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Scenery help, closing the barn after horse is out

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  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Scenery help, closing the barn after horse is out
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 18, 2005 9:19 PM
My layout uses Woodland scenic Risers with Unitrack. "N" scale dual mainlines on the risers with about 1" in between. I have attached most all of the Unitrack to the risers. It works well, but... I didn't cover the risers with plaster cloth or anything similar first. I'm not going to pull up working track. How best to fill in the gaps between my two mainlines on the Risers ? The sides I'm not too worried about, just the middle, but I'm open to all suggestions. I tried filling the gaps with LightWeight Spackling but the gaps are too large. Should I line between the Rails with Masking tape or similar, then spackle ? Thanks, Dave

I'm a lefty I do most things Bass Ackwards :)
  • Member since
    November 2001
  • From: US
  • 732 posts
Posted by Javern on Friday, March 18, 2005 9:25 PM
stuff newspaper in there and then go back in with putty or plaster, caulk, etc
  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Weymouth, Ma.
  • 5,199 posts
Posted by bogp40 on Friday, March 18, 2005 11:18 PM
Try using Great Stuff expandable foam, cover the track w/ masking tape first, any stray foam will be hard to remove. This works great even for double track spline. Put masking tape across the open bottom and slowly run a bead between the tracks-a 3/8" bead usually comes out of the tube- don't overfill it will expand up to 10x. When dry it can be carved and shaped to suit your scenery needs.
Bob K.

Modeling B&O- Chessie  Bob K.  www.ssmrc.org

  • Member since
    January 2001
  • From: US
  • 131 posts
Posted by scole100 on Saturday, March 19, 2005 9:03 AM
If your risers are on a solid plywood base, you may consider filling the gaps with some cheap childs play sand. Just pour it in between the rails. Once you fill it to the top of the riser you can just scenic the top of it. Great stuff will work, but is unpredictable in how much it will expand and is very difficult to clean up if it expands over your tracks. perhaps a combo of great stuff at the bottom sand up to the top? That way you would not have to worry about being so precise with the expanding foam.
hope that helps.
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Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 19, 2005 1:58 PM
I agree with Robert Knapp! Great Stuff expanding foam works wonders with cracks and gaps. It comes in three consistences depanding on the size of the crack. I started using it because Dave Frary used it on his Cactus Valley RR, the model I'm using for my own RR. It's a little stinky, and you have to becareful not to put too much ont the crack. It does expand quite a bit. You can then trim and shape it using a sharp knife.

Trevor[:)]
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 19, 2005 4:03 PM
I solved my gap problem this afternoon. I just applied some LePage No More Nails to the top surface of the incline and spread it evenly. When it dried, the surface over the gaps was quite rigid. No more gaps! I imagine you could do the same with risers.

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