Does everybody make their scenes solid? Like, glued down... All rocks, ballast, grass? Mostly ballast. or do you shape it and leave it loose.
Glued. Otherwise bits and pieces tend to get into places where they are unwanted. Such as switch points and.... Boxcab E50
After the ballast is down. I use a diluted matte medium. Others use a white glue mixture. These are probably the two most often used. I'm sure there'll be a few other suggestions offered. Boxcab E50
Woodland Scenics scenic cement. I have used diluted white glue as well, both work equally well in my opinion.
Everything is also glued down on my layout. Otherwise, stuff will get moved around or knocked off the layout, or it will get sucked up when I vacuum stuff off the track after adding scenery. I use diluted white glue to keep everything in place. Anything that is loose will find its way somewhere where you don't want it--guaranteed. Jamie
The standard over here is woodworkers' glue (white pva), diluted and - believe if you want to, it's your choice - a drop of dishwashing liquid. Apparently, it helps the mix to spread but I've never tried that method. I just spread the pva, scatter the ballast on top and sweep away the excess when it's dry (that's when I bother to use ballast. I prefer not to, and use shades of grey paint) Regards, Pete
If you are going to start to ballast take a look at this video. I have been doing some practice sessions using the method in the video and have surprised myself. It is as easy as he makes it look. Gary
The video is very well done. The text helps a lot. I guess I can see myself doing that in a few areas for photos and prominent areas. I do have a fear that if I start I will feel compelled to ballast all visible areas. arggg.
Great question! I glue down the ballast, the bottom layer of "turf" (usually some kind of fine ground foam or real dirt) and then the static grass. Everything else is NOT glued in place– At least not initially and here's why... I found out very quickly that you need to let your scenes "stew" for a day or two (or longer) before you secure things that are larger than say static grass in place. Small weeds, scrubs, and trees of all sizes just get set in place on my layout without securing them. Then I let the scene sit there for a couple of days while I just sorta look it over. I can't tell you have many times, I've ended up changing things because the scene just didn't look right to me after a day or two. I think it's asking a lot of someone's imagination to get a scene the way you want it the first time around. And once you glue things... Well it's not quite permanent, but it's not going to be easy moving things about either. I also tend to "layer" my scenes. One day I'll do some small weeds, then a couple days later some shrubs. Then a few days later some trees. And then maybe I'll go back and add more weeds. Doing it without securing the scenery seems to work best for me when it comes to getting the scene "right". Here's a scene where nothing is secured, except the ballast, layer of fine foam and the static grass:
Glue it with one part white glue and 7 parts distillated water. And very important 3 – 4 drops of dishwasher. Other ways your ballast will float away. Then I spray it over with a cheap hairspray.
