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Bbags
Administrator
Premium Member
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 Posted - 03/28/2003 : 5:04:21 PM
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An alternative method for dirt in your scenery.
This was posted on the Scenery Yahoo Group
I have never heard this mentioned, but instead of using dirt for soil
texture, I have had good luck with ceramic tile grout. About the right
texture, and you know there is nothing magnetic or alive in it, saving a lot
of sifting, cooking, sweeping with magnets, etc.
It comes in a variety of colors, and is cheap, about $10 for 25# at Lowes.
In a thin layer, 25# goes a long way. I have used mixtures of "sand beige"
(medium brown) and "parchment" (light brown), and "sterling silver" (light
grey) has come in handy. After the final plaster layer is applied or
painted, just sprinkle a thin layer over the top, directly in the wet paint
or plaster.
You can sprinkle it on with a pint glass jar with holes drilled in the lid.
I keep several jars with different mixtures of the two shades of brown, and
have several lids with different sizes of holes. Bigger holes for ground
foam, smaller for the tiles grout.
It does not have enough adhesive properties to be durable in a thin layer,
but spraying with dilute Elmers white glue or matte medium takes care of
that.
And incidentially, my local paint store mixed a perfect match for Floquil
earth in a good quality flat acrylic paint. $8/quart sure beats $3/oz.
There was also a warning in a second post saying grout contains silica sand so you should use a face mask to inhibit the inhaling of the dust particles.
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John Bagley
Modeling the Alaska Railroad in HO in Wildwood Georgia. |
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paulbrockatsf
Fireman
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Posted - 03/29/2003 : 04:41:35 AM
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Thanks for the info on experiences while pouring water. It will help when I get that far. I’ll be following closely. 
Paul
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Bbags
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 04/16/2003 : 11:25:42 AM
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Hi all
Edit
Unfortunately this thread no longer exists at the Gauge.
Drew if you read this and have some free time maybe you could post any information you have here again.
Thanks
Here is a discussion that I found at "The Gauge" about building a small display layout in N Scale. Great information here on all topics from layout construction to scenery.
It was posted by Drew aka "Charlie" and covers 16 pages if information so far.
http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3455
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John Bagley
Modeling the Alaska Railroad in HO in Wildwood Georgia. |
Edited by - Bbags on 05/22/2003 10:33:15 AM |
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jwmurrayjr
Engine Wiper
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Posted - 05/01/2003 : 5:44:54 PM
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John,
Thanks for that link to the N scale project on the Gauge.
Very interesting and helpful.
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Bbags
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 05/11/2003 : 8:24:04 PM
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Hi all
Here is a link to the scenery page for the Bona Vista Railroad which is owned by Gerry Leone.
This page as well as the rest of the web site contains a great deal of information on construction of scenery.
http://home.earthlink.net/~gerryleone/s-constr.htm
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John Bagley
Modeling the Alaska Railroad in HO in Wildwood Georgia. |
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Country: USA
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Bbags
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 06/02/2003 : 6:02:02 PM
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Hi all
Anyone that is interested in learning how to make a metal object have a rusted look shout click on the link below.
The object is a water tank and Mike C. explains in the thread how he achieved the rusty look.
There si also an explanation of how to achieve the look of hard water deposits(lime and scale) using alcohol and Dullcote.
Excellent modeling here.
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4369
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John Bagley
Modeling the Alaska Railroad in HO in Wildwood Georgia. |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 13054 |
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Drew
Fireman
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Posted - 07/10/2003 : 7:23:09 PM
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FORESTED HILLS & FALL FOLIAGE
Hi everyone!
I've had some people ask me about the fall foliage on my N scale layout, so I thought I'd post this here...these techniques all come under what I like to refer to as my "cheap, fast & easy" approach to model railroading...
I use the Woodland Scenics clump foliage that comes in the bag with four fall colors, another bag of WS "burnt green" clump foliage, & another of "dark green".
Here's what the fall colors look like right out of the bag...
These colors are a little too intense for me, so I cut each one with some of the burnt green in a blender. The 4 fall colors, the plain green, & the dark green (for evergreens) gives me 6 variations of color...I put each of these in plastic grocery bags.
Now I take a tuft of WS poly-fiber,
...& I pull it into a random shape, roughly the size of a golf ball...then I spray it with some cheap flat black spray paint...
I immediately, while the paint is good & wet, roll the poly-fiber in one of the bags of foliage...
To represent evergreens, I use the same technique, I just roll the poly-fiber into a roughly conical shape, & cover with dark green foliage...
As I make the poly-fiber trees, I lay them on a sheet of wax paper to dry, & spray them liberally with hair spray, to keep them from "shedding" too much...
To prepare the surface of the hill, I paint with earth colored latex paint, cover with sifted dirt, & dried leaves ground in the blender...for a steep surface like this, I insert sections of toothpicks 1/4" or so long, to act as sort of "cleats", to help secure the poly-fiber trees to the scenery. (I used a flash in this photo so the toothpicks would show up better)
Using generous dolops of full-strength white glue, I glue the "trees" to the hillside, working from the bottom up...
This looked OK, but I thought it was still missing something...
The answer came in the form of this stuff I found in the dried flower section at Wal-Mart...I think this stuff is called "candy tuft" (?)
I cut tiny spigs of this, dipped the stem in white glue, & stuck them in among the poly=fiber trees here & there...I thought this gave the "forest" a more realistic, "branchier" look...
For added effect, in foreground areas, I add full-scale trees in front of the PF trees (here's a link showing how I make these, with similoar techniques)-
http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3060&highlight=Trees+Cheap+Fast+And+Easy
Viewed from this angle, it (hopefully) looks like you're peering into a heavily wooded area
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-Drew-
"Life is all the stuff that happened while you were making other plans." |
Edited by - Drew on 07/10/2003 7:30:51 PM |
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Bbags
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 07/11/2003 : 08:50:56 AM
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Hi Drew
Great post.
I have been trying to make some trees for my Foss' project and they were looking mighty ugly.  
I will have to give your method a try.
Thanks
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John Bagley
Modeling the Alaska Railroad in HO in Wildwood Georgia. |
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Country: USA
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MikeC
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 07/11/2003 : 10:46:03 AM
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An outstanding tutorial, Drew!
Let me know if you'd like to post a copy of this in the Archive Forum, where I can lock it. That way the integrity of your thread is maintained and this one can stay open for comments/discussion.
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Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm a busy man. I have a railroad to run.
Visit the Central Missouri & Southern
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Drew
Fireman
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Posted - 07/12/2003 : 6:36:32 PM
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Thanks John!
And thank you Mike, for re-posting it in the Archives!
I'm going to add a little disclaimer about the blender...
DON'T PUT SCENIC MATERIALS IN THE KITCHEN BLENDER!!
For a lot of us, myself included, this would constitute a serious enough infraction to begin divorce proceedings!
I got myself one at the thrift store for $3.00...it's prooved itself to be a valuable tool for scenery work!
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-Drew-
"Life is all the stuff that happened while you were making other plans." |
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MP Rich
Fireman
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Posted - 07/12/2003 : 11:03:15 PM
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Good looking trees, Drew. I really like the idea of dried leaves for ground cover. Have you found any leaves that seem to grind smaller or you prefer over others? I have a vast choice of types but oak is dominant and they would seem to be tough to grind into the small pieces. My mower hates oak leaves!
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ANo10
Fireman
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Posted - 07/13/2003 : 10:07:24 AM
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Drew,
Thanks for posting the "how to..". It's great!!! Clear and easy to follow. I will be trying your method later in the year.
Thanks again,
Jim
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Bbags
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 08/27/2003 : 2:32:53 PM
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Hi
I asked this question in the Finescale forum but I am reposting the question and answer here.
Mike C has given an excellent tutorial to anyone interested in making rock molds.
The Question
Hi all
Well I have to start something that I have never done before.
I have to make some rocks.
I was wondering what people cast with and whose molds do you like.
I have heard good things about the molds from Bragdon Enterprises
http://www.bragdonent.com/smpic/item2.htm
and then there is Woodland Scenics
Your thoughts please
Mike C.'s answer
I have never used Bragdon's molds, but like you I have heard good things about them.
WS molds are good. I have a couple of them that I use from time to time. Mostly, I use my own molds, though.
They're easy to make and a whole lot cheaper than buying the commercial varieties. I use liquid latex mold material that I buy at Michaels. (It's also available at Hobby Lobby.) 1 can will make several molds. The only drawback is that each mold takes about 7-10 days to make.
I start with reals rocks that have "interesting" surfaces. After I have cleaned the dirt and loose rock chips off, I spray the surface thoroughly with "wet" water. (That helps the first coat of latex settle in every crevice and crack on the rock's surface.) Then I paint the area of the rock that I want a mold of with a thin coating of latex. After the first coat has dried - usually several hours - I paint a second coat and let that dry. For the next 6 or 7 coats, I apply 1 per day and allow the latex to dry for 24 hours between each. After about 7 or 8 coats have been applied, I reinforce the mold with scraps of old t-shirt and add at least two more coats of latex. As I said, the whole process takes about 10 days.
When I'm ready to peel the mold off the rock, I thoroughly dust the entire surface with talcum powder. This prevents the mold from sticking to itself while it's being removed from the rock. After that, I'm ready to start making rocks for the layout. I probably have about 20-25 different molds that I have made over the years.
It's really pretty simple. But if you're in a hurry, buying ready-made molds is the better solution.
Edit
This is the entire thread where Mike's method is mentioned.
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4730
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John Bagley
Modeling the Alaska Railroad in HO in Wildwood Georgia. |
Edited by - Bbags on 10/07/2003 6:49:26 PM |
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Country: USA
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Bbags
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 09/19/2003 : 11:15:53 AM
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The following is a copy of a post by Drew on making a tunnel and rockwork.
I am adding it here so that it will not drop off the page.
Hi all!
I finally got aroud to doing some scenery on this area of my N scale RR that I'm calling Casey Ridge...(in honor of our illustrious moderator )
I thought I'd show how I do the scenery...this is all pretty cheap, fast, & easy...just the way I like it!
This ios an area where the track goes through the backdrop, so to disguise this, I built somwhat of a cut, leading to a blasted-rockface tunnel, very typical of the Appalachian Mtns, where this RR is set.
I started with a foam scenic base, & cut a tunnel portal out of foam core board. It's a good idea to do some test-running at this point, to make sure the clearences are OK...
Next, I cover the track with masking tape, 'cause it gets kinda messy at this point...
I take big dollops of thick plaster of paris, & apply it liberally to all the vertical surfaces.
After the plaster has set, I take a flthead screwdriver, & make rough, horizontal strokes across the rock faces...this chips & breaks some of the rocks, & makes striations in some...
Next, I spray the rock face with a mixture of rubbing alcohol, with a coupl of teaspoons of India ink...
Now I drybrush the rocks with Polly Scale Acrylics...starting with Roof Grown, Dirt, Mud, Aged White, & Reefer White, in that order, going from darkest to lightest...
After painting the rocks, I paint everything else with tan latex paint, & sprinkle sifted dirt into the wet paint...don't worry about getting any of this on the rocks...it'll just look like streaks of mud...
For woodland ground cover, I always get out what I call my "debris bowl"...it has lots of leftovers from scenery projects...ground up leaves, twigs, pebbles, & other odds & ends...
Next, I wet the area with "wet" water (water with a few drops of liquid detergent) flow on a 50/50 mixture of white glue & water, & sprinkle on the "debris".
Now I add some trees...(see the Archives - Fall Foliage & Tree Covered Hills)
Now all I have left to do here is ballast the track...more on that later.
[/quote]
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John Bagley
Modeling the Alaska Railroad in HO in Wildwood Georgia. |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 13054 |
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MikeC
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 09/19/2003 : 12:27:41 PM
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I'm glad you did this, John. I meant to ask Drew if he wanted to post a locked copy in the Archives, but it slipped my mind. This is too good to let disappear.
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Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm a busy man. I have a railroad to run.
Visit the Central Missouri & Southern
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