I have just finished construction phase of the new layout. However I think there is some prep todo before I start laying roadbed. I need to sand a few spots and then paint. My last layout painted the table two colors. Grey in the cement areas and tan in the rural areas. My layout is going to be in the Michigan area and the tan was to light before, it was like an Arizona tan. Should I paint the entire table one color? What color(s) should I paint the table top? I have also heard a lot of stories about buying model railroads supplies at non-hobby shops, like electric components from Home Depot. What are your recommendations for places to get cheaper model support items?
I live in Michigan, and generally the ground is green. It's only tan just after snowmelt, and toward the end of a dry summer.
I always go to the hobby shop first. Buying a few of the wrong things at Home Depot will wipe out any savings.
NILEShould I paint the entire table one color? What color(s) should I paint the table top?
This is what I do.
I use Woodland Scenics T-49 green blend for my basic ground cover. I took a sample of it to Home Depot and found a color that matched. This has worked very well for me.
Your results might vary.
-Photographs by Kevin Parson
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I used 2 shades of green and 2 of browns in spray cans. I put down 4-6" spots like camoflage. My logic is based on irrigation differences and soil variation. Looks good to me.
Used to live in Saginaw MI. Exposed earth was always a clay color, which I suppose would represent "railroad tie brown" colors I commonly see in the hobby paint labels. Something a grey-brown color will do at home improvement stores as long as it's mixed as a flat paint.
@Kevin, really? Your earth hills are only construction-paper thick? Do you ever accidentally punch through them? Whatever happened to screen-door screen and plaster of paris? I guess I'm surprised that you can make durable scenery out of such a thin paper. Or is it thicker than it looks? I am not at the point yet of doing scenery but I'm starting to pay attention to how people make it.
-Matt
Returning to model railroading after 40 years and taking unconscionable liberties with the SP&S, Northern Pacific and Great Northern roads in the '40s and '50s.
When my benchwork was still purely in the plywood surface stage, no track or roadbed, I painted the top surface with cheap dark brown paint I found on sale. Using a roller it went very quick and because this was not like painting a wall or a house, I could be frugal by watering down the paint a little.
I had a number of reasons for doing this.
First, looking over a vast expanse of fresh plywood was paralyzing to motivation -- so much to do, not always the most interesting part of model railroading, and I was slightly burned out from all that repetitive carpentry. Painting the surface an "earthy" but neutral color created some slight notion of what the final "reward" could look like. It actually made the layout seem smaller and in a strange sense more doable.
Second, it meant that as I started to put down subroadbed and roadbed and lay track, but not scenery, the dark brown gave everything a "sort of" scenicked look.
Third as I started to attend to scenery I did not feel I needed to do everything at once and that things would look OK if I just stopped to think about next steps or attend to some other project.
Fourth there is no thought that that dark brown will be final "real" scenery but at least if something gets scraped off or moved around, it will do until I can attend to it. This is sort of like how people add dark color to their plaster mountain so that if it chips off you at least aren't looking at dead white.
Dave Nelson
crossthedogYour earth hills are only construction-paper thick? Do you ever accidentally punch through them? Whatever happened to screen-door screen and plaster of paris? I guess I'm surprised that you can make durable scenery out of such a thin paper. Or is it thicker than it looks?
The paper in those pictures is masking off a rock face to protect it during the ground cover process.
The scenery is cardboard form with plaster cloth, then plaster.
Along these same lines, I am going to cover my plywood with some foam.
Is there going to be a problem if I paint the foam? Will the caulk that I use to attach the track or the cork to the foam going to stick to the layer of paint?
I don't want to go too far on this to find out I did something I shouldn't have.
York1 John
York1Is there going to be a problem if I paint the foam? Will the caulk that I use to attach the track or the cork to the foam going to stick to the layer of paint?
John, These questions might be better in a new thread.
I have built with some foam on other people's layouts. We used normal water soluable interior house paint to paint the foam with no problems. Adhesives adhered to the paint with no special concerns.
I am sure people that have worked with foam more than I will have a lot more to add.
Thanks, Kevin. I'm heading into Menards this afternoon to get some foam. I'm still undecided about painting it or not.
SeeYou190I have built with some foam on other people's layouts. We used normal water soluable interior house paint to paint the foam with no problems. Adhesives adhered to the paint with no special concerns.
I don't need the internet to "confirm" what I have learned by actually building layouts in the real world.
I can share pictures of my accomplishments if you are willing to share pictures of yours.
Where are the pictures of your magnificent techniques?
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
York1I'm heading into Menards this afternoon to get some foam
It has been eight months since I have been to a Menards. I wish they would head South.
The color(s) you paint depend a lot on what the finished product wil be.
For the hill that I built with foam board, I put a coat of Sculpta-mold on it and let that dry. Then I painted that coating using some latex flat paint for the base. Some craft acrylics for detail colors were then used on the nooks and crannies that formed to give some depth and define some landscape layers as seen in some hills. My yard areas is the base cork with custom dyed ground foam. The industrial area is painted asphalt to represent a paved area. The town has painted areas for grass, concrete and asphalt for the streets.
Probably a little too much information so take it as you wish.
Thanks for all the suggestions, if it was clear I should have mentioned this is a base coat on the plywood. I am going to try and scenery gravel, concrete, black top, grass, etc as applicable. I just don't want to see plywood bare patches.
NILEI have also heard a lot of stories about buying model railroads supplies at non-hobby shops, like electric components from Home Depot.
I buy wire foam and caulk at HD, but that's about it. Well no not true, I buy paint, the returned cheap paint, in earth colors. It doesn't have to be exact for the geography, because eventually it will be covered by ground foam.
I'm ashamed to say I buy other electrical stuff, LED's terminal strips, resistors from China.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley