Dean’s been back in touch again with an update. This time he talks us through his N scale river technique:

“Al,

I finally got back to finishing the flowing river on my N-Scale, western, Conejos Valley Railroad layout.

I really like how the waterfall (discussed in an earlier submission) and the river turned out.

This video is the eleventh in a series discussing my construction of the 80″ x 36” small N-Scale layout.

This is a fourth submission on the scenery and here I talk about finishing a tiered river with rapids.

I am testing out the use of inexpensive materials that you can readily obtain (white glue, plaster, paint, cotton balls).

Here’s a photo of the results. Note the rapids and the small island.

Four layers, or levels, were formed with ¼” Styrofoam sheets.

The riverbanks were textured with fine turf (Earth, Burnt Grass, and Green) and clump foliage.

Everything was glued down with scenic cement (1 part white glue, 3 parts water, 1 part isopropyl alcohol).

N scale river:

I created “rapids” by pouring textured layers of white glue over wax paper. After they had dried, I cut them to fit and fastened them down with hot glue. The thin parts can be easily folded to go over the drop in water level

Here’s a rapid in place.

Then I poured the water with white glue dyed with acrylic paint (1cup white glue plus 2 drops blue paint). After the first layer dried, a second layer was added.

To create ripples and texture on the N scale river, I used Dap Ultra Clear sealant. This is an organic based material which you should use with good ventilation.

The river on the right has the Dap applied (see sparkles), that on the left is untreated.

The Dap was smoothed and textured with a foam brush while wet.

Rocks, boulders, and a small island were made by adding blobs of thinned Hydrocal plaster.

They were then carved (utility knife) and formed (emery board) and dyed with diluted paints.

And trees and grass were added to the island.

Here’s what the river looked like at this point.

Foam at the rapids and bottom of waterfall was created with fluffs of cotton soaked with Scenic Cement.

Finally, foam and ripples were dry brushed with white paint.

Here’s another photo of the final result.

All in all, I’m quite happy with the results. Two thoughts for next time:

Use less blue paint so that the river is not quite so blue.

Use smaller tuffs of cotton at the top and base of the rapids. These are a little too big.

Cheers,

Dean from New Mexico.”

A big thanks to Dean for sharing his N scale river ‘how to’.

If you want to see Dean’s last post it’s here:

N scale waterfall.

I know I’ve said it lots before, but I do enjoy watching a layout come to life over the months. And for some of you, that’s years. Both are fine!

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming – all scales, all standards welcome here.

And if today is the day you get started on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

PPS More N scale layouts here if that’s your thing.