Building my first roadway

[jacon12]

and I really don't know where to start.  I want to construct an asphalt road and I don't know what would be the best method for a novice like me.  Cut it out of plastic sheets, plaster of paris, lightweight hydrocal, scuptamold? I even saw one good looking road on here that I believe had been cut out of one single piece of masonite hardboard.

How do you like to make your roads?  If you use something like Durham's Water Putty or plaster of paris, how do you keep it from running everywhere before it sets up?  Do you build some type form, like cement workers do?  Do you prefer cutting the road from styrene?

Help!! 

JaRRell

[Seamonster]

You're probably going to get a lot of different ways to build a road, and they're all good.  The way I do it is with drywall compound.  I use a lot of drywall compound on my layout.  It's stiff enough that I don't have to worry about it running off the designated path and I can shape a crown on it (although in N scale that's barely noticable).  To smooth it out, a damp sponge works and so does fine sandpaper.  For colouring it I use Woodland Scenics asphalt coating (can't remember exactly what it's called and too lazy to run down to the basement to find out) but it looks like fresh brand new asphalt.  A light rubbing with fine sandpaper helps that and so would some weathering.

You didn't ask, but for lane dividing lines, I use paint pens from Michaels.

[mls1621]

I model in N scale, and used AMI HO Instant Roadbed.  It's an uncured butal rubber that is self adhering to the substrate.  It's original intent was for track roadbed, but can be used for roads as well.  It comes in 25 ft. rolls with a paper backing and is easy to lay. 

I used a wallpaper edge roller to press it down, then peeled off the backing.  the top suface is very sticky, but a coat of paint seals it.    

I finished it with a coat of Polly Scale Tarnished Black and then a coat of their Dust for light weathering.

For lane lines, I used ChartPak tape(available at art supply stores).  In N scale, 1/32" mat finish yellow looks great(1/16" would be appropriate for HO scale).  I layed a strip down the center of the road, then layed a strip on each side to keep them parallel.  Then removed the center piece. 

Here's a picture to show you the final product.

[jacon12]

Thanks Bob for the tips, especially on the paint pens.  That's a good idea!

JaRRell

 

 

 

You're probably going to get a lot of different ways to build a road, and they're all good.  The way I do it is with drywall compound.  I use a lot of drywall compound on my layout.  It's stiff enough that I don't have to worry about it running off the designated path and I can shape a crown on it (although in N scale that's barely noticable).  To smooth it out, a damp sponge works and so does fine sandpaper.  For colouring it I use Woodland Scenics asphalt coating (can't remember exactly what it's called and too lazy to run down to the basement to find out) but it looks like fresh brand new asphalt.  A light rubbing with fine sandpaper helps that and so would some weathering.

You didn't ask, but for lane dividing lines, I use paint pens from Michaels.

[jacon12]

 

 Mike, your picture looks like the real thing!  If you used a strip of it for a road in N scale, I guess two strips side by side would work for HO.

How well did it go around the curve, is it easy to bend?

Thanks for the photo!

JaRRell

 

I model in N scale, and used AMI HO Instant Roadbed.  It's an uncured butal rubber that is self adhering to the substrate.  It's original intent was for track roadbed, but can be used for roads as well.  It comes in 25 ft. rolls with a paper backing and is easy to lay. 

I used a wallpaper edge roller to press it down, then peeled off the backing.  the top suface is very sticky, but a coat of paint seals it.    

I finished it with a coat of Polly Scale Tarnished Black and then a coat of their Dust for light weathering.

For lane lines, I used ChartPak tape(available at art supply stores).  In N scale, 1/32" mat finish yellow looks great(1/16" would be appropriate for HO scale).  I layed a strip down the center of the road, then layed a strip on each side to keep them parallel.  Then removed the center piece. 

Here's a picture to show you the final product.

[tstage]

Mike,

Those roads look very, very nice.

---

Jarrell,

For an asphalt road, I found 18 x 36", 1/16" thick cork rolls at Office Max that seems to work well.  They are made by Contact - the same folks that make the shelf liners for kitchen and bathrooms - so the adhesive is already on the back.  You just peel 'n stick.  I haven't yet put it on my layout but I have experimented with it on a piece of scrap 1 x 4.

I cut the cork into 3" wide strips then pressed them onto the 1 x 4.  Since cork is somewhat porous, I filled in the voids with thin layers of vinyl spackle then sanded them lightly after each coat dried.  After I had completed filling "pot holes", I painted the surface with Pollyscale "Grimy Black".

The picture below shows you the unfinished, prepped*, and painted cork:

*Jarrell, I only applied two layers of the vinyl spackle.  Looks like I may need one or two more applications for a smoother look.

Anyway, like I said, I haven't applied it to the top of my foam layout yet but I expect it to do well.  The only tricky part will be cutting any curved road sections.  I think the 1/16" thickness (~5.5" in HO) looks reasonable for the transition between the ground and the road surface.

Hope that helps in some way...

Tom

[mls1621]

Jarrell,

The product is very flexible.  I wouldn't try to make a really tight curve with it however.  It has a tendancy to thin on the outside and compress on the inside of the curve.

A wall paper edge roller is good to flatten it and smooth irregularities.  The paper backing keeps the roller from sticking and causing it to lift.

Mating two edges together can be tricky, it isn't bad at a meeting of two roads, but running the length of a road it might be difficult to blend the edges.  At the intersection pictured below, I used  plastic filler putty to blend the joint.  If you look closely, where the road on the left meets the other, you can see some small cracks that formed when it dried.

 

[MisterBeasley]

I'm a Durhams Water Putty guy.  For my city streets, I first glued down styrene sheets where the sidewalks and buildings would be, and then poured the putty up to the level of the styrene.  Once it set, I smoothed it with sandpaper and painted it with a wash of cheap acrylic "Gray" paint, a couple of coats, which gave me a mostly uniform but realistically imperfect coating.  Then I added a second layer of styrene sidewalks, and painted those in a lighter gray.  I've stuck with a single, out-of-the-bottle "Gray" for all my roads, so I don't have to duplicate a mixed color.

For other streets, I mixed the putty a bit thicker.  Also, I put in a teaspoon or so of vinegar, which slows the setting and gives me more working time.  It's not terribly runny anyway, unless you mix in lots of water.  I mix it thick enough that it will not run much, so I don't need an edge form for the road.  After I put it down, I keep working it with a foam brush and a yogurt cup of water, smoothing it out.  That's a lot easier than sanding the finished product.  (Thanks to Bob Grech for the Durhams and foam brush hints, by the way.)

I'm in HO, and I try to make my streets 3 inches wide.  That's probably a bit narrow by modern roadway standards, but it's a decent compromise when space is tight, and it always is.

For grade crossings, I bring the putty right up to the outside rails, covering the ties.  I use a strip of styrene between the rails.  Again, that uniform gray, straight from the bottle this time, makes the whole grade crossing the same color.  I paint on a thin India Ink wash on the styrene strip to get rid of the flat, "perfect" look.

[mls1621]

Mike,

Those roads look very, very nice.

---

Jarrell,

For an asphalt road, I found 18 x 36", 1/16" thick cork rolls at Office Max that seems to work well.  They are made by Contact - the same folks that make the shelf liners for kitchen and bathrooms - so the adhesive is already on the back.  You just peel 'n stick.  I haven't yet put it on my layout but I have experimented with it on a piece of scrap 1 x 4.

I cut the cork into 3" wide strips then pressed them onto the 1 x 4.  Since cork is somewhat porous, I filled in the voids with thin layers of vinyl spackle then sanded them lightly after each coat dried.  After I had completed filling "pot holes", I painted the surface with Pollyscale "Grimy Black".

The picture below shows you the unfinished, prepped*, and painted cork:

*Jarrell, I only applied two layers of the vinyl spackle.  Looks like I may need one or two more applications for a smoother look.

Anyway, like I said, I haven't applied it to the top of my foam layout yet but I expect it to do well.  The only tricky part will be cutting any curved road sections.  I think the 1/16" thickness (~5.5" in HO) looks reasonable for the transition between the ground and the road surface.

Hope that helps in some way...

Tom

Tom,

I like your idea of using the cork and your solution for filling the voids.  I used cork sheets for my hidden staging, but never gave it a second thought for roads.

For your curves, if you haven't thought of it already, make a paper template and then transfer the shape to your cork sheet.  I've used this method for cutting styrene sheets, it'll save you alot of unnecessary scrap.

[tstage]

Thanks, Mike.  Yea, the curves will be more difficult than the straight sections but not too difficult.  The nice thing about the cork sheeting is that you can mark and cut it to the shape you need before you peel off the back to tack it down.

I'll definitely keep the template method in mind for that.  Thanks again for the tip.

Tom

[nucat78]

Two other methods:

Waterproof or "wet / dry" sandpaper.  Find the appropriate grit and color, cut to size and glue down.  The non-black colors are good for gravel roads.

Michael's (and I imagine other craft stores) sells thin sheets of dense foam rubber that kids cut shapes out of.  Cut to size, glue it down, scuff it up a bit, stripe and weather.  There was a Web site with details on this technique but I can't find the URL.

 

 

[jacon12]

Thanks Tom for the cork idea, I'd never thought of that either.  The road in question, wouldn't you believe... is an S curve if you ever saw one.  I like the paper template idea Mike brought up and I might be able to cut the road out of just one of the sheets from Office Depot.  Heck, it's worth a try.

JaRRell

 

 

 

Mike,

Those roads look very, very nice.

---

Jarrell,

For an asphalt road, I found 18 x 36", 1/16" thick cork rolls at Office Max that seems to work well.  They are made by Contact - the same folks that make the shelf liners for kitchen and bathrooms - so the adhesive is already on the back.  You just peel 'n stick.  I haven't yet put it on my layout but I have experimented with it on a piece of scrap 1 x 4.

I cut the cork into 3" wide strips then pressed them onto the 1 x 4.  Since cork is somewhat porous, I filled in the voids with thin layers of vinyl spackle then sanded them lightly after each coat dried.  After I had completed filling "pot holes", I painted the surface with Pollyscale "Grimy Black".

The picture below shows you the unfinished, prepped*, and painted cork:

*Jarrell, I only applied two layers of the vinyl spackle.  Looks like I may need one or two more applications for a smoother look.

Anyway, like I said, I haven't applied it to the top of my foam layout yet but I expect it to do well.  The only tricky part will be cutting any curved road sections.  I think the 1/16" thickness (~5.5" in HO) looks reasonable for the transition between the ground and the road surface.

Hope that helps in some way...

Tom

[jacon12]

Ya know, Mr. B I have a can of the Water putty... just haven't tried it yet.  I think I'll get a scrap piece of foam and try it on that. You say you can mix this stuff so that it's thick enough not to run all over the place without building forms?  It's not that I mind building them, just haven't figured out how to do them around curves.  I've read about the layers of masking tape trick to build them but masking tape doesn't go around sharp curvers to well either..  :)

Jarrell

 

 

 

I'm a Durhams Water Putty guy.  For my city streets, I first glued down styrene sheets where the sidewalks and buildings would be, and then poured the putty up to the level of the styrene.  Once it set, I smoothed it with sandpaper and painted it with a wash of cheap acrylic "Gray" paint, a couple of coats, which gave me a mostly uniform but realistically imperfect coating.  Then I added a second layer of styrene sidewalks, and painted those in a lighter gray.  I've stuck with a single, out-of-the-bottle "Gray" for all my roads, so I don't have to duplicate a mixed color.

For other streets, I mixed the putty a bit thicker.  Also, I put in a teaspoon or so of vinegar, which slows the setting and gives me more working time.  It's not terribly runny anyway, unless you mix in lots of water.  I mix it thick enough that it will not run much, so I don't need an edge form for the road.  After I put it down, I keep working it with a foam brush and a yogurt cup of water, smoothing it out.  That's a lot easier than sanding the finished product.  (Thanks to Bob Grech for the Durhams and foam brush hints, by the way.)

I'm in HO, and I try to make my streets 3 inches wide.  That's probably a bit narrow by modern roadway standards, but it's a decent compromise when space is tight, and it always is.

For grade crossings, I bring the putty right up to the outside rails, covering the ties.  I use a strip of styrene between the rails.  Again, that uniform gray, straight from the bottle this time, makes the whole grade crossing the same color.  I paint on a thin India Ink wash on the styrene strip to get rid of the flat, "perfect" look.

[jacon12]

I think I know the website you mean.  The one I'm thinking of the fella applied plaster, or something like plaster, over the foam and when it dried he just pressed lightly on it and because the foam was underneath little 'prototypical' cracks appeared in the 'asphalt'.  I can't find the url either!

Thanks for the input!

JaRRell

 

 

Two other methods:

Waterproof or "wet / dry" sandpaper.  Find the appropriate grit and color, cut to size and glue down.  The non-black colors are good for gravel roads.

Michael's (and I imagine other craft stores) sells thin sheets of dense foam rubber that kids cut shapes out of.  Cut to size, glue it down, scuff it up a bit, stripe and weather.  There was a Web site with details on this technique but I can't find the URL.

 

 

[mikelhh]

 Some terrific ideas here! I love those rubber roads.

 I'm a sponge rubber track underlay devotee myself, with some black card used here and there, and DAS clay to simulate joins and filled potholes.

 Chalks and acrylic paints were used to weather. 

[jacon12]

Wow, that looks good Mike!  I'm not familiar with the sponge rubber track underlay stuff.  I wonder if that's the same thing as the industrial type rubber sheets used for cushioning and between metal parts etc.

JaRRell

 

 

 

 Some terrific ideas here! I love those rubber roads.

 I'm a sponge rubber track underlay devotee myself, with some black card used here and there, and DAS clay to simulate joins and filled potholes.

 Chalks and acrylic paints were used to weather. 

[mikelhh]

 Jarrell    It's just the black trackbed stuff - I don't know the proper name for it.  Here in Aust you can buy it in strips about 4ins wide and 2ft long. Maybe it's for O gauge. It isn't recessed to fit track into it, it's just flat. And I think it was Mr Beasley [apologies if I'm mistaken] who suggested placing toothpicks or similar underneath to produce the domed profile. That works well.

 

 Mike 

[BigRusty]

Roads go up hills and down, around curves and have intersections and crossings, and more. Using patchwork methods with any materials is more fuss and bother than its worth.

For years I have used Durham's Water Putty. It does not shrink, does not come loose, does not crack. It is what I am looking for in my roads and other paving, it is PERMANENT!

I have used it for both Macadam and concrete roads, for track level station platforms and to fill the gully between two parallel tracks. Mixed right, it is easy to spread and easy to form. It is "smearable" when wet, and sandable when dry. It can be slightly crowned using a curved screeding blade. It takes any paint and stripes with any method. It can run right up to the rails and for a country crossing even between the rails if you run some wheels down to track to get flange clearance.

For station platforms, I install a styrene curb around the perimeter and glue it down. Wood can be used, if the perimeter is straight. I pour a soupy mix inside the curbing and level it with a piece of carboard. Just before it sets, I plop the station down so it is mated to the terrain rather than sitting on top of it.

[jacon12]

BigRusty, I'm now trying the Durhams.  I didn't quite get the road thick enough so tomorrow I'm going to mix some more and see if I can add a little height to it.  Hope it sticks! 

Thanks,

Jarrell

 

 

Roads go up hills and down, around curves and have intersections and crossings, and more. Using patchwork methods with any materials is more fuss and bother than its worth.

For years I have used Durham's Water Putty. It does not shrink, does not come loose, does not crack. It is what I am looking for in my roads and other paving, it is PERMANENT!

I have used it for both Macadam and concrete roads, for track level station platforms and to fill the gully between two parallel tracks. Mixed right, it is easy to spread and easy to form. It is "smearable" when wet, and sandable when dry. It can be slightly crowned using a curved screeding blade. It takes any paint and stripes with any method. It can run right up to the rails and for a country crossing even between the rails if you run some wheels down to track to get flange clearance.

For station platforms, I install a styrene curb around the perimeter and glue it down. Wood can be used, if the perimeter is straight. I pour a soupy mix inside the curbing and level it with a piece of carboard. Just before it sets, I plop the station down so it is mated to the terrain rather than sitting on top of it.

[steinjr]

I think I know the website you mean.  The one I'm thinking of the fella applied plaster, or something like plaster, over the foam and when it dried he just pressed lightly on it and because the foam was underneath little 'prototypical' cracks appeared in the 'asphalt'.  I can't find the url either!

Thanks for the input!

JaRRell

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1104037/ShowPost.aspx

There is a link there to Dan's (pcarrel) website. Quick summary (in my words) of what he wrote:

1. Use "creative hands flexifoam" e.g. from Michaels crafts - comes in sheets 8" x 11".
   Not too expensive - comes to about $2 per sheet.
2. Cut wide roadway strip from foam sheet.
3. Cut (two) narrow curb strip(s) from foam sheet.
4. Glue on top of the roadway strip on either side of road
5. Mix plaster of paris to about consistency of thick latex paint, stir in black acrylic paint to hide white color of plaster.
6. "Paint" the roadway and concrete with plaster mix. Allow to dry.
7. Paint surface of road with dark acrylic paint. Once dry, it can be lightened again with a (light) dusting of plaster of paris.
8. Paint surface of curb concrete colored.
9. Material can now be worked to add
   1. Small cracks (press down w/thumb - the coating will crack in natural ways)
   2. Bigger cracks (cut with knife, sprinke a little sand in crack)
   3. Storm sewers (cut out with knife, paint black)
   4. Potholes (dig out a little hole with knife, add paint & sand)

Haven't tried it myself yet, but a visit to Michaels is on my list of to do things. 

Smile,
Stein

[jacon12]

Thank you Stein.  I'm going to try that method on my next roadway.  The closeup shots of it look like the real thing.  I've already committed to using the Durhams Water Putty for the one I'm currently doing but I want to try the foam underlay method too.

Jarrell

 

 

 

I think I know the website you mean.  The one I'm thinking of the fella applied plaster, or something like plaster, over the foam and when it dried he just pressed lightly on it and because the foam was underneath little 'prototypical' cracks appeared in the 'asphalt'.  I can't find the url either!

Thanks for the input!

JaRRell

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1104037/ShowPost.aspx

There is a link there to Dan's (pcarrel) website. Quick summary (in my words) of what he wrote:

1. Use "creative hands flexifoam" e.g. from Michaels crafts - comes in sheets 8" x 11".
   Not too expensive - comes to about $2 per sheet.
2. Cut wide roadway strip from foam sheet.
3. Cut (two) narrow curb strip(s) from foam sheet.
4. Glue on top of the roadway strip on either side of road
5. Mix plaster of paris to about consistency of thick latex paint, stir in black acrylic paint to hide white color of plaster.
6. "Paint" the roadway and concrete with plaster mix. Allow to dry.
7. Paint surface of road with dark acrylic paint. Once dry, it can be lightened again with a (light) dusting of plaster of paris.
8. Paint surface of curb concrete colored.
9. Material can now be worked to add
   1. Small cracks (press down w/thumb - the coating will crack in natural ways)
   2. Bigger cracks (cut with knife, sprinke a little sand in crack)
   3. Storm sewers (cut out with knife, paint black)
   4. Potholes (dig out a little hole with knife, add paint & sand)

Haven't tried it myself yet, but a visit to Michaels is on my list of to do things. 

Smile,
Stein

[randythawkins]

I just finished building the road on my layout.  Before starting I did some research on the internet and found one single image which made my decision for me.  The guy used the back of an asphalt roof shingle as his road surface.  I liked the idea and ran with it.  For me, it worked great.  The shingle is flexible enough to follow the contour of my surface, its already flat, and is fairly easy to cut.  Here are some images:

 

I painted the shingle with gray paint and then dry brushed the oil marks.  The road was then masked off with tape and a light mist of yellow paint marked the center line.  Then a misting spray of india ink finised it off. In the second photo, you can see difference between a road section that has its coat of india ink and a section that does not.

In the first and second image, you can see where 2 sections of 'road' butt with each other.  This joint was fairly easy to hide using wood putty.  Then a little more paint on the putty made it done.  The last photo shows my joints after I'd disguised it.  If you look carefully, right down the center of the photo, you can see a faint difference in coloring.

 

[wm3798]

 Nice work, Randy!

[Grampy1]

Great ideas, all. Lots of methods to try when it comes to putting in roads. Thanks.