General Discussion (Model Railroader)

Apply watered down black paint using same method as for raw siena. Brush lightly with horizontal strokes as needed.

When the black is dry, do the same with white paint.

A common screwdrive may also be used to make a few more horizontal grooves.

By now, the water i was using to clean the brush was getting dirty, and so I used the dirty mix as my next color.....

Next, I used raw umber.......

The last color is watered down dark green to give the illusion that moss or other vegetation is growing in the rocks.

Also, you may notice I started adding scenic materials elsewhere.

Here's are photos of the scene now.

NOTHING IS EVER "DONE" ON A LAYOUT. I can add more scenic materials such as trees and stuff. I can add other details, too.

However, the rock strata has been installed, and that's what I wanted to share with you.

By the way, my backdrop is by Faller, and I add pictures cut from calandars and magazines. I alos paint over small areas of the backdrop using acrylic paints.

THANKS FOR READING THIS THREAD.

HAPPY MODEL RAILROADING!

Alternative, don't lay them flat horizontal.  Overlap the pieces to put the strata on an angle.  Horizontal strata is a midwestern thing.  Angled strata is a mountainous area thing.  In Pennsylvania some of the strata was near vertical.

Dave H.

Great tutorial!  A very nice twist on the ceiling tile method.  I have a place on the layout where I tried the hand carving method and hated the result so much that I pulled it all out.  This looks like a method that would work well for me.  Thanks for posting.

A big plus of course is seeing the Blackbirds and the E units so prominently displayed in your pictures!

I know, I just can't bring myself to weather any of my silver E or F units.  But then I think the Q had a reputation of keeping them quite clean so weathering may not be in order.  I have done some light weathering on a VO1000 but that is about it.

Exposed shale rock strata (based on a local outcropping) in the "cut" south of Putney, NY, on the Hudson Highlands RR. The "rock" is actually blue insulation foamboard, worked on with a knife and wire brush.

CNJ831

GARRY,

Quite a great method. I generally use hydrocal. It should work as well as the Plaster of paris. Good tip on the lightweight spackle.

We've been running out of new methods to use for retaining walls and rock castings for the club layout. Can't be using the same old stuff all over the place (real cookie cutter looking). This is a great way to vary a hillside and no two would ever be close.

This may have been an alternate method for that huge 12ft cut i had to do. That's the one I used the Cripplebush Rubber rocks (Santa Fe) to get a continuous unbroken cut of shale.

It's almost completed now, we had to get 4 more castings at the past Springfield show. Now we just need all those trees and polyfiber.

Right after our show in a few weeks I'll be able to experiment with this great new method.

So, is the retaining wall tutortorial coming next? I'm anxiously awaiting to see the way you did them.

Bobk ... thanks. Glad you like this.

Retaining walls were simple. I bought some plastic stone wall material at a train show. It has no brand. I have never seen it before, and I have never seen it again. Fortunately, I bought enough for my layout.

The material has stone shapes molded into flat pastic. I painted the lplstic with spray paint to look like rocks. Then I filled the crevices with dry plaster of Paris while the matial is laying flat on its back. next I sprayed it with water with a tiny amiunt of detergent added. I let it dry a day. I brushed the excess plaster with a wire brush in the same direction as the "rock". Then I used watered down acrylic paints as needed. Then I installed it where it belonged on the layout. Next I did the rocks around it with palster of Paris. I've done this with rock strata as descibed here and with rock molds, too. Either way works well.

An alternative to the plastic material is plaster molds of rock walls. I've used the same technique on it, too. That works fine.

Bob, I like your pictures of your scenery.

 nice job this one goes to my favorite list