Question; Did you or have you ever tried to build your tunnel portals with the 1" foam, or do you use plastic scenics? I have wanted to try to build them myself with the foam. Thanks, Carl
Oops - let's try again!
" mce_src="">
I too use the same technique as Tom with foam, crumpled newspaper, plaster cloth and sculpturemold. I add flat black latex paint to the sculpturemold to get a rock-like grey colour. The end result is very resiliant and easy to mold and adjust to blend with adjacent scenary and structures. In my setup, I have a whole wall of natural rock in which my track wind it's way over bridges and through canyons. I use drybrushing to blend in the colour and pastels to add different colour highlights. Visitors have difficulty detecting what is the natural rock and what is the fake. I add woodland scenics shrubs and conifer trees where appropriate. I attach the trees using a dab of grey latex calking amongst the natural rock; for the fake rock you can just drill a small hole and again use a little calking. If needed you can paint the calking when it's dry. Hope this helps.
I am attaching a picture [I hope] but I'm not sure that I've got the right procedure for doing this
Alan
Most of us are familiar with the cheap polystyrene that is used for packing and if it comes from china breaks into millions of little balls. However, I would suggest looking at builder's grade polystyrene, readily available and cheaper than the extruded blue/pink foam. While the blue foam is better if you are going to carve it with tools other than a hot knife, the builders grade white foam cuts well and is lighter. I typically use it for bases, reserving the more expensive blue foam for the outer layer.
Also, you still can recycle those white molded containers as a base and then build your blue foam on top of them.
My favorite three tools for foam is a thin bladed Japenese saw available real cheap at Harbor Freight... about 8" long and very flexible. Surforms in a variety of sizes and shapes - have the vacuum ready with both of these. And, a hot knife - but not the one sold in hobby shops that takes forever to heat and can't stay on very long. I use a professional model that is awesome http://www.psiservices.com/catalog/ListPsiProducts.php?c=4 and an Electric Styro cutter available at Michaels or cheaper on Ebay. The first one is great for all around cutting and carving. The second one is great for detail carving.
I use cellu clay to finish the foam joint, looks rocky and is easy to work.
your work look awesome
Andre.
Cuda Ken, I don't remember having previously seen any photographs of your layout but there is only one word to describe your scenery: terrific. Stick with it!
I remember a year or so back when you were so frustrated with some sort of problem that you were ready to chuck the whole thing and find a new hobby. Glad you have stayed with it!
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
I built a small layout using blue foam, the stuff is very easy to shape and form and work with
http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/t/125621.aspx?PageIndex=1
Follow the pics in the thread to see how I did it and keep a good shop vacuum nearby and use it frequently.
I used smaller chunks glued together then used spray foam insulation to fill gaps, once its cures its as carvable as the foam. The one thing is that you have to be patient allowing the glue to dry completely or risk having the foam shift or come apart from the shaping process. Take your time, its kind of self explaintory as you do it.
Good luck
Have fun with your trains
Either the blue or pink foam is terrific to work with, IMO. Unfortunately out here in California, it's not as available as it used to be. But before that happened, I used stacked foam quite a bit on my mountains. In fact, my entire layout is constructed on a 2" foam base over 1x4" cross-bracing, and it's a large layout.
However, instead of stacking and carving the foam, I just stacked it to get the general height and outline, then filled in with crumpled newspaper and finished off the contouring with plaster cloth and Sculptamold. It's simply a different technique, not necessarily a better or worse one. It works for me quite well.
But it is a great way to get mountains FAST! And if you work in a well-ventilated area and wear a ventilating mask, you can use a hot knife to 'carve' the foam without ending up with a lot of mess. But be sure your area is well-ventilated (and get one of those allergy masks that you can pick up at a drugstore).
Here's a portion of my Sierra Buttes, which is made up of stacked foam, then covered with Sculptamold castings and Cripplebush rocks. It's about 24" high and probably weighs about 9 pounds tops.
Foam--I like it!
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
I use a 2" long blade x-acto knife for some cuts, no mess and no smell. I also use a hot wire to make other cuts. These cuts are very smooth, but you do get an odor, so you must keep the temp of the hot wire just right for melting the foam, not too hot so that the foam smokes. Also, keep a fan running in the room and a window open if you have one nearby.
The us of ble / red board ==== ! sheet is $20 + -[You cut a l'o scenic a 1 sdheet]
Jake, you are more than welcome and in fact you helped me! Monday I will start working on Kingsdowns mountain again. I have got lost in the land of playing with CV's and have not touched the mountain for 3 month
MikeI've found that you keep the mess down by cutting and shaping the foam with a sharp fillet knife rather then sawing it with a serrated knife.
Mike, the reason to use the serrated knife is to get a ruff rock look. When I am shaping the foam, I use a sharp blade, but is looks to slick not rock like.
Far as cheap foam. All my hills are lift off so I want big sections to start with. If you find damaged section at Home Depot and ask for the department manage and you can get up to 75% off like I did.
Far as 2 inch thick sheets, most of mine are. But I buy what I can get. Tip, look at how thick each section is as you go up. My mountain is broken down into 3 sections. I match each section thickness to each other as it goes up. All so to save money if the mountain say is 24 inches wide, you don't need 24 inch wide foam, build it hollow like I did.
That is the reason you see the steel beam a cross the mountain in the one picture. There is hidden tracks under there.
Tanks for getting me off my caboose again, Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
Welcome to the forum and to the wonderful world of foam scenery. I also get my foam from construction sites. My favorite tool is the serrated steak knife. I paint with accrylics and used my version of ground goop to get varied texture. It was this forum that got me started a couple years ago. Here are a couple of pics, some have seen before, of what a non-artist can do with a lot of foam and even more time. The first is my version of the Superstition Mountains and the second is Yellowstone Canyon.
can you get the same type of mountain using 2" foam? You look like you had 1"
Thanks very much Cuda ken!
I've found that you keep the mess down by cutting and shaping the foam with a sharp filet knife rather then sawing it with a serated knife.
Far as the tunnel question, I paint the inside of the tunnel the color of the rock faces about 3 inches back then go with flat black. On the tunnel on the hill going to the mine, I can see into them from where I run the trains, I used the retaining walls that match the portal as a liner. If you look in the last picture you can see the wood walls.
Jake how did you paint your hills and make everything looks so rocky, with what specific color I mean
Jake, on the rock face, I used a steak knife to do the bigger cuts, then a sanding block to open them up and smooth them out some. I all so dug out small sections with the tip of the knife and used my finger nails as well.
Far as paint color, there real is not one. I use Apple Barrel craft paint from Wally World at $1.00 a bottle. Main two colors are 20403 white and 2620 Pewter Grey, but all so use browns, black, yellow and some orange. I use the bottom 3 inch of a 2 liter soda bottle as a mixing cup. I mix 3 parts grey and 2 white to get the main color, (play with the mix till you get a color you like) then pour some into 1 or 2 of the depressions of the soda bottle. (2 will cover about 15 X 4 inches of rock faces) Then I add some straight gray to another depression, black into a other depression, white in another one. Then have at it. I use the main color on the main faces, add some black to mix for depressions in the faces and and white to the mix for out cropping.
I let the the paint set for about 15 minutes but it is still wet, I will add some brown, yellow and orange. here and there. With main color still being tacky, other paints will blend well. If the added color is a little over powering, dip your brush in some water and thin spread it out some.
It will dry a little lighter than when it is wet. Depending what it looks like when dry, normally takes over night I may use a dark wash of black or gray for more detail.
Main ruel is rocks are not all one color. All so poke your brush into the nooks to get paint in the small pits. Look from as many angles as you can, it is easy to miss some pink.
Far as sticking the trees in to the foam. I use a real small screw driver to start the hole and white glue on the trees trunk and just stick it in.
Hope I was of some help.
Cuda Ken
rjake4454
Classic approach is to use heavy duty aluminum foil, appropriately crumpled and then painted. Doesn't have to go all the way in, just do the line of sight. You could carve the foam or use a sculpture mold type product.
Co-owner of the proposed CT River Valley RR (HO scale) http://home.comcast.net/~docinct/CTRiverValleyRR/
cudaken,
Your hills look great, thats the way we are doing it, how did you paint your hills and make everything looks so rocky, with what specific color I mean? And how did you put those shrubs and grass on some of the rocky hills?
Your help would be much appreciated thanks.
Me and my brother just started using foam to build some hills and tunnel for two trains to run through, the pink foam smells god awful when your working with it, like the worst BO ever...wierd (I hope that goes away once we are past the cutting and nailing foam into place stage), but besides that, the mountain and tunnel are starting to take shape, and I feel that it is the best choice we could have made. We read about various other methods, but the important thing to remember about foam is that it creates excellent sound absorbtion, so it really simulates that good sound of trains going through and out a tunnel.
Its awfully messy to work with and smelly too! But it gets the job done.
The problem is, we don't know what to do next, should we simply paint the inside of the carved out foam tunnel black? Its just pink and kinda rough right now. We already have 1 stone, unpainted portal in place, it looks really good. Once we finish this, then what? We have tried to carve rock shapes out of the pink foam, we slope the blocks, they look OK..for now. Should we paint these gray like a rock color?
And when should we start using that cement stuff that comes in a carton, and rock castings, are these any good, at what stage do we use them? I have tried looking online, but I figured I would just ask you guys.
So far the only thing we have by WS is the tunnel portal, everything else is foam shaped around it and around the tunnel, should we forget the other WS stuff (rock castings etc) for now, and just paint the foam, what specific colors are recommended for the mountains of western pennsylvania, should we paint the base black, and then work in some gray in second, or should we start with an earthy brown tone or simply a grey shade to begin with?
wasn't a question. but i read some of the other blogs and noticed a lot of pricing issues. i was just telling how i got all my foam for my layout at a low price or for nothing.
and yes you are correct it does make a big mess. your layout looks great would love to see it when its completed.
Kddigger, first welcome to the site. you will find many people here that will be happy to help.
Now I have a question? What is your question about the foam?
Foam is easy to work with and lite weight, only down side is it make a heck of a mess.
Some of my foam hills.
The pieces I got to do the sheet of plywood are around a 2x2 square just had to glue together. also put dowels in the sides so they stayed even while drying.
Price is right, I have gotten quite a bit just asking where I see folks using it. You are apt to end up with a lot of good pieces to build with, but not so many big pieces for a base. I got some of that very reasonably from a couple places that had over bought, sounds like the form pieces may be bigger. You are helping them too, as you are reducing their waste volume.
Have fun,
I have been reading a lot of post on different techniques to build a mountain and it seems that most people prefer Blue or Pink foam. the biggest issue I have seen is that it cost about 20+ dollars per sheet. Well here is a easy solution to that-- they are building a walgreens by my house and they were building forms out of blue foam and throwing alot away. so I asked if I could have some and they let me take all I wanted. I now have enough 2" foam to cover my 4x8 plywood plus build the mountain and if I need more they said come back. I have also checked a couple of housing areas going up and they too had some (1 and 2 inch). one crew even gave me some liquid nail to use when I told them what I was doing.
Note: I also got scap wood to build my support for my table there.