Scenery
wiglack
I am building my first N scale module. I want to have a large river run
through the middle, but I'm not sure what I should make it out of so it is
realistic.
I want to make a mountain in one corner as well, what should I use for this?
I also could use some suggestions on other scenery like trees and grass and
buildings. I dont know which companies are the best.
Since this is my first time, I'd appreciate any tips or hints out there!
James
Remove *NOSPAM* from my address before replying
T.
On Sat, 27 Dec 1997, wiglack wrote:
> I am building my first N scale module. I want to have a large river run
> through the middle, but I'm not sure what I should make it out of so it is
> realistic.
That's easy. =) Paint the riverbed dark, place all the riverside
details like rocks and reeds (and boats and docks if you plan to have
them), and then get some two-part liquid epoxy resin like Envirotex and
pour a 1/8-inch layer. Very good-looking artificial water when it sets
right. You might want to practice a few times before doing it for real
though, and be darned sure to read the instructions that comes with the
stuff.
> I want to make a mountain in one corner as well, what should I use for this?
Few areas you can explore to make the basic groundwork for
mountains: 1) cake on the plaster and carve it, or 2) make scale rock
castings in plaster from tree bark. After that, you have to paint the
mountain and cover it with scale vegetation (like Woodland Scenics ground
foam and trees that you make yourself.)
> I also could use some suggestions on other scenery like trees and grass and
> buildings. I dont know which companies are the best.
> Since this is my first time, I'd appreciate any tips or hints out there!
Buildings: Scratchbuild your own from styrene available at hobby
shops (they got sheets with embossed details like brickface, corrugated
siding etc.), or buy kits that you think look good and fits with the era
you are trying to model, then give them a "weathered look" by some
judicious painting or application of chalk dust.
Grass and other low-lying vegetation: Woodland Scenics sell both
model grass and ground foam-- Sprinkle them on a ground-colored patch of
train table that has been painted and covered with glue/water solution.
Trees: For starters you can make them out of thick-gauge twisted
wire or bush twigs, then adorn them with lichen (available from hobby
shops) and ground foam.
Good luck!
TRH
Eric & Heidi
wiglack wrote:
>
> I am building my first N scale module. I want to have a large river run
> through the middle, but I'm not sure what I should make it out of so it is
> realistic.
Probably the simplest way involves no cutting into the layout board
(plywood or whatever). First draw the outline of the river channel,
then paint the center part of the river a dark color, and lighten up and
vary the colors as you get toward the banks. When the paint is dry, you
apply a shiny material called "gloss medium" (sold in art supply stores
and some hobby shops).
A more elaborate method involves cutting into your layout board,
essentially making a "trench". You seal the bottom of it with plaster,
tape, etc. and paint the "river bottom" and banks similar to above.
Then pour in epoxy material, which looks very much like water when it
hardens. One brand of this stuff that I use is called Envirotex Lite.
> I want to make a mountain in one corner as well, what should I use for this?
Several choices here: plaster over chicken wire, plaster cloth (used for
bandages) over cardboard strips, or carved foam insulation board (blue
board).
These techniques (simulating water, mountains, etc.) are described in
layout and scenery books--see below.
> I also could use some suggestions on other scenery like trees and grass and
> buildings. I dont know which companies are the best.
Lotsa choices here. Woodland Scenics has a variety of tree kits and
materials that are widely available and look pretty good. The
ready-made trees by Life-Like, Model Power, etc. don't look too
realistic to me, although they can be re-worked with trimming, painting,
etc.
For buildings, there are lots of styles and price ranges to choose
from. It's probably best to start with some of the simple plastic kits
without too many teeny tiny parts. There are good kits from IHC, Atlas,
Design Preservation Models (DPM), and Model Power, among others. Note
that the DPM kits usually need painting, while the others mentioned here
usually have pre-color parts, so painting is optional.
> Since this is my first time, I'd appreciate any tips or hints out there!
Take your time, and just have fun! Be prepared to make a few mistakes,
of course. A few good quality tools are worth having: hobby knife
(X-Acto or equiv.), good jeweler's type screwdrivers, tweezers, paint
brushes, etc.
Also consider getting a book on general scenery and layout building
techniques. There are excellent books published by Kalmbach, Carstens,
and Tab Books, among others, available in hobby shops.
Good luck.
Eric
Warren Pope
wiglack wrote:
>
> I am building my first N scale module. I want to have a large river run
> through the middle, but I'm not sure what I should make it out of so it is
> realistic.
>
>
> buildings. I dont know which companies are the best.
>
>
> Remove *NOSPAM* from my address before replying
Lots of landscaping ideas and products W Pope
Cox
I am only a beginner myself...but have had success using Woodland Scenics
materials. I have built a large mountain using Woodland Scenics plaster
cloth with a chicken wire frame...the chicken wire was fairly easy to shape.
It required a little support because the back end was open, but other than
that was quite strong. I have made a couple rock castings from Woodland
Scenics molds, hydrocal plaster, and colored with their pigments. Making
the rock castings was incredibly easy...I thought coloring would be
difficult but it too was easy. Woodland Scenics sells a scenery manual that
is not expensive and provides you with just about all the info you need for
scenery.
Adam Cox
tc...@ns.sympatico.ca
wiglack wrote in message <6842up$t32$1...@news.monmouth.com>...
Jim
>
>I want to make a mountain in one corner as well, what should I use for
this?
>
Here is a neat way to make a mountain. We glued three 4x4' sheets of
blueboard (insulation foam) together, then sliced it free form in a manner
that, looking down on it, it looked like a contour map. the slices were at
an angle so that a cut-away, viewed from the side, would look like this:
/ / / / \ \ \ \
Simply take the center piece out and place it on top of the next ring out,
then this assembly on the next (adhering with liquid nails, a construction
glue found in any home center oe hardware store). The resulting cone is
hollow, making it light-weight, and if your layout base is high enough to
begin with, a place to stand while doing maintenance on hidden track
running through the mountain. Easy to lift off if need be, too.
After construction, we slopped on some cheap earth coloured paint (a
mis-match purchased at the same mome center for a couple of bucks a
gallon. Before it dried, we sprinkled sanitized dirt on it for a ground
cover. The project was completed in three hours (with a coffee break).
drive dog
Jim <NSjp...@mail.myriad.net> wrote
> >
> >I want to make a mountain in one corner as well, what should I use for
> this?
> >
>
> Here is a neat way to make a mountain. We glued three 4x4' sheets of
> blueboard (insulation foam) together, then sliced it free form in a
manner
> that, looking down on it, it looked like a contour map. the slices were
at
> an angle so that a cut-away, viewed from the side, would look like this:
>
> / / / / \ \ \ \
>
> Simply take the center piece out and place it on top of the next ring
out,
> then this assembly on the next (adhering with liquid nails, a
construction
> glue found in any home center oe hardware store). The resulting cone is
> hollow, making it light-weight, and if your layout base is high enough to
> begin with, a place to stand while doing maintenance on hidden track
> running through the mountain. Easy to lift off if need be, too.
I recently went to a Japanese steak house. The cook(?) used an
onion slice to make a volcano in just the same way. Of course,
he filled it with oil and alcohol, lit it, then pushed it on the hottest
spot. Wow! 2 foot high flame thrower!
Don't try this at home! Fresh onions are more flame-resistant
than foam insulation board.
> After construction, we slopped on some cheap earth coloured paint (a
> mis-match purchased at the same mome center for a couple of bucks a
> gallon. Before it dried, we sprinkled sanitized dirt on it for a ground
> cover. The project was completed in three hours (with a coffee break).
>
Good work. At about what angle, relative to vertical, did you
cut the foam?
David.