Under color to paint table to sprinkle grass on?

[Sturgeon-Phish]

I've ran the tracks and accessories for a few months with no wiring issues and I'm ready to start landscaping. Three questions 1) what color should I paint the table before sprinkling the grass on, how heavy should I lay the paint on so the grass will stick? 2)Should I paint & grass where the roads are going to be and cover it with raod material later, or leave it as is and just go right to the road material? 3) Would laying down some drywall mud in thin (< 1/4") layers work to add some slight topographical contour work. Not a lot just some slight rises.
Thanks
Jim

[SpaceMouse]

I'm just going to address the color portion of the question. Nothing is uniform in nature. I painted my layout base in a series of brown tones kind of like miltary camo.

Drywall mud is okay for thin coats of thing, but is heavy and cracks if you get thicker than about 1/4". Inuslation foam board is good for slightly larger contours. You can even coat your inuslation with drywall muud to make certain effects.

[dgwinup]

Hi, Sturgeon-Phish.

1) Paint it any color, as long as it's brown-ish. I use a cheap latex from Wally World in a dark brown and paint everything the first time. Just a normal coating will work. I let the first coat dry because the first coat probably won't cover very well. (It IS cheap paint, remember?) When I'm ready to add grass, I put down a second coat of normal thickness and apply various shades of grass in a haphazard pattern. I work smaller sections at a time so I can get the grass to stick. Yes, I do paint over some areas where the sections meet. It changes the color somewhat, but mixes in well (camoflage, as SpaceMouse says). I let the whole thing dry, use a small vacuum to pick up the spills but I don't vacuum the whole scenicked area. There WILL be loose grass, but I seal that down with a spray of white glue, water and detergent. (60 to 80% water, 20 to 40% glue, couple drops of dishwashing detergent). The glue will dry clear. You can top coat areas that look a little thin using just the water/glue mixture.

2) & 3) For roads, I've done it both ways, so it's more a matter of personal choice. I've used drywall mud, foam and styrene for roads - try 'em all and see which method you prefer. When I've failed to plan for RR ditches along the right of way, I've used spackle, drywall mud, real dirt, and probably other stuff that I can't remember to create raised areas adjacent to the mainline to simulate the ditches, applying layers as needed to gain height. On foam covered layouts, you can just carve some ditches along your right-of-way. You can also use Scultamold to form contours anywhere on the layout. It's a bit more forgiving than plaster or drywall in terms of thickness.

Hope this helps. These are methods I've used, and I'm sure the better modelers on this forum will give you more suggestions. Happy railroading!

Darrell, quiet...for now

[Anonymous]

For under color, use a nice earthy color, which is on the darker side, mainly because you want don't want to detract attention from the finished scenery and trains. However, a darker tan can be used for deserts and western areas.