jbinkley60 wrote: I picked up some sheet styrene, some 1/4" I beam, some 1/4" C channel and other styrene. I am going to sandwich some 1/8" hardboard (in 2.75" x 4" pieces) between sheet styrene and then framed with C channel and I beams. I have sheet styrene with a pattern that will be on the layout side and smooth styrene on the side that can't be seen. I think it will look Ok. One thing I am thinking is how folks create the look of graffiti. I've seen some pictures but don't know what folks use.
I picked up some sheet styrene, some 1/4" I beam, some 1/4" C channel and other styrene. I am going to sandwich some 1/8" hardboard (in 2.75" x 4" pieces) between sheet styrene and then framed with C channel and I beams. I have sheet styrene with a pattern that will be on the layout side and smooth styrene on the side that can't be seen. I think it will look Ok. One thing I am thinking is how folks create the look of graffiti. I've seen some pictures but don't know what folks use.
Ok, here is my first attempt at a modern retaining wall built from scratch. It is not painted yet. it is 20" long by 3" tall.
Engineer Jeff NS Nut Visit my layout at: http://www.thebinks.com/trains/
ARTHILL wrote: I have carved several walls directing into premixed lightweight dry wall seam cement. I put about 1/8" coat on top of scenery(plaster or foam). After about 2 hours you can carve it with a knife. It will stay carvable for a couple of days. I then paint it with artist's accrylics.
I have carved several walls directing into premixed lightweight dry wall seam cement. I put about 1/8" coat on top of scenery(plaster or foam). After about 2 hours you can carve it with a knife. It will stay carvable for a couple of days. I then paint it with artist's accrylics.
That is one seriously gorgeous rock face! How about a little step-by-step tutorial thread on how you did it?
And the small retaining wall is no slouch, either...
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
I plan to have I beams every 4" so seams won't be an issue. I am thinking of Elmers glue to glue the styrene to the hardboard. I cut the hardboard last night into blocks. I should be able to cobble something together in the next few days to post a sample.
E-L man tom wrote: What brand decal paper is that? I have some Walthers decal paper that I am considering using in my inkjet printer but I am afraid I will ruin my printer.
What brand decal paper is that? I have some Walthers decal paper that I am considering using in my inkjet printer but I am afraid I will ruin my printer.
It's not a name-brand paper, just something I found at an LHS. It's designed for inkjet printers. You won't hurt the printer with it. The only trick is that you really need something like Microscale's Liquid Decal Film to coat the inkjet decal, or it will just disintegrate when it hits the water.
I've done other decals on a nice, smooth metal surface, and they came out very clean. This old, worn-out look fits the wood fence very nicely. The decal is printed on "clear" decal paper, so all the white part comes out clear. I painted a rectangle on the fence with cheap white acrylic craft paint before I applied the decal.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasley,
jbinkley60 wrote: After searching further, I found the City Classics Modular Concrete Retaining Wall. Each section is just over 8.5" long and two sections list for $9.98 on Walthers website. http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/195-601 this is very close to what I was looking for. I'll take some more measurements before I head in this direction. They are plastic and not cast from ceramic or plaster. For concrete this should be fine but I suspect a casting would look more realistic.
After searching further, I found the City Classics Modular Concrete Retaining Wall. Each section is just over 8.5" long and two sections list for $9.98 on Walthers website.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/195-601
this is very close to what I was looking for. I'll take some more measurements before I head in this direction. They are plastic and not cast from ceramic or plaster. For concrete this should be fine but I suspect a casting would look more realistic.
If you get one to try you might see how an exterior wall paint (Sandtex in the UK) looks on it... try some on the insde face first. It would add texture as well as base colour. If you want to be fussy you might then rub off the texture in all the cement lines to differentiate the different material.
bush9245 wrote: Dave-the-Train wrote: Retaining walls... this could get long so you might want to take another look at it tomorrow when I've had time to add to it. Hey Dave, I have warned you before. You are going to wear your fingers down to short stubs with all that typing mate!!! What will you do once you have only stub fingers left?
Dave-the-Train wrote: Retaining walls... this could get long so you might want to take another look at it tomorrow when I've had time to add to it.
Retaining walls... this could get long so you might want to take another look at it tomorrow when I've had time to add to it.
Hey Dave, I have warned you before. You are going to wear your fingers down to short stubs with all that typing mate!!! What will you do once you have only stub fingers left?
I've been thinking about the above post off and on all day and didn't notice this at first.
The answer is simple... I'll stop getting told off for scratching my nose
The question has occured to me "Why retaining walls"?
Obviously for modellers the answers are because they can look good, hide the edge of the modelled area and we like them... among other things.
With real RR they are relatively expensive structures. Probably close to tunnels in first cost and maintenance.
So then I tought about where they are used.
All very obvious... but why a retaining wall?
There appear to be six reasons for them. (That I can think of so far... please add your own...)
All these things will contribute to the use of retaining walls and input into both how the wall is built (which is also era dependent) and what bthe whole scene looks like.
I hope that this is useful.
Incidentally... where the retaining wall is holding land up there may be restrictions on placing loads (like buildings) on it/the land held up... so there may be a parking lot immediately at the top of a wall rather than a building right up to the edge.
While the wall may be owned by and the responsibility of the RR it may also form its boundary... so the top may be formed into a wall or there may be a fence along the top. there may also be a fence simply to stop livestock falling over.
In the November MRR, page 40, Andy Sperandeo mentioned a John Allen method from yesteryear - carved linoleum.
I recall having done some linoleum carving to create stone walls back when I was still modeling the NYC. The most useful tools were V and U gouges, and the surface could be textured with a ball peen hammer.
Now that the idea is back in my mind, I'll probably use it to model the stonework I need. Commercial products just don't look right for my prototypes.
Chuck (modeling stone-faced fills and embankments in central Japan in 1964)
For concrete you might like to look here...
http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/914154/ShowPost.aspx
In H0 3" =21' and 4" = 28'... which means quite deep cuts or embankments. This is not a problem. the wall just needs to be heavy enough.
RR retaining walls come in several construction methods...
Very long walls may be a combination of a number of the above. this applies especially where there have been repairs or modernisations.
Piling is almost always vertical. The rest may be vertical or may have a batter... ie they slope away from the void towards the top. An external batter does not mean that the inside face (gainst the erth) is sloped.
Most retaining walls are cantilevers... they are like a fence... the fencepost in the ground holds the fence gainst horizontal pressures while the fence panels are the cantilever... the difference is that the wall doesn't have posts but is continuous below ground.
Some retaining walls are L shaped with the foot of the L behind the vertical body of the wall held down by the weight of back-filled earth.
The profile also varies...
Very long walls may be a combination of one or two of the above. Single walls often become stepped systems where the height/depth of the wall increases.
Water has a big role in the appearance of retaining walls.
Things like signalling cables have to go somewhere
A long retaining wall can be very boring or a work of art... sometimes covered in art/graffitti.
As with the concrete paint thread I mention there are all sorts of details you can add to any retaining wall. One of the first things is cracks and the efforts of engineers to monitor and control them.
Then there's ground anchors... the engineers bore through the wall and (by various means) insert an anchor into the retained ground. this shows as a big plate on the wall face with an 1 1/2" OR 2" threaded end and nut sticking out of the middle. These are sometimes ribbed in a star pattern. Older ones are often round.
Almost all wals get repairs in them from time to time. this shows as new material and sometimes as different construction. There is a short length of retaining wall near Crewe in which i have counted at least a dozen different patches of different coloured brick plus different coloured re-pointing.
You might like to check out some of the previous threads on weathering brickwork.
I built long walls for my HO layout by carving 1" thick pink foam board. I made some in natual rock and others in cut block form. It is pretty easy to carve anything you want in foam. I made tunnels and stone arch bridges as well. I paint a base coat on them and then highlight certain individual rocks or blocks with another color and finally finish off the cracks between with a light color wash the same way you would with brick mortar.
Doc
This is a short shot of a wall which is about 3 feet long. It's made from coffee stirrers, glued to a styrene strip as a base. I used a white wood stain mixed with a bit of India Ink for color. The artwork is a decal I made from a downloaded thumbnail picture, printed on decal paper on my inkjet computer.
This one is double-sided, as the track descends into the tunnel with the same elevation on either side. I used a rock mold from Dave Frary at www.mrscenery.com for the castings. The specific mold is "cut stone wall," but he has other choices, too.
To finish the castings, I first sprayed them with cheap gray primer from Lowe's. Then I brushed on a fairly dark India Ink wash until I got the detail level I wanted. The ink wash really highlights this particular mold (made with Hydrocal) and takes very little time to do. The mold is about 3 by 8 inches.
bogp40 wrote: Using individual castings will give the best look. This would also allow for slight curves if needed and staggering of the heights for any elevation changes. There are many molds available. I like to use ones that have a stone wall section and pilaster. These can run many feet and still look prototypical. They can be glued to wood or foam for placement.
Using individual castings will give the best look. This would also allow for slight curves if needed and staggering of the heights for any elevation changes. There are many molds available. I like to use ones that have a stone wall section and pilaster. These can run many feet and still look prototypical. They can be glued to wood or foam for placement.
BogP40,
Who makes the retaining wall brick or wood molds? I can find lots of rock molds, but no others.
Thanks!
jbinkley60 wrote: I am considering a long retaining wall for my layout. It will be about 3-4" high and up to 6 feet long. It can be brick or concrete. I am considering making my own but looking for ideas on construction materials. One option is styrene for concrete. I am also willing to cast it with plaster but don't have any molds. In looking on Walther's website I see JV Materials makes sheets of brick 4 3/4" high by 8 1/2" long. The pictures are B&W and don't show much. I am hoping not to paint this much brick by hand. I also see that Plastruct has a patterned red brick sheet but no deminsions are given. Has anyone made a retaining wall this long and if so, how did you do it ?
I am considering a long retaining wall for my layout. It will be about 3-4" high and up to 6 feet long. It can be brick or concrete. I am considering making my own but looking for ideas on construction materials. One option is styrene for concrete. I am also willing to cast it with plaster but don't have any molds. In looking on Walther's website I see JV Materials makes sheets of brick 4 3/4" high by 8 1/2" long. The pictures are B&W and don't show much. I am hoping not to paint this much brick by hand. I also see that Plastruct has a patterned red brick sheet but no deminsions are given. Has anyone made a retaining wall this long and if so, how did you do it ?
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org