Joe, nice little Layout you have going here. Your method of hiding the roadbed worked very well. I find it amazing how much fulfillment one can get out of building one of these. Its also a great way to try new techniques without worrying about ruining a larger layout. -Curn
Thanks Curn, your layout was another that got me going. So at the advice of others I went and found an early construction photo to show how the whole thing got started. In this picture, I had super glued the micro track down and painted the whole circle earth brown. Next I painted the track, and road bed a mix of grey and earth to get it to blend. While that was drying, I sprinkeled some earth foam on the track to get what I'd call a nice blend. The reason I did this was because I remember someone once posting that the ties and rails usually take on a dusting of whatever color the ballast is in real life. Soooo if the real life track had little ballast and was blending into the earth, why not stick with that color?
As you can see I used AMI instant roadbed to build up the roads base to make the street crossings more level. The road tape is very thin and it would look silly climbing up such a steep angle. Notice on my original photo how if you look you can see the AMI roadbed slighty on the sides. I liked that look because real roads usually have a slight shoulder as it is.
I am still in the process of experimenting with the ground foam on the edges and I am debating weather to rust the rails. After seeing the look of the track in John Cubbins diorama he is working on it is tempting to give it a go. I hope this kinda helps someone see the process from the early goings to the finished (almost) look.
