Simulating concrete with sheet styrene

[Steven S]

Lone Wolf and Santa Fe

I used to try to make roads and sidewalks with plaster but they never looked right.

 

You can make simple molds for pouring plaster road slabs by using Depron foam for the walls, and waterproof sandpaper for the base.   The sandpaper will give it a bit of texture.   After pouring in the plaster, put a pane of glass over it to give it a flat base and force it into the nooks and crannies.

 

 

Steve S

 

[Lone Wolf and Santa Fe]

I used to try to make roads and sidewalks with plaster but they never looked right. Now I use 0.040" Evergreen sheet styrene and paint it by brush to get some texture. I use Tamiya Acrylic Paint (flat) Sky Grey XF19 for concrete sidewalks and driveways. I tried the woodland Scenics concrete paint but it was bad and had turned green and looked like a pool full of algae.

j....

[wjstix]

What I did is spray the plastic with Testor's "Concrete" spray can paint, and then while the paint was still wet, dust on a little talcum powder. The powder soaks up the paint, and gives the surface a little roughness in some areas.

On my layout, the space I had to 'lay concrete' in was an area around the yard office that was 3" wide, and a couple of other places where it is 1.5" between the tracks. I used styrene sheet designed to be used for sidewalks, the ones I used came scored into 1/2" squares. I just snapped out 3 by 3 squares, and painted the back (smooth) sides. Then when I fit them together, the joints looked like expansion joints cut into the concrete...or at least, that's what I was trying to do.

This part of the layout is sent in early winter, so there's also a light dusting of snow.

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/m/mrr-layouts/2290019.aspx

 

[Nerfball6]

Nice!!! I'm going to bookmark this and try it.

 

Grampys Trains

Hi Tom: You may want to consider this alternative to styrene.  I have used styrene for concrete, here's an example of the real thing, HO scale real concrete. It's Quickcrete Anchor Cement.         

 

[E-L man tom]

Thanks, guys, for the information. I have decided that one of the commercial spray cans of paint (as I do not have an airbrush), then weathering with either Bragdon's powders or an alcohol-black paint wash.

I do have to say, Grampy's Trains, that service platform does look convincing. The only thing is, I don't need anything that rough and weathered looking. The area I'm modeling is just in front of some grain silos and will hardly get any heavy vehicle traffic as it is a narrow area between the tracks and the silos. 

 

[Grampys Trains]

Hi Robert: Thanks.  Yes, I tacked 1/4" lath to a piece of plywood in the shape I wanted and poured anchor cement in and leveled it.  The only problem (which turned out to be an advantage) is It cracked in a couple of places. It has a fine texture and looks exactly like concrete.  I weathered it with an ink and alcohol wash and oily black paint. I also used some WS water for water spills.

[robert sylvester]

Grampys Trains:

Great looking platforms. Did you make forms and pour the concrete.  The look is terricic!

Robert Sylvester, WTRR

[Grampys Trains]

Hi Tom: You may want to consider this alternative to styrene.  I have used styrene for concrete, here's an example of the real thing, HO scale real concrete. It's Quickcrete Anchor Cement.         

[BruceJob]

I like the look of Floquil Aged Concrete followed by a *light* spray of black. When spraying the black, hold the airbrush back some distance back to get tiny droplets on the the surface. From a distance this gives a good impression of the pitted surface of old concrete.

[SilverSpike]

I used sheet styrene to build the concrete floor in my roundhouse, and here the link to the web page that shows the steps I took to get er done!

http://piedmontdivision.rymocs.com/rh_01.html 

And here is one recent photo of the RH interior and floor. I'm still working on more details for the interior, the retractable roof is removed for a better view:

[JON168]

http://cs.trains.com/forums/1453574/ShowPost.aspx

 

 I tried this and it is absolutely the most realistic HO scale concrete color I've ever seen. Rustoleum Desert Bisque......excellent texture and looks just like cured\aged concrete.

 The only thing I didn't like was the amount of spray that comes out....it's a little too thick if you hold the can close to the project.....I held the can about 14 inches away and got good results...as with any spray can.....several light coats are best.

 And....use Rustoleum OUTSIDE!!   It smells like nail polish and no doubt would give you a heck of a headache if you use it indoors.

[robert sylvester]

E-L man tom:

I have used may products to simulate concrete.  I paint styrene all of the time with various concrete colors.  For roads and sidewalks I use topper tape purchased at Lowes then dusted with grey tempra paint powder.

I really like the look.  The tape is grey and dusting it makes it look weathered.

I also use styrene painted concrete to build station platforms and sidewalks.

I have actually mixed a concrete.  This is actually plaster with tempra paint powder mixed to give it a grey color. The two story building in the front is sitting on a square of styrene painted grey.

My latest; Popsickle sticks.  I needed narrow side walks for some back streets.  Painted grey or concrete they work great.

In this scene below.  The station platform is styrene sheets of brick. Real plaster for the sidewalk at the side of the station. Styrene, concrete painted sidewalk. The blue foam sub roadbed painted concrete and a styrene sidewalk over by the bus station.

I hope these are some examples you can use.

Robert Sylvester, WTRR

 

[AlreadyInUse]

Try krylon camouflage khaki in a rattle can. It's ultra flat and will get you the color/texture you're looking for.

[dknelson]

If you are just a few dozen feet away from concrete it looks very smooth -- just not shiny.  My advice: Don't roughen it, just color it with flat dull colors.  I use spray cans of camoflage colors -- mostly tans with some light grays, spraying both at once (two fisted sprayer) to get a slightly varied look.  By the way i do this work outside.  With practice you can get a quite realistic concrete look.   A bit of weathering with chalks or charcoal, protected with a fixitive of some sort, can simulate tire wear or oil stains.

Dave Nelson

[jbinkley60]

I want to make a concrete pad area for some grain silos. I have some sheet styrene (approximately 0.60 thick) that want to use for this. I know that there have been many published articles on this but I'm too lazy to dig them out. Does anyone have some good suggestions on how to do this?

I have thought about sanding the surface (using a fine sandpaper) to make it rough and to have a flat finish, then uusing either a light biege or a light gray base paint, lightly sprayed on, then using acrylic paint washes to weather. I would scribe the surface Uusing either a hobby knife blade or a razor knife blade after sanding and before painting to simulate expansion seams and cracks. 

Thanks

 

This is .060" styrene that is scored with a utility knife and painted using Floquil concrete color paint.

 

 

[MisterBeasley]

As an alternative, do you have any Hydrocal or other plaster lying around?  Build a shallow form mold and pour in plaster, just the way a real concrete pad would be done.  This will give you the naturally grainy look of concrete, which you don't get with styrene.  You can use light doses of India Ink washes or thinned acrylics to color it.  Start very thin and light on these, and just repeat until you get the shade you want.

When you look at a surface, you expect to see not just a color, but also a surface texture.  Styrene is completely flat, so it doesn't match well with the rougher look of concrete.  Hydrocal, on the other hand, is naturally the kind of texture you want.  It will reflect light much more like a poured concrete surface, and that's one of the things that makes it look more realistic.

[BurbankAV]

I know that there have been many published articles on this but I'm too lazy to dig them out. Does anyone have some good suggestions on how to do this?

 

 

My really obnoxious reaction is: if you're too lazy to do the research, why shouldn't we be too lazy to respond?

[Down, boy, down! -- Sorry, I had to get that out of my system...]

 

But sharing is what these forums are all about, so...  I think you'll find that the sanding is unnecessary.  If you get the color correct, the texture will take care of itself.  Think about the type of concrete you're modeling.  More than likely, the greatest deviation from totally flat (except for expansion joints) is less than a quarter inch.  If you're in HO, that's less than 0.003 inch.  Just scribe the expansion joints, and paint and weather it.  Finish with a couple of coats of Dullcote for the flat finish, and away you go -- you're brain will do the rest.  (If you're really concerned about it, paint it with a rattle-can: it'll produce a slightly rougher grain...)  

Give it a try, then let us see some pictures!

Peter

[E-L man tom]

I want to make a concrete pad area for some grain silos. I have some sheet styrene (approximately 0.60 thick) that want to use for this. I know that there have been many published articles on this but I'm too lazy to dig them out. Does anyone have some good suggestions on how to do this?

I have thought about sanding the surface (using a fine sandpaper) to make it rough and to have a flat finish, then uusing either a light biege or a light gray base paint, lightly sprayed on, then using acrylic paint washes to weather. I would scribe the surface Uusing either a hobby knife blade or a razor knife blade after sanding and before painting to simulate expansion seams and cracks. 

Thanks