Order to complete scenery

[SpartanCook]

I have almost all of my track work down on my yard area So I have decided that I will start my scenery here and work around my layout. 

 

This is my first time doing scenery but I have watched many videos and believe I can do it well. i just have one question? What order do I go in?

do I paint all the plywood first with my brown under color and add turf to that?

 

do I ballast first then paint second?

 

which way works better?

[MisterBeasley]

I do my ballast next to last, just before putting down trees and shrubs, or figures in urban areas.

But, that's just me.  Ballasting isn't much fun, and kind of tedious, but knowing that a section of layout needs only ballast to be be finished gives me incentive to get it done.

[davidmurray]

Like the esteemed Mr Beasley I leave ballasting until basic scenery is done.

I build any hills before painting.  Then as I paint a small area, springle fine ground foam as the paint is still wet.  This puts the first layer of colour down.  If your hills a painted foam, trees plant easily.

Dave

 

[speedybee]

You mention painting plywood and putting down turf... I don't know your exact plans in this matter but a perfectly flat smooth surface with fuzzy green is going to end up looking like a billiards table.

I would recommend instead making some small hills or undulations. For this I tear up newspaper and crinkle it up a bit and tape it down all over the place until everything is lumpy and uneven. It doesn't all have to be hilly, but don't leave any perfectly flat smooth sections. Then cover it with strips of plaster cloth. Then paint and turf that.

How hilly and lumpy you make it depends on what sort of landscape you're modelling. But even the flattest praries will not be as flat and smooth as plywood surface.

[cowman]

Though I haven't done any ballasting on my current layout, may never, as a better one is in the works, if you have our track all in place and run trains you will find if there are any trouble spots.  Just going over once or twice isn't enough, it needs to be time tested.  I did my scenery a square foot or two at a time.  Paint, then sprinkle on several shades of ground foam.  Look at the real world (this time of year you may have to use your brains recall button) all the greens aren't the same looking over fields, especially wild ones.  I have several retired spice shakers from the wife's kitchen, each with a different shade in it.  Since I'm doing early fall there are several greens and some more tans, yellows or browns.  Shake some on, add a different color next to it, don't worry if they get a little mixed.  You don't need to cover perfectly with the first layer, as you add  more layers of foam it will all fill in.  After the first layer of ground foam has dried, time to add textiure, coarser foam, clump foliage, bushes and vines.  I use a glue mix or straight glue for the clumps. some folks use matte medium.  When you do your trees, do the same, vary the colors slightly, looks more realistic, I think.  I have a foam base and add a pin to tree trunks of commercial trees to stick into the foam.  For natural materials, an awl will poke a hole for the stem to be pushed into with a spot of glue on the hole before pushing in.

I agree with the above, don't leave just flat plywood, use the above method, pieces of foam rounded off and glued on to change the look of the terrain or a lump of Sculptamold spread out, all add visual reality to your scenery.

Periodically run trains to make sure the work you are doing hasn't messed up your trackwork and wiring.  Much easier to correct before ballasting is done.  Besides, in most places the earth came first, the ballast was placed on top of it.

Have fun,

Richard

[richhotrain]

davidmurray

Like the esteemed Mr Beasley...................... 

All right, already !   

On a more serious note, I ballast first and then follow with the ground cover portion of my landscaping effort.

Rich

[superbe]

Regarding ballast I like to get all of the track work done at one time. Doing the ballast in the early stages gives you more control on the ballast edge. Also it looks better and is more realistic imo to have stray greenery "growing"in the ballast than to have stray ballast in the grass. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today

Just My   Worth

Bob 

[BigDaddy]

I put grass down before ballast as well.  Before you go nuts with the ballast, consider if you are putting in any crossings, or tracks in streets or uncoupling magnets

[Lone Wolf and Santa Fe]

First off the earth is not brown. Don’t use that color except to model mud. Depending on where you live the earth is more of a sand color.
The usual order for making scenery is use a cardboard, wire screen or chicken wire frame to build your terrain features such as hills and creek beds. Cover with plaster soaked paper towels. Let dry. Spray the dry plaster with (wet) water and then paint with latex house paint. While the paint is still wet sprinkle on the base layer of ground cover. The paint will hold it in place. Later you can add the next layers of ground cover, bushes and trees.
If you have plywood plains use the same method. Paint first and sprinkle on the base layer of ground cover while still wet. Later add the next levels.
I save ballast for last, waiting until all of the track defects have been worked out and tested over and over again.

[SpartanCook]

Thanks for the info guys, Looks like there really is no wrong order. I will put up some pictures once i get started. I also found this map of colors of dirt by state. Looks like i will be getting a tan/sandy color to represent alaskan soil.

 

Heres the link http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/design/2012/12/u_s_soil_map_a_map_made_with_dirt_samples_from_each_state.html

[SpartanCook]

One more question. If I ballast the track will i be able to recover the flex and turnouts for future layouts? 

[Bob Schuknecht]

Lone Wolf and Santa Fe

First off the earth is not brown. Don’t use that color except to model mud. Depending on where you live the earth is more of a sand color.

 

Around here dirt is black. Sun dried dirt might be a shade of gray. About the only place you might see a sand color is the beach.

[cowman]

SpartanCook

If I ballast the track will i be able to recover the flex and turnouts for future layouts?

Short answer is yes, but....  First, if you are using caulk to put your track down, it doesn't take much, a very thin layer.  You don't want it to come up between the ties.  To remove, a putty knife slid  under the track will peel it up, just be gentle.  Ballast is usually put down with either with diluted white glue or matte medium.  Never have used matte medium, I understand it's more difficult to soften up, need alchol.  White glue, just soften  up with water.

As for turnouts.  First, don't attach them to the layout with caulk or other method, let them float.  Leave the joiners unsoldered, then you can slip the joiners onto the adjoining track to remove a problem turnout.  Solder a feeder to the turnout if you have a power problem.  Also, I have put textured paint under mine, thus not so much ballast needed to look good. 

Good luck,

Richard

[kasskaboose]

SpartanCook

This is my first time doing scenery but I have watched many videos and believe I can do it well. i just have one question? What order do I go in?

do I ballast first then paint second?

 

The order really doesn't matter between scenery or ballast first.  I did a blend and it works well.  You can answer that question by considering what came first in real life--nature or rails.

Yes, paint a bit at a time so you add turf to wet paint.  You then spray with some dilluted white glue (50/50 with water on top).

[Doughless]

Some people wll complete an entire section first, ballast and scenery, before moving on to the bare plywood of the next section.  It keeps from getting bored doing one thing over the entire layout, especially ballasting.

[wp8thsub]

SpartanCook

do I paint all the plywood first with my brown under color and add turf to that?

I'm not sure that matters a whole lot.  I've done both.  Provided your ground cover is thick enough to completely cover something like plywood, it may not require painting.  It's a brownish color anyway, so even if some shows through it likely won't be easily noticed.  I always paint other substrates like plaster.

do I ballast first then paint second?

I like to save ballast for last.  Other scenery steps can result in grass, paint, or other stuff landing on the track.  If I ballast after all those steps are complete I can clean up any problem areas around the track knowing there won't be any more mess to come.

[mobilman44]

Hi,

I think you will find many opinions on the subject, and frankly it comes down to what works best for you.   That said, on my last two layouts I  ..........

- paint all surface benchwork in somewhat of a color that will be close to the final scenery (i.e. greens or browns or ??)

- paint the roadbed the color of the ballast to be used.

- start with the hardest to reach areas first and work toward the areas closest to you.

- I have ballasted before groundcover and I have ballasted after groundcover is applied.  It seems easier/better to do it one way vs the other depending on the situation.  I think you need to try each out to see what you prefer.