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Diorama question

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  • Member since
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Diorama question
Posted by scribbelt on Friday, November 25, 2016 10:53 AM

Hello I'm presently working on a "Lumber Yard" diorama.

My question is: What type of adhesive do you utilize to glue the buildings to diorama base.

I tried hot glue (cures to fast), double sided tape (not thick enough).

All suggestions are welcome.

Thank you

Serge

  • Member since
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  • From: Saskatchewan
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Posted by last mountain & eastern hogger on Friday, November 25, 2016 10:57 AM

Whistling

Hi Serge, Welcome aboard.

How much moving around of this diorama are you planning to do ?

Next question is what is your base made of ?

And your buildings, what are they constructed of ?

 

These have to be answered before we continue.

Johnboy out............

from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North.. 

We have met the enemy,  and he is us............ (Pogo)

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Posted by scribbelt on Friday, November 25, 2016 11:09 AM

Hello Johnboy,

The diorama base is 1/2" plywood it mesures 2'x3'. It will eventually be moved around because I plan on transfering the actual train layout to another room

The buildings are styrene.

Thank you.

Serge

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Friday, November 25, 2016 11:18 AM

I'd go with my old standby, Aleen's Tacky Glue.  It's a craft store product.  It goes on white and dries clear in a couple of hours.  It holds firmly but if you want to take something off that's pretty easy, too.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by Howard Zane on Friday, November 25, 2016 11:30 AM

Walthers GOO, by far the best for this and many other model railroad applications.

HZ

Howard Zane
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Posted by RR_Mel on Friday, November 25, 2016 11:56 AM

I don’t glue my structures down.  I use K&S brass rod and tubing to keep them in place so that they are easily removable.  I use a couple of short pieces of 1/16” OD tubing in each of my structures and in the base where the structure is placed.  I use a removable .03” brass rod for a snug fit as a connector, that combination leaves both the structure bottom and ground/base without obstructions with the rod removed.  A second advantage of using brass to secure your structures is for power for lighting.
 
Brass tubing flush with the ground is very hard to see so I can remove a building or vehicle without it being obvious.
 
I’m one that is never satisfied with my layout so having everything easily removable is a must for me.  There is always something new just around the corner that can be added or modified, having easy access for mods really helps.  
 
 
Mel
 
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
 
My Model Railroad   
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 
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Posted by BroadwayLion on Friday, November 25, 2016 11:58 AM

If gravity does not work, then Silicone Caulk will work.

 

ROAR

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Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

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Posted by scribbelt on Friday, November 25, 2016 12:31 PM

Hello Mister Beasley, Mel, Howard and Broadway Lion.

Thank you for all of your suggestions, they are all greatly appreciated.

I have all of the above suggested products on hand; since my structures don't all have a flat base I will have to expirement to see which one is best or maybe use different adhesives.

The Brass tubing technique is quite interesting but I think lining up upper and lower tubes can be fastidious, unless you can suggest an easy line up method.

Have a nice day.

 

Serge

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Posted by Lone Wolf and Santa Fe on Friday, November 25, 2016 12:52 PM

I don't use any glue to hold down structures. Gravity seems to work. For other scenery items I use Woodland Scenics Project Glue. It is a very thick white glue. http://scenearama.woodlandscenics.com/show/Item/SP4142/page/1

Modeling a fictional version of California set in the 1990s Lone Wolf and Santa Fe Railroad
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Posted by tstage on Friday, November 25, 2016 1:05 PM

Rubber cement could be a cheaper alternative to either Woodlands or Walthers Goo.

Tom

https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling

Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.

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Posted by RR_Mel on Friday, November 25, 2016 1:42 PM

scribbelt

Hello Mister Beasley, Mel, Howard and Broadway Lion.

Thank you for all of your suggestions, they are all greatly appreciated.

I have all of the above suggested products on hand; since my structures don't all have a flat base I will have to expirement to see which one is best or maybe use different adhesives.

The Brass tubing technique is quite interesting but I think lining up upper and lower tubes can be fastidious, unless you can suggest an easy line up method.

Have a nice day.

 

 

I only have one structure that can be tedious, it’s at full arms length in the middle of my layout. The rest are relatively easy once you adapt to lining up the rods.  Vehicles are a snap and I constantly move them around my layout.
 
Link to structure lighting
 
 
 
Link to vehicle lighting
 
 

Slightly staggering the length of the vehicle rods make them easy to plug into the brass tubes in my roads.
 
I have 98 positions for vehicles on my layout and roughly 90 vehicles to move around.
 
I currently have a house removed from my layout on my workbench doing a lighting mod, because of its easy removal the mod is much easier to do.
 
 
Mel
 
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
 
My Model Railroad   
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 
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Posted by Guy Papillon on Friday, November 25, 2016 5:05 PM

Some of my buildings are held in place with gravity and a piece of foam core.

 

Others have been permanently attached while I fixed the ground cover with 50/50 white glue/water mix. In this case, the building can be removed after soaking the ground cover with water.

Guy

Modeling CNR in the 50's

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Posted by BigDaddy on Friday, November 25, 2016 5:17 PM

It sounds like one move from a diorama to the railroad.  Ken Patterson mounts some of his structures on a flat base (like foam core) and then uses a router to create recessesed area in the foam base.  Sounds messy to me but he can pick up a stucture and move it somewhere else. 

I can appreciate that stablilizing your delicate building is important but remember model railroaders are prone to revisions so a permanent mount is not necessarily desireable.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by scribbelt on Friday, November 25, 2016 8:26 PM

Hello Tom, thank you for the Ruber Cement solution, I will look into it.

Hello Mel, thank you for the photos, now I better understand your method using brass tubing.

Guy, thank you also for the photos, you gave me another vision and method.

Henry, thank you for the sound advice, I will take it into consideration.

Thank you all for your replies, photos, infos and feedback regarding this topic; it's greatly appreciated.

This weekend I will try out a few of the suggested methods and come back with the results next week.

Have a great weekend.

Serge

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Posted by G Paine on Friday, November 25, 2016 10:45 PM

scribbelt
since my structures don't all have a flat base I will have to expirement to see which one is best

If you need a gap filling adhesive, the silicone caulk / glue may be the way to go. It is thick and dries rubbery. Any excess can be cut away with an X-Acto knife. I use GE clear; it is availble in a container sized a bit larger than a toothpase tube, so you can get a small one to try it out then go with the caulking gun size it you like the result. The building can be removed with little work in the future if necessary.

Another real tough glue is Liquid Nails for Projects. Read the labels, the original tan colored glue is not plastic friendly; the white kind is. This is a strong adhesive, and you probably would not be able to remove a building in the future without damage. it also comes in a 'toothpaste tube' size for for testing.

George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch 

  • Member since
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Posted by scribbelt on Saturday, November 26, 2016 3:52 PM

Hello G Paine,

Thank you for the additional info, it's very much appreciated, it's certainly an option to use caulk.

Serge

  • Member since
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  • From: St-Lazare, QC.
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Posted by scribbelt on Wednesday, November 30, 2016 7:29 AM

Hello everyone,

As promised here's the update regarding the type of adhesive required to secure the buildings on the diorama base.

I chose to go with: Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue.

I'ts water soluble, so if I ever decide to remove a building it will not be an issue; futhermore, it dries fast and clear.

Thank you all for your multiple suggestions regarding this topic.

Have a nice day.

Serge

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