This time around I thought I would try and cobble together some scenery away from the layout on a workbench in a modular form and then when complete take back to the layout and position in place.
I see a couple of advantages with this for me and my layout. Firstly I can make all the mess I want and it doesn't interfere with the rest of the layout and track work. Second and equally important it is much easier for me to build the scenery this way, without having to reach over and put myself in uncomfortable contorted body positions to do the scenery.
I am using 2 inch extruded styrofoam built up in appropriate layers for the various elevations. This stuff is very easily sculpted with utility knives and rasp type files. A hot wire cutter would be nice, but so far I am managing just fine.
Then I use various drywall and other fillers, like Dura Bond 90 to fine tune the land forms.
Also experimenting with tree bark for rock forms and landscaping elevations. Oak is the tree bark of choice this time around.
I've used Woodland Scenics blended turf for ground cover, but I am also using fine sifted sand and sawdust from my wood shop and colouring it with acrylic and water colour paints, which allows me to get the right shade I am striving for. We'll see how that pans out. So far so good.
Nice looking scenery!
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve. Beginners luck so far. All my efforts are just plain ole experimentations, to see what works and what doesn't. So this current layout is a guinea pig of sorts. :/
ReplyDeleteLooks great Glen - I hope mine turns out as well as yours! I too have kept some sawdust and soaked it in a thinned acrylic paint wash. It's cheap and I think it looks just as good as the ground foam.
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