Yes, Lance Mindheim was nice enough to give me the order numbers for all the grasses that were used on the East Rail Layout as well as the Palm Trees that were used. I am going to use Envirotex for the water and then Modge Podge for the slight rippling. If you need any numbers, please let me know.
Larry
That's a lot of filling that you did, Camaro. For the canal, are you going to apply the types of weeds and grasses seen on canals and ditches in Florida? For water, Woodland Scenics?
Thanks for posting that link. I've been to South Florida many times. That layout captures the look remarkably well.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Antonio FP45,
On the canal in the photo, I needed to build up the bottom 1/1/4 inches because I wanted a depth of 3/4 of an inch to start with. The 2" foam was too deep, but was already partially glued down so I went with that. I initally used two layers of 1x4x 4" pine board and dropped that into the channel and glued it down. I then added a couple of thin birch boards that I had purchased at Home Depot and had them cut to my specifications. These were also glued down. As I said the combined build up of base material was approximately 1 1/4 inches. Once I achieved that thickness, I used a thin .020 sheet plastic and glued that down to the sub base wood.
Using the angled foam cutting blade (shown in the photo of attachments) and my 36" metal straight edge I angle cut the foam along the canal banks with the hot angled cutter resting against the metal straight edge that I had place in the bottom of the canal. Having the metal straight edge laying in the canal bottom will not allow the plastic sheeting to melt. Once this was complete, I used a joint compound to smooth out the canal banks. I you look close, you can see the shiny plastic sheets on the photo below. My layout is a spin off of Lance Mindheim's Miami based "Voodoo & Palmettos" East Rail theme. Check out his "East Rail" canal at:
www.lancemindheim.com
There are probably several other ways to attack this job. My next layout will use only 3/4 inch foam.
camaroThis is what I used to cut 2" foam for my canal. I purchased it at Lowe's for about 20.00. It is made by Weller. It cuts much straighter than a hot wire and is quicker. As the knife cuts, it cauterizes the foam leaving no mess. Hot wire cutters have a tendency to wander.
This is what I used to cut 2" foam for my canal. I purchased it at Lowe's for about 20.00. It is made by Weller. It cuts much straighter than a hot wire and is quicker. As the knife cuts, it cauterizes the foam leaving no mess. Hot wire cutters have a tendency to wander.
Camaro,
Great thread! I'm currently building a layout using the 2" Blue Foam and was wondering how I would shape some of the areas for small creeks and a canal.
I agree with others above. Cut all the way down to base. Presumably plywood. Then just use wood or styrofoam to shim up to the proper height. Plaster cloth and/or sculptamold in the area to blend it in to the surrounding scenery.
Mike
No problem.
Using this tool is almost like cheating. Stick it in the foam and just keep it movin'
Thanks
weller tb100
Camaro
What is the model number of your Weller gun?
Thanks to all for your suggestions. I decided to go with the router for this job. So, with my son holding the shop vac nozzle next to the router discharge and my wife holding a board so I could rout a straight edge, I was able to rout out the section with little difficulty and little mess. I squared out the corners with a utilty knife.
I've made cutouts in my 2" foam to install Peco point motors under the track and also to create a river. My method doesn't produce a perfectly flat bottom but it's not too messy and it works. I start by outlining the cutout with a utility knife and scoring across it as someone already suggested. Then I use a grapefruit knife to cut out the blocks of foam. In case you're not familiar with this tool, it's a curved knife with serrations on both sides of the blade. It's designed to cut around the inside of the skin of a half a grapefruit to free up the innards. Being curved, you can cut down and around into the foam which is impossible with a straight blade. Great tool. Wouldn't be without it.
..... Bob
Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here. (Captain Kirk)
I reject your reality and substitute my own. (Adam Savage)
Resistance is not futile--it is voltage divided by current.
hissra,
Is the foam top supported by a plywood base? I had a similar project with a coaling grate behind my coaling tower.
My foam base is support by slats rather than a full sheet of plywood. I just traced the outline of the coaling grate onto the foam, cut it all the way through with a serrated knife, then pushed the foam "slab" down the distance that it needed to be. Course, this method only worked because it conveniently fell in between two of my 1 x 4 slats.
If the router and shop vac method don't work for you, I would just remove the entire 18" square section of 2" foam then use 1/2" foam to shim it up to the proper height. Card stock and/or styrene could be used for any minor adjustments that need to be made.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
hissraI tried my router on a scrap piece of foam and while it makes a perfect cut at the right depth, the process creates a huge mess of fine foam dust.
I would suggest that if all other suggestions are not what you want to do, you could always have a friend/wife/etc hold the 'suck' end of shop vac, dust buster, etc next to the router while you do this work. Most routers throw the dust in pretty much one direction. Some wood workers have an attachment to thier router base that has a hose attached to it that is part of their dust collection system.
The total mess I was left with is shown above in the photos. I used another attachment to angle the canal banks of the 2" foam once the base was built up about 11/4 inches.
I did that for my water, where I needed to lower the landscape to get a depression to pour the Envirotex.
I marked the edge of the area, and then cut a grid at about 1/2 inch intervals across it in both directions. I used a utility knife for this, so the depth of the lines was about a half inch. Then I took something like a spoon and gouged out the chunks. It made a mess, but at least it was one I could clean up with a brush and pan. The base inside was very uneven, but I covered it with plaster cloth. In your case, the uneven surface shouldn't matter much.
EDIT: Railimages was down last night, so here's a picture:
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
For the cutouts for my Torotises I used a router but in a Dremel coupled with the 'roto zip' attachment - seemed to me to have a clearer view of the cutting head then the router attachment, plus is cost less. The third critical bit was the hose from the shop vac in my other hand to suck up the flying foam. The end result was very little mess, actually. Some foam statically adhered to the outside of the vac hose but that was a case where I just ran my hand up the nozzle fromt he hose end towards the open end, with it still running, and it sucked in all that. A quick pass of the hose over the Dremel pulled in any loose bits that may have been hanging there.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Hot wire cutter....
I had the same problem when I installed my turntable. You're right! that router sure makes a mess. I ended up removing the whole area down to the plywood and replaced it with 1 inch foam leaving a nice plat bottom 1 inch deep. If you don't have a plywood base, just put a sheet of 1/4 ply under the hole to support the foam and structure.
73
Bruce in the Peg
I need to cut out a 1/2 inch deep insert in my 2 inch blue foam table top. I have built a structure on a 1/2 inch piece of plywood about 18 inches square. I want to insert that structure into my table top. I tried my router on a scrap piece of foam and while it makes a perfect cut at the right depth, the process creates a huge mess of fine foam dust. The bottom of the space needs to be reasonably smooth so the structure seats flush. Other than cutting out the entire 2 inch section, cutting off 1/2 inch of foam and gluing back the remainder, does anyone have any other suggestions?