Another option is to glue castings to the foam abutment, or in our case for the club, all the abutments are 1x pine risers to support the spline or 3/4" plywood subroadbed. The castings are carefully molded to approxiamte shape , cut, sanded and fitted before glueing with ceramic tile adhesive.
This pic shows the riser on one side and cardboard mock up for shaping the foam embankment
Now the castings are placed
This area is close to finished now but don't have the latest pics
This is another spot showing the base for abutments and piers, this same thing can be done with foam as others have mentioned
This bridge shows the wood sub abutment/ riser to the left, a finished but not weathered on the right and the center pier, constructed of a tapered wood base covered w/ plaster castings for the stonework. These also could have been done in foam, I just perfer the durability and the strength of this method.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Welcome to the world of bridges. I love them. I have kit bashed some big steel ones, and scratch built wooden trestles as well as many kits. I love it all. There are several of us here that just like bridges.
For abutments I use some purchased ones, but also use carved styrofoam, stacked sticks and plaster. It depends on what you like but I have really fallen in love with foam.
If you want something in a hurry, buy plaster abutments. If you want to spend the time, carve them out of foam.
Keep us posted.
For concrete abutments, an easy way to model them is with some styrene sheet and strip. By scratchbuilding, you can customize the abutments to fit the area. You can then paint them a concrete color or give them some texture using a special technique with a material you probably wouldn't expect. Here's an example.
This scene isn't permanent, it's actually a mock-up, but you can see the abutments. The special material is ashes from a charcoal grill! The color variations of concrete are hard to paint, but charcoal ash is a great color for conrete. To apply it paint the abutment pollyscale aged concrete, an unthinned heavy coat. Immediatly after painting bury the abutment in the ash. Give the paint time to dry. Come back later and knock most of the ash of. There will most likely be bare spots, but they are easy to fix. Just give it a heavy coat of spraycan dulcote, I used Krylon, then bury it in ash again. After it's dry knock of any excess with your finger. Your results should look like this.
Abutments made in this way represent an older abutment. Also note that they are fragile and can easily have the ash knocked or scratched off.
For newer concrete abutments (or anything else concrete) I have thought about using Rockite Hydrailic Cement. We used some for patching big holes in the wall when renovating the bathroom. It dried to a new concrete looking light grey and got hard in just 15 min. The fast dry time would mean you could cast several quickly. I would just use a styrene mold and peel it apart to remove the casting. I haven't tried this method yet though, but have wanted to try it.
However you model your bridges, I hope they turn out well.
Not being at all flip...but the larger chunks of foam do a breat job as abutments and piers if you are willing to patiently carve them with a sharp blade. They can be sanded, too, and then spackled with plaster or hydrocal, even mud for drywall, and then lightly score that material to get the planking look for concrete form relief. Seat them where you want them with either hydrocal or cheap acrylic caulking.
I did it that way, and it turned out as well as I had the patience and time for. Otherwise, Heljan and Atlas and Walthers, maybe even Woodland Scenics (?), have that stuff that you can cut easily with hobby knives or with a fine saw. Find Walthers sells much of it, so check there.
You can also form your own molds with plywood or thin wallboard, even drywall sections. Then seal the corners with putty or something, latex caulking would be great, and then mix and pour the hydrocal or plaster of Paris. You'll save tons this way.
I am building a new HO layout that will have a couple bridges in it. Having never built a layout with this feature, I am looking for a beginners guide on how to advice for this subject. I am using blue foam board. I have the river already cut out. I plan on using scuptamold to shape the river sides. What would be the best source for piers and abutments that can be customized for height as needed to fit the bridge into the landscape?
Thanks, Gary