“With the routered groove in the helix it makes it relatively easy to attach the track initially with hotmelt glue and then occasionally nail just to make sure it stays down.
It is very time consuming to cut and trim the ties and then solder the rail joiners but then I seem to have an abundance of time.
I stagger the rail joints between inside rail and outside rail by about 2.50 inches to totally eliminate any kinks in the track and it makes a smooth transition.
Barry”
“Al
Something I found useful for shale rock is ceiling tile broken in small pieces turned upside down and glued with a glue gun. You can use different shades of gray and a little black to dress it up. I think it looks good at little cost.
Bill”
“Arm yourself with a hammer drill & 1/4 masonery bit & drill some holes in a concrete block or red house brick or coal & you will have plenty of fine dust for scatter material also for loading your trucks.
Arthur.”
That’s all for today folks.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And don’t forget the The Beginner’s Guide is here if today is the day you get thoughts together to get going on your very own layout.
This tip comes from Michigan the land of salted roads and automobiles. “Bondo auto body filler”. I have built trail layouts in basements and out buildings where moisture is a problem. Conventional mountain building material can mold and mildew. That is why I use Bondo. I take metal window screen and bend, fold, and contour it into the desired shape. I use a staple gun to secure it. I add wood blocks underneath for support where ever needed. Then I spread a thin coat of Bondo over the screen. On the second coat I add more contour and detail to the mountain, cliff, or tunnel I am creating. After the second coat it is ready for painting. You end up with a rock solid detailed landscape that is impervious to moisture. The only drawback is the need for good ventilation when working with it.
David”
“Hello again Al,
I’ve been busy working on my current layout. I call it My Last Layout because I’m 70 now and I figured it would be my last one. I was wrong! I have been tearing sections of it apart and re-structuring the layout for my newest variation – a radio controlled layout with battery powered locomotives. I sure wish I had known about this part of the hobby before, I could have saved a lot of time and a bunch of money. No wiring, no track or wheel cleaning, just a wireless throttle in my hand and a receiver with battery pack on board (with a DCC decoder if you like) and away you go. More on this at a later date. For now, I am sending you pictures of My Last Layout under construction.
As you may remember from my last posting, I had my Depot enlarged so that I had a new space 12 feet by 24 feet. This would house my new layout and space for me to work as well. I have included a Track Plan (just drew it out on a piece of paper freehand). I lay my track on wood. I used to use plywood but had some problems with expansion so now I switched to MDF, very stable but also very hard. Once I get track down I then begin filling in with foam. I now use foam for most all the layout instead of using screen and/or cardboard covered with plaster cloth because I found it’s much easier for me to put in the scenery on foam (just shove the trees in and done). Also it’s a much easier process if I find I want to add or delete something, just glue more foam on or cut some out.
For those who have been following my progress, you will recognize item’s I salvaged from my previous layout and I found a new way to hold my track in place until I am ready to call things done and start to ballast. I usually ballast last because if I have to move or replace some track during the project it’s much easier if the track is open. I now use small pan head screws to hold my track in place. I use 3 or 4 per each 3 foot section of flex track and none to hold the turnouts. Works like a charm. If you find you have to move or replace track, you just remove a few screws. For those who like to lay track on foam, just cut out a small square section of the foam on the roadbed and glue in a piece of wood. That will give you a place to put the screw in.
This layout will have a wharf area with docks and such. I also had an idea to show my mine operation from above and below ground. Should be interesting. That’s all for now. Next time I’ll get you pictures of the mostly finished layout before I began taking it apart.
Bob”
“I’m but a new re-visitor of the hobby from the 1970’s. My best advise would be to keep the bills from the wife!!
Glenn”
And lastly – another ‘how to’ from Dave. This time, he shows how he uses the static grass applicator.
“Hi Alistair. More pics of the station area which is coming on now.
Still a lot of touching up to do, and always something else that needs doing; as you know it’s never really completed.
I have decided to make a small lake area in the middle of the model which can be lifted out and replaced whenever I need to get into the centre.
I have made some mistakes on this build, ie the climb for the train on the outside track is too steep for it to run without working the control, I have to speed it up on the incline and slow it down on the descend; however my next one will be bigger and better I hope, cos I have really got the bug now, this has certainly been a fantastic hobby.
A big thank you to everyone for sending in their tips, photo’s, videos and how to’s. There have been some fantastic ideas, will keep sending in new things.
Cheers
Stuart”
Now on to Grant:
“Hi Alastair,
Here is a contribution for you.
I am an N scale modeller from Australia
I have several small layouts that I show at our local rail shows every year. Currently I have completed a Small Coffee Table layout that is modeled vaguely on Germany/Europe.
My other completed layout (as much as any layout is ever “completed”) is a two sided Japanese layout, with one side being urban the other rural. I found this a great way to have more detail in a small space.
Mountains – I have a tip and trick for your readers. How I do mountains.
When doing mountains I do some things slightly different.
As usual I create my frame work using polystyrene foam, bits of cardboard or whatever is lying around. I then cover this in plastic fly wire (mesh) that I get by the roll from my local hardware store, securing it with tacks or a staple gun. To create my realistic mountain shapes, I use the following tools
• Plaster of Paris
• Cement render Tints
• Tin Foil (usually one foot squares (30cm by 30cm) folded into quarters. (15cm x 15cm)
• Wet Water (water with a couple of drops of dish detergent)
Once I have a good idea of the sorts of formations I want, I create as much as possible with the under frame to avoid unnecessary weight. (my layouts travel a lot)
I then mix up my plaster in small batches, usually three or four large tablespoons of plaster and one large teaspoon of Tint. These tints are available from your local hardware store and are used to shade the cement renders used in housing and concreting.
I use a chocolate brown for earth tones, and a terracotta for my Australian red desert scenes. I used a grey tint on the Japanese layout.
These tints make undercoats more effective, but also, if the layout is chipped and damaged, then in stead of a white showing through, I get an earth tone, which looks less obvious and more realistic.
Also, varying the amount of tint you use changes the shade of your plaster, which can create an effect all its own.
Once I have the Plaster/Tint mix at the right consistency I then spray the tin foil with the Wet Water.
I then place the plaster on the foil and place that, foil up plaster down on my framework. I then shape the foil to the contours I want, or leave the natural crinkle in the foil to generate a random pattern. (usually a little of both).
A batch of that size will allow for 2 or three patches at a time, so have that much foil ready.
It is important to note to do these patches away from each other, so as to not foul the foil. I usually work from each end and in the middle.
I then wait about 5 minutes for the plaster to set (once it is warm) and then gently peel the foil off, revealing a contoured area.
I then repeat with another batch in more small patches next to the ones I have created.
The foil can be pushed to follow the shape of the last patch, so each section is seemed with the last.
Also, Start at the bottom and work up.
Painting – To paint my mountains. I use a dark base coat, much darker than I want to end up with. I also have three shades of the colour I want, including two lighter than I want.
I start with a dark undercoat, usually watering it down so it soaks in all the little cracks, holes and crevasses the foil has created.
Once that is dry i use a technique called Dry Brushing to add the primary rock colour.
Dry brushing is a technique by which you place a little amount of paint on the brush, rubbing the brush on the palate to remove most of the paint leaving you with an almost “Dry Brush” and then gently brushing across the surface in quick strokes.
This causes the paint to adhere to the raised areas, but skip over the lower ones.
For my colour coat I tend to still have a fairly “wet Brush” but I make sure it is not running into the cracks.
Then I switch to my first highlight colour and do that with a very dry brush. You may have to work over areas a few times to get the shading you need.
Then I use my second highlight to just add to the very tips of the areas. This is usually a very subtle highlight.
This technique is worth practicing as it creates real dimension in your mountain work.
From there I would decorate with flocking, trees etc.
