sidewalks

[fontgeek]

While it might cause some problems in the kitchen, you might try using a rolling pizza cutter rather than the dental pick. The cutter will push the material down rather than try to scrape it up, and it makes it fairly easy to get longer continious lines. You can also use rolling paper cutters the same way, you may get less damage to yourself, and also have more options in the kind of pattern or texture you wish to have.

If you are looking for a wood plank type of sidewalk, you may find that making a stencil that has every other plank cut out will let you airbrush in the appropriate shading, and by shifting the stencil one plank over it lets you get a nice plank look without too much effort. Part of the equation will be what scale you are working in.

If you want to use the spackle trick, you may find it easier to make your sidewalks and such before the building is built. Putting masking tape on the inner perimeter will let you add the spackle without having to fight for a clean edge.
Lay down tape, then apply the spackle, pull up the tape before the spackle gets hard, then do the grooves needed for the seems in the cement. If you use a cutter (paper or pizza), or even the dental pick, you may find that spraying the cutter or pick with something like Pam will help let the cutter or pick do it's thing without picking up much of the spackle.

Using a vice with a set of knurled jaws, or a large hammer with a textured face to "adjust" the surface of a coin or washer will let you get manhole covers that can be set into the streets or sidewalks if needed.

[ttrigg]

The only thing I would add to Brian's comments.  USE the spackle, several thin coats. Let dry and sand smooth as a baby's backside between coats.  Final coat, scribe the lines and chip out a few chunks of broken sidewalk.

[altterrain]

I would start by sanding the top edges and corners a bit to round them. If you want to go crazy you could give it a skim coat of spackle to get rid on any wood grain that might come through paint. Then scribe some lines (a dental pick should work) in the plywood for expansion joints and maybe a few cracks. I would paint it with a base of light gray and then a light wash of thinned black paint to make it look dirty and get in the cracks and joints (slop it on then wipe off the excess).

-Brian 

[CDise]

I am looking to mount three town buildings on a 1/4 inch piece of plywood base.

This will be used indoors, so the base material should not be an issue.

the base will not be much larger than the footprint of the buildings

 I would like the base to also act as curb & sidewalks in front of the buildings.

Any thoughts on how to get that small town sidewalk look?

 Thanks

Clair