Newbie needing landscape advice

[Randy Edwards]

Hi everyone

 

I am planning a 1860-1890's type of lay out sort of a Gunsmoke theme . I have a jupiter and a #119  buildings include Marshalls Office, General Store, Saloon,Blacksmith Shop, Cemetary etc etc

 Being a Rookie my question pertains to what type of landscaping will i need as in earth ? majority was dirt back then ..what materials would you use for the streets , paths etc 

 

Thanks in Advance

 

Randy Edwards 

[selector]

For a relatively flat terrain, I would use 1" blue or pink extruded foam, and I would stack, glue, and carve any heights that I desired.  I think foam is a great first step in delving into terrain, but the very first step is to have a firm track plan in mind, one that actually works with the engines having to do the work on it, and that keeps you interested and involved in the layout over time.  If it is too simple, you will get bored quickly.

But cutting foam to a rough configuration, stacking it, and then shaping it with a knife, hot wire cutter, and/or a sanding block makes for fairly quick terrain.  You can easily fashion channels for tunnels, you can carve down for depressions that hold shallow water, and you can lay great trackage on the flat surfaces that are left.  About the only thing that gets in the way of smaller layouts is the insistance on substantial grades.  They really make the engines work hard if those grades force the engine to cross over lower tracks.

And, last but not least, welcome to the forum.  I expect you will get lots of help and ideas here.

[loathar]

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/

Here's a real good site for modeling your era. It has a bunch of scenery "how to's" on it.

[ratled]

You may want to check out Paul Scoles layout and videos

http://www.theinsidegateway.com/PaulScolesPelicanBay1.htm

http://www.paulscoles.com/

ratled

[tomikawaTT]

Here in the Dessicated Desert, the base color of the local dirt is a light beige.  Closer to the red rocks it takes on a dusty rose tint.

Since I wasn't a big Gunsmoke fan (I was involved with people who were shooting real bullets at the time - some of them aimed in my general direction) I'm not sure what color the dirt was on the movie set.  These days, Old Tucson is mostly a light grey dust.

Your best bet would be to Google for an area similar to the one you intend to model, and look at the pictures posted by the local tourist authority.  Except for paved areas and trimmed lawns, dirt color hasn't changed much in 150 years - but changes radically with location.

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

[Randy Edwards]

thanks everyone the info was very helpful