fiberglass insulation, too, and used the Pink Panther and Inspector Clouseau in their commercials), and it can be found in lots of stores.

    Dow Chemical makes the original blue foam, typically more expensive, and it was the product that was originally called "STYROFOAM" (a registered trademark).

    Dow Corning is a supplier of silicones, a company owned equally by Dow Chemical and Corning Inc. (a company that specializes in glass). Owens Corning is independent, and specializes in fiberglass.

    And none of this explains why the foam we bought on Saturday is purple!
     
  2. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    Anybody who has ever used the product "Great Stuff", the expanding foam in a can, knows how incredibly messy and sticky that stuff can be. That, and along with the expanding attribute is why I chose "Great Stuff" as the adhesive for my foam river valley. :)

    As I said last night, I numbered the individual foam blocks and have the entire left side now glued in place. Though I kept all foam oriented so the 2" thickness was always vertical, variations caused some major offsets from one block to the next, and the expanding foam in a can filled them right up! This will really cut down on gap filling once the terrain is carved out.

    Here's a photo of the left ridge numbered and secured with globs of "Great Stuff" oozing out of the gaps. :)

    [​IMG]

    I cant remember if I bought the last can of Great Stuff or not, so hopefully I can pick up another can tomorrow and finish the right side. The mountains above the track are not complete,that's just where I'm storing those pieces of foam. The actual mountains there will be three layers taller. :D
     
  3. YoHo

    YoHo TrainBoard Supporter

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    I knew most of this, but was being mentally lazy. . Thank you for putting me in my place. I would assume that it was not Dow or Owens Corning, but a 3rd manufacturer? I've seen the purple stuff before at Home Despots. They probably just found a less expensive supplier.
    I remember, my original N-scale layout was all Styrofoam until I put on an addition that was O-C pink. I always thought the Styrofoam was easier to work with.
     
  4. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    I just cant stop. Now that the expanding foam has dried the mountain is rock solid! So I went at it with a wallboard saw. :D :D

    [​IMG]

    With trees for reference:
    [​IMG]
     
  5. mikelhh

    mikelhh TrainBoard Member

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    It's off to a great start. I love that expanding foam too.

    Mike
     
  6. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    No offense intended, please. As a chemist, I know the different companies, and a lot of folks confuse them.

    This foam is O-C, has the Fomular brand name and the Pink Panther emblazoned on it (well, it did until Mark went and chopped it all up into that great looking mountain).
     
  7. Tracy McKibben

    Tracy McKibben TrainBoard Member

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    The worst thing about Great Stuff - you have to use the whole can, or throw it away. Once the "straw" clogs up, you're done.

    This looks awesome so far!!!!
     
  8. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks Mike. My last class for the semester is today, then I get a whole month off. Expect a flood of updates soon! :D

    Yep, it even says "Consider as one time use product" on the can. But for 5 dollars it's not so bad. And as you can see, one can just barely covered the left mountain, so I have plenty of need for the full can. :)
     
  9. YoHo

    YoHo TrainBoard Supporter

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    None Taken. I am only relying on my habit of retaining pointless (to me anyway) Trivia and that retention is about as far from perfect as it can be.
     
  10. YoHo

    YoHo TrainBoard Supporter

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    AS a note, if you properly clean the applicator immediately after use, you can reuse it.
     
  11. CNW 1518

    CNW 1518 TrainBoard Member

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    Woo hoo Great Stuff..

    I used that stuff to make entire mountains back in the day.. ewwww
     
  12. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Never before thought to use spray foam to glue foam mountains. Ingenius!
     
  13. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    It both glues the foam together and fills the gaps at the same time! I cant believe I never thought about it before either.

    Today I went back to the Hardware store after my finals (they went great btw! :D).
    I must have gotten the infinity can today or the reject can yesterday because today's can glued nearly twice as much foam together!

    I now have the right side mountains (below the tracks) and the left side scenic fascia, up around the first beveled corner glued into place. I'll give it about an hour or two to dry then it's time to go at it with the wallboard saw again! :D

    Tomorrow I plan to get the mountains above the tracks and the tunnel glued/carved. :)

    Pictures later tonight.
     
  14. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    Here's the foam for the scenic fascia cut and positioned:
    [​IMG]


    And here it is glued with "Great Stuff":
    [​IMG]

    The right side of the ridge:
    [​IMG]

    And the back of the valley, see how it bends around to the right before disappearing into the backdrop:
    [​IMG]
     
  15. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    Yep, I just hadn't picked the right weapon. Now that I am proudly wielding my foam swords, you renegades better watch your back!!
    [​IMG][​IMG]

    *Swings Sword*

    *Foam sword breaks because of the pressure of wind resistance*




    Aw man... :p :p
     
  16. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    And here are pictures of the new additions all carved out!

    Here's the right side, below track level:
    [​IMG]

    From the left, see how the scenic fascia fills the picture frame:
    [​IMG]

    And from the right, looking down the river gorge. Look how close the high line hugs the the ridge 220 scale feet above the valley floor!
    [​IMG]
     
  17. maxairedale

    maxairedale TrainBoard Member

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    Congrats:thumbs_up:
    I have noticed the same thing when working on the house. Installing the same size window in the same size opening. One can will fill the gap on one window and it took the better part of 2 for another.

    Looking good Mark:thumbs_up::thumbs_up::thumbs_up:

    Gary
     
  18. D-Rio

    D-Rio TrainBoard Member

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    Looks awesome!!! :tb-biggrin:

    I can only imagine the mess you have after sculpting though.


    I have a question with the foam construction: Once it’s in how do you perform any maintenance on track wiring if something goes wrong? or do you not have any feeders in that section?


    Sorry if that was covered in earlier post. Havent had a chance to read it all, just look at pictures :)
     
  19. NorfolkSouthern9708

    NorfolkSouthern9708 TrainBoard Member

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    lol Your screwed if your train derails on the bridge there. :tb-biggrin:
     
  20. Packers#1

    Packers#1 TrainBoard Member

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    Mike, looks good. What's the next step?
    Why not pick up a cheap loco and create a wrecked train scene at the bottom of the canyon? hehehe
     

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