I am working on my first attempt at scenery using one of those diorama kits from my LHS. I am generally happy with results so far and very open to suggestions. Things I am not happy with are how to attach trees - the root platforms do not look real - also ballast, it seemed to clump up with the alcohol/water followed by the glue/water spray.....any advice?
Hey Dave, You're off to a good start. I'm no expert, but here are a few things you might want to consider. As far as ballast goes, you might want to try using an eyedropper instead of spraying on your glue-water mix. It's a lot easier to control, and won't blow your ballast around. Also, a good first step in ballasting is to use a small brush to apply glue to the beveled sides of the roadbed before putting the ballast down. This will help it stick in place, and provide some texture for a second layer of ballast to cling to. You could try trimming the base off your trees, and imbedding them directly in your scenery base. If you're using foam for the base, that shouldn't be a problem. If you're using plywood, you may have to use putty or plaster or Sculptamold to build up the terrain around the tree bases. Finally, I think a lot of guys believe trees sporting fall foliage are a bit too garish out of the box. In that case, some sort of spray is used to tone down the bright colors a bit. I'm afraid I can't remember exactly what they've used. Your ground cover looks great! With a bit of tweaking, you'll have a darn nice little scene there. Good luck! And post more pics as your work progresses. That gives a lot of us a chance to learn along with you. Jim
I agree with MVW. Other options for the trees include blending the root bases into the groundcover (glue some on to it so it doesn't show), or you can cut the base and drill a small hole in the trunk, then add some wire or a small nail with the head cut off to stick it into the scene. Definitely pre-glue the ballast on the sides, and the dropper is a good choice.
Dave, I agree with Jim's advice for the trees. After removing the tree base, punch a hole with an awl or icepick in the scenery base a little larger than the tree trunk. Then squirt in a dab of CA Gel before inserting the tree trunk, and hold it steady for a few seconds while the CA cures. If you later knock over the tree with a misguided elbow or sleeve (voice of experience here), just squirt in some CA and replant the tree.
I would say, get rid of the tree bases. I just punch or drill a small hole for the peg at the bottom and hot glue trees in. I don't use the tree base. Then add some dead leaf looking ground cover around the bottom of the trees. Sometimes the hot glue oozes out some and I will paint it a dark brown to match the trunk of the tree and the dirt. You need something that is not so green under those trees. Under a real tree you almost always see some dead leaves and such. I also think they need toned down some, they look too brightly colored. On the ballast I skip the alcohol/water and just go for the glue/water mix on the ballast but I add a little dish soap to the mix. The soap helps break the tension on the dry ballast. Use an eye dropper to apply the glue mix and go slow. Let the glue mix soak the area completely. Hope this helps.
I often won't use any water mixed in when wetting before adding glue. This helps speed the drying process. Unless there is something nearby the alcohol might adversely effect.
I don't use much water either...isopropyl alcohol is already dilute with water... also, i mist the wetting agent over the dry ballast....like a 'rain'...i don't spray it directly 'at' the ballast...mist it from a misting bottle...alcohol is cheap...then, after it's quite wet...i use an eydropper to gently apply the glue/water mixture....applied until the entire area is 'milky'... a sad fact about using Woodlands scenics ballast is that it's not actual rock and can 'float' on occasion... when you get the technique down...try to get some Arizona rock and minerals ballast when you do your actual trackwork... Sincerely, Bruce
Hi, Here is a video on ballasting. Most of all I know about ballasting I learned from it. [video=vimeo;15983976]http://vimeo.com/15983976[/video] Gary
I like this video...it's a good primer, although I use a couple of different techniques to prevent the 'washouts' he describes, which prevents having to go back and 'repair'... Definitely apply a little white glue along the outside of the ties...this adds a little 'tooth' for the spreading of the ballast... instead of applying the ballast with your fingers, and, instead of buying a 'specific ballast 'spreader'...go buy a cheap clear plastic gravy seperator...it looks similar to a measuring cup with a spout....you'll be able to apply the ballast with a very good degree of accuracy right 'off the bat'...this works especially well applying the ballast 'outside' of the rail, once you have the feel of using the gravy seperator, you'll only have to use your brush sparingly to mold/form the neat outside slope that you want...I like using your fingers for spreading the ballast 'within' the rails...that won't work for the outside slope...definitely use a medium soft brush... the trick is to get the ballast looking like you want it before the wetting agent... The biggest deviation from this video that I use is applying the wetting agent (alcohol/water)...applying it with an eye dropper/syringe guarantees 'washouts' and having to re-apply ballast in those affected areas... instead, protect the surrounding scenery if you have to ( paper towels or whatever....) and mist the wetting agent onto the formed, dry ballast... I turn a misting bottle 'upside down, spray the mist 'up' above the rail, and let the alcohol/water 'mist'/rain' down onto the ballast...this WILL NOT disturb the ballast at all...and will wet the ballast much more quickly than you might think.... THEN...like he does in the video, apply the glue mixture, with a syringe, or small-tipped eyedropper, along the INSIDE of the rails...if you wet your ballast well, the glue will definitely pull itself through the ballast to soak the slope outside of the rails....this prevents you from disturbing your perfectly manicured 'slope'... if you must, gently apply your glue outside of the rail ONLY over the tie area, and gently at that... As for glue... i've used white glue and water, with a little dish soap to 'wet it'...eh...dries to 'shiny' for my taste.. I've added artists' matte medium to cut the shine...eh....still not the result I desire... I 'bite the bullet' and use Woodlands scenics 'Scenic Cement' straight from the bottle... 1) it's already dilute 2) it's already 'wet' (it has a wetting agent built into it) 3) it's already 'matte' (apparently it has the proper ratio of matte maedium added to it) 4) it dries 'flexible' and durable' (it adheres , when dry, better than white glue...has the ability to flex a little, almost like rubber, which makes it much more durable in the long run...) In fact, to glue all of the material, including the ballast, to your diorama....the easiest way is to plant the trees, shake your ground foam, apply your ballast... THEN mist the entire diorama with alcohol water...til wet...THEN mist Scenic cement over the entire diorama using the misty rain technique (don't spray the mist directly AT the scenery...let it fall gently as a mist over the scenery)...do this until the entire diorama is 'milky'...24 hours later...VOILA! the scenery will LOOK 'loose' and completely dry and matte...but will be LOCKED into place...you'd be able to turn the diorama upside down..shake it like the devil, and the tiniest bit of groundfoam/turf/ballast isn't going anywhere! Here is an example of a foam base I built, painted, and weathered for some friends' 1/6 scale figures...the 'dirt' is real dirt, the leaves are punched from real leaves, and the whole thing was sprayed with 'wet' water, then Scenic cement... I can tell you that those leaves and debris, although they 'look' loose...are very firmly cemented in place! BTW... I think your first attempt looks pretty darned good...you're limited , colorwise, by what was in the kit! Sincerely, Bruce
What everyone else said about the trees is pretty spot on. One way to tone down the autumn colors is to add ground green or brown foam. Even when a tree looks like it has has fully turned, there are brown or greens. Some light black spray paint to the bottom also helps create shadows since our lighting is not as direct as the sun. Also teasing out the foam so it looks more see through is an easy way to make it more realistic. Some greener trees also help blend things in, certain species turn colors faster than others. Still you have a good idea of color and composition and your ballast looks pretty good. Ballast is one of those things that is very hard at first but gets easier as you learn and practice techniques. I can't wait to see more. :thumbs_up:
Sorry but,I don't know exactly how to say this without sounding so brutal.. First I would replace those trees since they look like sponge trees.There are better commercially made trees that is well within reason and looks far better.Don't feel bad,I can't even make a tree from a kit since its seems I have 2 left thumbs when it comes to making those kit trees.. Everything else looks good for the first time..
Aside from the ballast advice laid out above? I'd used those same trees and ground cover you bought, and gotten an identical result. Afterward, I tried some finer-grain groud turf and more realistic trees, made all the difference! Your handiwork is fine, a change-up of product should show your ability better. Cheers!
