Ground cover where to start?

[aet]

Hi,

I am finally ready to do some serious landscaping on my n scale layout, but I don't know where to start. I have all the necessary ingredients - brown paint for the base and a bunch of woodland scenic materials. I don't want everything perfectly flat, so I was thinking of making some small rolling hills near the track that leads up to one of my tunnel portals/Mts.

Any advice would be great

thanks

Art

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Hello!
I started with plywood & fiberboard base, put in some plaster rock molds and paper towels, then layed down some real dirt:

 

I should have painted the cork roadbed and the fiberboard first (but that's why I'm learning on this module!).  The dirt is from outside my place, dried in an oven, then fixed with whiteglue, water and some 70% rubbing alcohol.  It turned out dark, but that's what I wanted.

I painted the rocks & plaster using WS earth colors.  I probably should have tinted the paster grey, cause every time I nick it, bright white shows up (but that's why I'm learning on this module!).

I scratchbuilt the bridges and installed them AFTER plastering the bottom of the creekbed.  Painted the creekbed, put rocks & wood & stuff in there, then poured Magic Water (fab product).

 

Then started layering with WS foams.  I prefer the "grass" and "weeds" as its finer, but I worked in some coarser stuff here and there:

 

I ballasted the track with cinders (for the well worn lines, like leftback) and dirt (for the logging, right).
I've decided on manual uncoupling, so I need to take those magnets out (eye sore!). 

Made some trees, layered more rocks & foam.  Discovered Polyfill today: made some nifty bushes / undergrowth (still working on technique, then I'll photo).  But here's what it looks today:

Just think LAYERS.

Great thing is, if you don't like something, vacuum it up or let it set, then add more over it.
(It's also good to test techniques out on a practice diorama or module.  Then you won't "mess up" yr "real" project!)

LAYERS work wonders!  (Got many more to do on this one!).

I'm sure others will give you good advice (sometimes it's better to focus yr inquiry on a specific technique rather than a general question).

Good luck!
--Mark

[cowman]

I'd suggest you get some scrap foam and make some landforms.  You don't have to do the whole layout before you start doing some painting and adding scenic materials.  If you don't have foam you can use the cardboard strips or wadded newspaper covered with plaster soaked paper towels or plaster cloth.  I prefer the foam as it is easier to plant trees, also you don't have to limit yourself to one method either.

Have fun,

[WP&P]

I have settled on a technique that aims to first represent the ground, as if nothing grew on the earth and it was just dirt and rocks, then add green stuff to this.  It's LAYERS, as others have said.

My base layer would be the expanding foam (I use cans of "Great Stuff" sold in hardware stores), which you can squirt out of a nozzle anyplace where you want a bit of a hill.  Let it fully cure, and it will expand to a lumpy mess larger than what you intend - that's fine!  The next step is to take an old steak knife to it, shave it down to the shape you envision.

The next layer is the Ground Goop.  This is my own concoction of roughly equal parts Papier-Mache (I use Cell-U-Clay brand, sold in Art and hobby stores) plus joint compound, to which I add brown and black tempera paints (use Tempera because it doesn't cure it just dries, unlike Acrylics) and either real dirts or store-bought sand / ballast.  Lots of room to improvise in the mixture - more joint compound gives smoother surface, more papier-mache give bumpier.  I mix it all in a plastic Dixie cup, using a plastic spoon, and I use the spoon as a trowel to apply it.  It goes on about 1/8" thick over the foam, but it can be thicker as needed; just be aware that it will shrink as it dries, with more shrinkage where thicker.

Note that all components are such that it does not cure but rather only dries.  This enables you to deal with shrinkage cracks later, by simply rewetting the area, and either smoothing the existing material out, or even adding a bit more to patch it.  Anything that comes out looking wrong can be rewet and tinkered with.

While this goop is freshly applied and still wet, I dust on some dirt as a top layer.  The goop will dry a lot lighter and grayer than it looks when wet, so this dusting will help control the final color a bit.  Plus, it gives the surface some "tooth", to grab and hold the scenic ground foam when it comes time to add greenery.

To add the greenery, I use the same white glue, water, and alcohol mixture that I use for ballasting.  I  pre-wet the ground goop with water only, just so it doesn't soak in all the glue right away, then start applying ground foam.  I saturate it as I go, and I only work on a small area at a time, no more than about one square foot.  I also use a Noch static grass applicator, and I do this right after all the ground foam has gone down and been saturated; the blades of grass will wick up just enough glue to stay put.

This is what I've used for my N-Trak module, and you can see it in stages of construction here:

http://wpandp.com/Module.html

Note that most photos show parts of the ground naked of any vegetation; this is the ground goop (which if it chips, is just the same dusty brown color throughout).  I applied this goop right over the plywood base and was able to build up slight rises and embankments just by varying the thickness.

[wedudler]

 Here you see a construction in pictures. My Diamond Valley has an English text.

Wolfgang

[MisterBeasley]

I don't like flat spaces either.  I try to add ground contours everywhere on my HO layout.

What are you using for your layout's base?  Mine is pink foam, which is very scenery-friendly because I can carve it easily to make small depressions and ditches.  For any space, though, I usually add a few small rises first with carved foam scraps.  I usually add plaster cloth to smooth out the contours.  Here is some early "terraforming" around a highway bridge.  The plaster cloth section is in the foreground:

Next, I add a few rock castings (Hydrocal, using rock molds).  There's a rock casting in the lower right of the next picture.  Then I mix up some Gypsolite, a grainy plaster.  I squirt in some cheap brown acrylic craft paint to give me a light tan surface, rather than the gray base color of the Gypsolite.  I spread the Gypsolite thinly over the plaster cloth and foam to give me a rough surface.  After it dries, I mix a thin wash of olive green acrylic paint and create a "camouflage" pattern on the ground.

Then, I brush on "scenic cement" which is just white glue thinned 1 part glue to 3 parts water.  I sprinkle on brown and green turf, applying it in small pinches to match the ground pattern, but not too carefully.  The natural variation of shades is important.  I add ground foam, which I glue on separately because the brushed glue isn't enough.  I use alcohol as a wetting agent and then dribble on more scenic cement for this, just like ballasting track.  The final touches are done with tall grass and a bit of Envirotex for water in the ditches.

 

[aet]

I am using plywood,  mine is a "cooke cutter" type layout