My small Rokuhan layout, comments welcome!

grymg Nov 11, 2019

  1. grymg

    grymg TrainBoard Member

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    Making a small layout using Rokuhan track. I was inspired by the HO layouts by Dad made when I was young and the recent N scale layout my Dad made for my son. This will be my first layout from scratch so comments are welcome.
    I want it to be really light and portable so mounted it on a foam core posterboard base and 1/2" plys of foam for the layout. I couldn't find the pink or green foam core at Home Depot so settled with styrofoam, although a bit messier due to the styrene balls it seems to be forming nicely.

    To do:
    1) finish contouring the hills with a cutting blade
    2) glue everything together using liquid nails
    3) foam putty to smooth out the hills
    4) layer of plaster
    5) base paint: heather grey under the roadbed, blue water, mixture of grey/green/brown everywhere else
    6) road paving using woodland scenics kit
    7) grass turf application using woodland scenics kit
    8) realistic water using woodland scenics kit
    9) holes for track cables, and laying in the track
    10) trees/foilage/people/cars/boats

    IMG_6143.JPG IMG_6144.JPG
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2019
    HemiAdda2d, gmorider, CNE1899 and 5 others like this.
  2. bostonjim

    bostonjim TrainBoard Member

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    Hi. Looks good. May I suggest a more rigid baseboard than the one you are using. 1/2" foamcore or Gatorboard would give you a much sturdier platform. It is easy to work with and can be totally water-based construction. Jim
     
  3. Doug A.

    Doug A. TrainBoard Supporter

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    I agree....1/2" or even better 3/4", 1", or 2" XPS foam board (the pink or blue foam board available at most home improvement centers in 4x8 sheets that are easily cut down to smaller size) will be a much better choice.

    Also, those small radius Rokuhan turnouts have very limited capabilities. Hopefully you aren't planning to run the majority of Z locos/rolling stock through them. Anything from the Rokuhan "Shorty" family should be fine though.
     
  4. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    It does look good though. What I would do different is make the river go off to the left through a cut through the mountains, and use a couple plate girder bridge there, then I would consider a Rokuhan turntable on the right and build a smakk servicing yard there. Also I would add a crossover between the inner and outer loops.

    Either way, you can build it up however you like, and modify it later as desired. That's the beauty of building your own layout, you can build your miniture world however you like. :D
     
    gmorider likes this.
  5. grymg

    grymg TrainBoard Member

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    Been working on this build lately.
    I did increase the base to thicker foam core and also changed out the outer loop turnouts to curved R195 turnouts as my GP-38 wasn't able the make the R55 turnouts without derailing. Working on the water next.
    IMG_6146.JPG IMG_6202.JPG IMG_6234.JPG IMG_6236.JPG IMG_6240.JPG
     
    Kurt Moose likes this.
  6. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

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    Dang, lookin' good!!(y)
     
  7. grymg

    grymg TrainBoard Member

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    Stayed up late last night spending some more time on the layout. First time doing the realistic water, it's been quite fun to see it come alive.
    IMG_6247.JPG IMG_6252.JPG IMG_6260.JPG
     
  8. mdvholland

    mdvholland TrainBoard Member

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    Hi grymg, indeed, wonderful how soil and green make it come alive! Must 've been a fun night. Love the water inlet, however the mountainspring does look a bit too much like a waterslide park, if I may say so.. Maybe dull down the blue a bit? Check out what Steffen B did with kitchenpaper to create a nice river.
    Matt
     
  9. grymg

    grymg TrainBoard Member

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    Here she is with the trains running! I'm planning on doing a reset on the lake, needs more blue and I agree the hill runoff needs to be worked on. I also said I would leave it at just mostly a scenery build but I couldn't help myself and placed an order for a dock, silo, people, cars, boats and other trackside details.
     
  10. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    Nice! What is the layout dimensions?

    John
     
  11. grymg

    grymg TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks, I mounted it on Elmer's 36" x 48" tri-fold foam display board. I just kept it folded in and glued the layers together for more strength.
     
  12. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    Congrats! You have completed your first scratchbuilt layout in less than a month! Now that it is done, you will come to realize that a layout is never really done. There are a million things you can do next. You can try you hand at scratchbuilding some detailed trees, weather the bridges with bits of rust, add street signs and lamp posts, etc. It just goes on and on. [​IMG]
     
    HemiAdda2d likes this.
  13. husafreak

    husafreak TrainBoard Member

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    Nice layout and a nice collection of trains you have there! Looks like fun.
     
  14. bostonjim

    bostonjim TrainBoard Member

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    Good job! I like the Chessie loco. I've got one too. It's good to see it in action.Jim
     

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