hills

[cme101]

hi,

im currently working on a medium sided layout. having done my electric wiring i now want to add some senery. 

does anybody know an cost effective way to make grass or hills?

many,many thanks

 

 

 

privous post:

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/no-motor/?p=1

[Chrissaf]

...does anybody know a cost effective way to make grass or hills?

.

Hills - typically a base shape made from scrunched up chicken wire or newspaper. Alternatively, the shape carved from Polystyrene [recycled packaging] glued together with solvent free 'No Nails' type adhesive or PVA. Then covered in 'Plaster Cloth'. Very messy, but also very effective. An alternative cheaper covering to 'plaster cloth' could be 'paper mache'

.

Grass - research 'Static Grass'. If you can't stretch your budget to an electric 'static grass applicator', then 'static grass' can still be applied with a cheap 'static grass puffer bottle'.

 

[Buz]

Hi cme101

Hills are very easy to make.

polystyrene foam appliance packing can be cut stacked to form the hill foundation then covered in news paper and plaster to get the final shape. mix some primary school paint and PVA glue in the final coat of plaster to prevent white chips.

A card strip lattice on wood former's can be used and covered in paper and plaster the packing boxes should be able to be scrounged from the super market

Wood former's stuffed with balls of news paper then covered in plaster and paper.

if you can get the shape you want out of it, balls of news paper covered in plaster and paper

Areas not likely to be damaged could use card board instead of wood former's.

Don't be afraid to cut out bits your not happy with and redo them if it needs it.

Vegetation many scatter products are available there isn't really a way round purchasing these many of the old school methods are messy and time consuming and don't give the same results of the modern products

Trees can be made from the old school wire tree method but using modern mastic type products for the coating the tree rather than plaster lichen can be used for foliage or modern tree foliage from one of the scenic manufacturers.

Pine trees can be done with UN-treated sisal rope and florists wire untreated sisal can also be used for sugar cane reeds tall grasses etc

Grass mat not a good idea unless used for manicured lawns

There is loads of scenery stuff on You tube both for model trains and war games I would suggest looking for and at both.

Flat ground isn't but corrugated card boxes can be used to create contours for the lumps and bumps on "flat" ground  how many contours per lump and bump is rather subjective, but don't go more than three high unless its a big lump or bump a light smear of plaster will give it the final shape before scatter.

If standing stones or foam contours are to be a thing then you will need a hot wire cutter to make the stones or contours out of foam DO THE CUTTING OUT SIDE, or in a well ventilated area the fumes are toxic and stink.

If you do it in the house the Domestic Authorities will sentence you to death with one hundred billion years in purgatory it will take ages to get the cut foam smell out of the house.

That should be enough until you want more specific information.

regards John

[2e0dtoeric]

If you look up Jennefer Kirk on You-tube, you can watch a series of how-to's from the very beginning of a new layout in her loft.

Lots of construction tips, how-to's (and what with's!) for scenery, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/user/jennyemily667

[ColinB]

The way I do it, I am not sure if it is the best but it works to a degree. My other hobby is building Classic Bikes, so I go to a lot of Autojumbles. They sell packs of blue very thin paper towel for garages etc. I make up a tub of PVA glue watered down with water in a small bucket, then rip off lengths of the paper tower and place in the bucket. When it is all wet pull it out and squeeze it into a ball over the bucket so the excess returns to the bucket, then put this on your layout, its is a bit like wet putty. Keep doing it until you get the required size hill. When you are happy cover it with sheets of paper tower and paint with solution of PVA glue. When it is all dry, cover with Plaster of Paris bandage. I also bought some rock moulds by Woodland Scenics to make the odd rock or two. I didn't use their special mix for the rocks, just Plaster of Paris it works ok.

[Buz]

Hi ColinB

There is no right or wrong there is only scenery.

It all comes down quite literally what works the best for you and knowing the materials you use and how to use them to get the result you want.

The worst part of scenery is getting past the I can't do that stage once that's done it's what on earth was I scared of.

For a first timer the thought of that great spectacular scenery seen in magazines and model railway shows can be quite daunting.

Because they don't know its mostly a load of rubbish glue and plaster all slapped together and not very artistically at that

A bit like a very old fashioned internal wall rubbish underneath plaster on top fancy plaster on top of that

Much like how scenery is done 😆

regards John

[Bulleidboy]

I thought this was discussed the other day?   https://flic.kr/p/2ieqrUx

My hill/tunnel shown in the picture was made using sheets of Jablite - it comes in a pack of four sheets (1200x450x50 - £19.00 at B&Q), cut as described earlier with a hot wire, sheets stuck together with No-Nails, and held in place with wooden kebab skewers and then covered with plaster bandage. Rockface is made using Woodland Scenics Rock molds - while setting a 1.5" nail (2) were pushed into the plaster, head first. When dry, this enabled the plaster rockface to be attached and removed from the hill until happy with final position, and then good helping of No-Nails held them in their final position. Tunnel Portals were also attached the same way - these can also be used as "hand-holds", as the whole thing can be lifted from the layout. Finally, all of the hill was painted chocolate brown (Matchpots - very cheap) and covered with Woodlands Scenics scatter and flocks. All rockfaces were painted after watching (numerous times) this Woodland Scenics tutorial 

[96RAF]

Beware of putting anything organic on your layout unless it is completely sealed in lacquer as it will go mouldy in time.

[Buz]

Hi RAF96

Not had problems with organics going mouldy, have had problems with munchy critters eating it.

A few drips of strong disinfectant  in the glue mix as well as the dish washing liquid seems to cure that problem.

But organics do need to be treated very differently to other scenic's for best results.

regards John

[Buz]

Hi all

The appetite mine

/media/tinymce_upload/a8ac3c055a3eed10abffb331eed07401.jpg

photo by Larry Gant of his appetite mine railway scenery. under construction

 

As you can see its just cardboard strips hot glued together then covered by plaster cloth it is then covered with dry wall filler not sure if its the roughing out or final coat stuff but plaster or polyfilla could also be used.

The to us odd shapes are because Larry's scenery is based on a particular place in the USA, however the technique can be translated into English or for that matter anywhere in the world your railway is supposed to be.

Note it is properly anchored at the base and top which stops it all collapsing during construction.

It is hard to do for us because most of us don't have the kind of space US modellers have but it also illustrates well the need for scenery mountains to be more than just a bit of a lump or bump.

regards John

[morairamike]

My method is to use expanded foam sheets cut and stacked. Glued together with no nails glue. Shape edges with fine saw or heated wire cutter. For exposed faces I cast plaster of Paris rocks and then seal the backs of them with scenic glue so they stick onto the foam using no nails. Gaps are filled with plaster of Paris and smaller rocks  Then they are washed with colour and sealed with scenic cement. Large areas if grass I use electrostatic grass or mat. To the mat I apply areas of electrostatic grass. The 1st picture shows a finished area. 2nd picture shows yesterdays start on a new hill. Foam former with cast rock face waiting to be stuck on. I had to cast 12 large to rock slabs for this.

/media/tinymce_upload/f7253fcf21d72484c6897df19beddf24.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/f564e642488b299d1832c03e13f49a60.jpg

[morairamike]

/media/tinymce_upload/ae514c052264c71d65f4007fe4f5bd26.jpg

Day 2. The cast cliff faces were allowed to cure over night. I then sealed the backs with scenic cement, it goes off in 30 secs. Sealing the rears makes the bond stronger. The sections were placed back on the face and as the face is curved the sections were cut into two bits to follow the curve and give a larger surface area for adhesive to bond them to the cliff. Then having cut them in two I found that they fitted better if some were turned thru 90 degrees. They were then marked with position on cliff face and with an arrow showing UP. NO NAILS type adhesive which is solvent free was applied to the rears and the faces attached to the cliff. Extra bits of rock were added to give different appearance in some area. Now it will be left to harden and then the gaps filled with plaster of Paris to smooth them off and blend them in. More later in week.

[RDS]

cme101 posted:

hi (morairamike),

Your method looks really good. could I use a razor blade to shape the foam?

[RDS]

@cme101

I have removed your previous 2 posts because all you had done was re-posted (twice) a picture that someone else had posted.  The single line of text that you added is above this post.

Please do not use the Blue button with a white arrow to reply as all it does is copy the previous post.  The correct way to reply is by scrolling to the bottom and typing your post in the white box, before pressing 'Reply'

[morairamike]

Cme101.  The following are pictures of my expanded polystyrene sheet cutting tools. The majority of my sheets are 5cm thick, building insulation expanded polystyrene. My tools are a hot wire cutter with three different heads. A narrow but deep bow, a wide but shallow bow and a probe. Originally the body was just for the bows but I converted it to power the probe too. These are powered by 4 X AA battery or 6V.  I also use small draw saw as they have fine teeth. Problem with razor blade or a Stanley knife is they tend to leave a rough edge. A bread knife will work for large cuts.

/media/tinymce_upload/42514606f12edf0b3c6512c84a71ccad.jpgIf you are going to do a lot of scenary with foam these tools aren't expensive and you get nice edges on the foam. I resisted buying at first but gave in and don't regret it.

[morairamike]

/media/tinymce_upload/a3bc37f7999cd5618a8fcc39218efd9b.jpgShapes cut with bow on left and probe on right. The probe really needs 9V. I tried 12v but it got too hot. A razor blade would be very difficult, this 50mm thick.

[morairamike]

Next stage completed, gaps filled in. Next is cast more rocks for the ends. 

/media/tinymce_upload/6ea33085d683edfd8adefa7be9d49989.jpg

[morairamike]

Ok the project of the new hills is complete and as you will see there is a big difference bin what I posted on 8th and today. The grass on the low hill is on wire mesh to replicate the stabilisation method used to encourage grass to grow on to k face. It worked well. All grass is electrostatic mic of 2, 4 and 6 mm flock.

 

/media/tinymce_upload/9481fe7afb35e66ab68818a0e9138d01.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/4fd59b677380637d495a057c7f980b4d.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/ce1a2eb46b5ddc362810e7779bfcc106.jpg