FORUM CLINIC: Building realistic scenery

[cwclark]

I know Joe doesn't like spray painted track but I like to spray paint track and the technique i use works very well...this is for the track and ties only before ballast is added...any way ..here it goes,..(and make sure there is plenty of ventilation in the room)...i first purchase three cans of krylon paint. red primer, flat black, and primer gray and make sure i have plenty of wahl's clipper oil on hand...first, with a rag, i'll wipe the clipper oil on the top of the rail so the paint doesn't stick to it....then i'll stand above the track and spray very lightly straight down onto the ties with the flat black paint..let it dry, then I'll take some scrap pieces of card stock and place them over the ties and against the rail and from the side, lightly spray the red primer onto the rail sides..once that dries, in random spots i'll give the track short bursts of the gray primer to highlight the areas along the track and once that dries, i'll wipe the excess paint from the top of the rails with an old cloth and go over them again with a bright boy track cleaner...this weathering technique is quick and easy and i usually use this technique on the mainline track...for sidings and spurs i'll usually hand paint the rail with a mixture of floquil rail brown mixed with roof brown and the ties flat black ..once I'm done with the rail and ties I'll weather the ties and ballast after the ballast work is done....Chuck

[jfugate]

Chuck:

Any photos you can post of the results? I'd like to see how the final result looks. [:D]

You can spray paint the track with an airbrush first similar to how you suggest, and with less fumes. You should use a respirator in any case to protect yourself while doing it. (I've given myself double vision from the fumes a couple of time when I did not do this. So I use a respirator now!)

Even if you spray paint the track, you still need to come back and hand paint a few ties other shades to introduce some realistic variety. Ties all one color just doesn't look realistic.

I prefer to wait until after the ballasting is done because a few grains always stray onto the rails and tie tops, and then when I start scraping off those grains I would scrape off the paint on the rail and ties too.

Plus in looking closely at prototype track, I found the rail weathering often also gets onto the tieplates and ties around the base of the rail. So that meant I could brush paint the sides of the rails, even be sloppy about it, and it only enhances the realism of the track. Painting the railsides by hand goes fast since you don't have to be real precise, and I can do it without using the respirator. [swg]

[jfugate]

TOPIC THIS POST: From the ground up - Realistic grass

One scenery area where I am a real fanatic is modeling grass correctly. I've been on a crusade of sorts for years to find the best materials for modeling grass realistically, yet quickly enough that it doesn't take a lifetime to scenic your layout.

I've tried sawdust, ground foam, twine, sisal rope, brush bristles, felt, yarn, sweatshirt fabric, static grass, fake fur, and silfor.

Twine, sisal rope, brush bristles, and yarn all require you plant them a clump at a time, and it can take several evenings of tedious work just to do a small field so that it has more grass than bare spots.

Sweatshirt fabric and static grass work pretty well, but you have to do a lot of fiddling with contact cement, equipment, and so on, and the results are sometimes inconsistent.

Fake fur and silfor work the best in my experience, with a couple of caveats.

Fake fur looks just a little too "fuzzy" on the edges and is hard to transition from grass to bare spots convincingly. Silflor is just about the perfect all around grass modeling material, looking great on the edges as well as in the middle, but it costs something like $20 a square foot, so it's not cheap. Compare that to 75 cents a square foot for fake fur and you can see which one ought to be used for the larger grass expanses.

So I model a large grass expanse with a combination of fake fur and silflor. I use silfor on the edges and fake fur in the middle of a larger grass expanse. I get fur with a similar nap length to the silfor, and I brush in acrylic paint both into the fur and the silfor to match their colors. Here's a couple of photos to show you the result:

First the finished scene, without distinguishing the fake fur and the silfor.

(click to enlarge)

The the same scene, with the fake fur and silfor boundaries marked.

(click to enlarge)

This approach economizes on the use of silfor, yet solves the fake fur edging issue. The boundary is nearly indestinguishable and can only be seen up close if you know what you are looking for. No one even notices unless you point it out, and even then most people can't see the boundary with certainty.

To attach the grass, I use hot glue. Get yourself some rubber dishwashing gloves and put one on your main hand you use to plant the grass to protect yourself from the hot glue -- it can cause nasty burns if you aren't careful. I'm left handed, so I wear a glove on my left hand.

I undercut the backing on the silfor then put a ring of hot glue around the edge and press it down to the scenery and hold it for a few seconds to allow the glue to set up. For larger expanses of fake fur, I cover the backing with zig zag trails of glue, then press it in place.

I like the hot glue because it makes the work go fast. I can press a piece of grass in place and move on a few moments later to do the next clump or spot of grass.

The one downside of hot glue is the fine web-like glue strings you get all over everything. Use a strong light and just grab them up like you do cobwebs and pull them off the scenery now and then as you work.

Next, bushes and other ground cover.

NEXT TOPIC: From the ground up - Realistic bushes and ground cover

[Anonymous]

Joe, I've been keeping quiet on this whole posting as I don't have anything of value to add to what's been posted by you and others but instead I've been reading and learning (I hope) so when I get to accomplishing these things on my layout I can do so without a great deal of error. It is greatly appreciated by myself but moreso by the fan base you seem to be creating. There are a large number of fans reading, learning, converting and otherwise trying your ideas out for size. I think this is perhaps one of the best uses for a forum and I hope you keep it going. You are deffinitely helping a lot of people who otherwise would end up scratching their heads wondering why their layout doesn't cut it with other modelers let alone themselves. Keep up the good work. Dale

[cwclark]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jfugate

Chuck:

Any photos you can post of the results? I'd like to see how the final result looks. [:D]

I will be including them in my webshots photo album..have way too many irons in the fire right now with other layout matters but will get the pics out eventually...Chuck

[n2mopac]

Fake fur looks great on an HO layout, but does anyone have suggestions for N scale grass? Fake fur always looks too course and tall on an N scale layout in my opinion. Is there a better N scale option out there that I have missed?

Ron

[SpaceMouse]

Maybe I should wait until next topic, but the area I'm modeling has a lot of ferns but not much else. Is there a trick for ferns?

[rexhea]

Joe,
I give up!
What is Silflor and is there a good use for all the sawdust I create?

REX

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by n2mopac

Fake fur looks great on an HO layout, but does anyone have suggestions for N scale grass? Fake fur always looks too course and tall on an N scale layout in my opinion. Is there a better N scale option out there that I have missed?

Ron

Ron:

With a bit of shopping around, you can find short nap fake fur that will work for taller grass in N. For short grass, I'd use the sweatshirt method discussed in RailModel Journal. Look for "sweatshirt grass" in the Index of Magazines here on Kalmbach's site.

Basically you get white sheatshirt material and dye it your grass color. Then you paint your scenery area with contact cement and glue the sweatshirt material fuzzy side down into the contact cement and let it set up for a couple of hours.

Then you rip the sweatshirt material off like when pulling a band-aid off, with a quick motion. This leaves behind fine fuzz from the sweatshirt material that looks like short grass. The only problem with this technique is that sometimes the plaster under the grass area comes up instead of the sweatshirt material pulling away.

Static grass also would work well, but it's finicky to get down without the right equipment.

Finally, N's getting small enough the texture may be less of an issue for anything outside of tall grass.

[FJ and G]

My buddy is building a layout near where I live and he just weathered his Lionel bridge using a product from Bragdon Enterprises that just kicks butt.

I've never before heard of the product but here's the URL.

http://www.bragdonent.com/weather.htm

BTW, he is going to put greater detail into the water like an oil slick and dead fish, since it represents NY harbor in 50s and 60s. This is just the beginning shot. It's O scale. BTW, he's a former N scale detailed person so you can be sure that there will be a lot of surprises.

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rexhea

Joe,
I give up!
What is Silflor and is there a good use for all the sawdust I create?

REX

Rex:

Silflor is a recently new artificial fiber mat material that makes wonderful model grass. It's made in Europe and is available from serveral sources. Just do a google on silflor.

Here's some silfor close up (a photo from my web site):

(click to enlarge)

Here's a link where you can buy silflor:
http://www.internationalmodels.net/acatalog/Main_Catalogue_Index_Silflor_53.html

And I do a comparison between silflor and fake fur on my web site here:
http://siskiyou.railfan.net/model/constructionNotes/silflor.html

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse

Maybe I should wait until next topic, but the area I'm modeling has a lot of ferns but not much else. Is there a trick for ferns?

SpaceMouse:

Ferns are a tough one. The best I've seen are some etched brass ferns ... here's a photo, which is On3:


(This image is from the All Model Railroads forum here: http://www.all-model-railroading.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=313 , also see Barry Pate's site at: http://uk.geocities.com/barry_pate/ )

However, it will cost you a small fortune and take forever to cover a forest floor with these guys, and they're a bit on the big side for HO or smaller.

You could also try asparagus fern, which is a lot cheaper and doesn't look quite as good, but it will still take you forever to cover a forest floor with them.

This is one thing that's probably best to not bother with unless you're in the larger scales and you have a smaller layout, with time and money to spare.
[:D]

[Anonymous]

Very nice topic Joe,

Thanks for taking the time. How about rock molds and rock faces? Is that a separate topic in itself?

The fake fur and silfor techniques look sgreat, I will need to try that one...

Paul August

[jfugate]

Paul:

You know, western Oregon scenery doesn't take much in the way of rock faces to model, so I mostly hand carve the rocks using my plaster-vermiculite mixture. This mix makes hand carved rocks look pretty good because it has a gritty rock texture to it that I think enhances the look.

Rock molds get into the techniques for making the molds, etc, which I'm not planning to cover. Because of the less frequent need for rock faces in my Oregon scenery, the same dozen rock molds I've had for the last 20 years have served me well when I have had the occasional need for a mold.

The only other trick is the way you can reuse molds and turn the rocks different directions. Blend the molded face in with just a little bit of hand carving, and no one will ever notice you reused the same mold more than once in the same rock face.

Hand carving is something that's best demonstrated on video I think. It's one of those things that's hard to describe in just text form without examples to show people. Hand carving rocks ought to be a good chapter in my scenery DVD due out later this year.

[tutaenui]

As an alternative to etched brass ferns I find the fronds from the preiser HO palm kit can be used to make realistic tree ferns.

[n2mopac]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jfugate


Finally, N's getting small enough the texture may be less of an issue for anything outside of tall grass.

This is the assumption I have proceded with in the past. I have use various colors of fine ground foam varried with small bits of medium to course foam torn apart to simulate clumps of grass, then planted areas of tall grass using horse hair (from WS). The effect overall has not been bad, but I am always looking to improve.

Ron

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by n2mopac

QUOTE: Originally posted by jfugate


Finally, N's getting small enough the texture may be less of an issue for anything outside of tall grass.

This is the assumption I have proceded with in the past. I have use various colors of fine ground foam varried with small bits of medium to course foam torn apart to simulate clumps of grass, then planted areas of tall grass using horse hair (from WS). The effect overall has not been bad, but I am always looking to improve.

Ron

I think this is a reasonable approach for N. Do consider some "wild" fields here and there of "tall" grass, where you use shorter nap fake fur and silflor. Should look awesome in N ...

[Anonymous]

Bump!

[jfugate]

Someone asked what my plaster - tempera dirt looks like close up ... so here's a photo.

This is clearly a layout photo and it's not going to win any awards, but as a scenery study shot it's interesting, and it does show a transition from brown painted bare plaster scenery in the foreground, to scenery with dirt texture, and finally finished scenery with grass, trees, and ground cover.


(Click to enlarge)

[chateauricher]

jfugate,

I love getting all these great tips from you (and the others posting in this thread). I'm still in the dreaming/planning stages and am taking careful note of every tip posted here.

I have a question for you ... I'm planning to do a double deck layout; but I am a bit at a loss as to how to illuminate the lower deck. I have thought of rope-lights; but I'm not sure they will be bright enough. I was looking at halogen "puck" lights (designed for under-cabinet use); but the prices are a bit outrageous. I want to be able to dim the lights, so fluorescent tubes are out of the question. So, my question : what type of lights did you use ?

Thanks.

[jfugate]

Yes, without special lighting, the lower deck of a multideck layout can get mighty dark! Here's what I use:


(the scenery in this photo is unnaturally dark so the light sockets show up with less lighting glare)

Leviton porcelain surface socket, they're called. Here's a link to them on the internet:
http://www.usahardware.com/inet/shop/item/30540/icn/20-066092/leviton/001_9880.htm

And if you want to read more about them, I discuss them here on my web site:
http://siskiyou.railfan.net/model/constructionNotes/lighting.html

I also discuss multideck layout lighting in volume 2 of my Siskiyou Line video series. MyMemoirs Video distributes the Siskiyou Line videos, see:
http://model-trains-video.com

Hope you find this info to be of help!

[chateauricher]

jfugate,

Thanks for answering my question so quickly. [:)]

I've taken note of what you used for lighting and I think I can find something similar up here in Canada that will do the job. [:)]

BTW, I'm working in N-scale.

[SpaceMouse]

Back to the ferns. Couldn't you use a trick like putting brass ferns in front and apaparagas fern a little behind that and some mass produced psuedo-plant further back?

[Anonymous]

Joe,

I have been reading this thread from the beginning numerous times trying to get it all to sink in. Fantastic ideas for my new layout. I learned on my current layout all about dirt, etc. being much darker on a layout than real life. I can't wait to try some of the ideas you have given me. I've been to your website, also terrific! Keep up the good work. I'll try to keep up.

Ray

[jfugate]

SpaceMouse:

Your idea with the ferns sounds like a good one. This is the kind of thing I typically do to emphasize the difference in texture from the foreground to the background.

For example, I use silflor, fake fur, static grass, and sweatshirt grass in the foreground (in front of the tracks between the fascia and the tracks).

Behind the tracks, I employed the "used" sweatshirt material itself for the grass. It's kind of fuzzy, but not as fuzzy as the foreground grass.

In the background against the backdrop, I use yellow-tan plaster tempera powder for the grass. The color matches on all three, except for a slightly blue-grayer yellow grass in the background. The result is a scene that hangs together well, and displays realistic texture differences from foreground to background.

I'll see if I can take a photo tonight illustrating this and post it here.

[jfugate]

TOPIC THIS POST: From the ground up - Realistic bushes and ground cover

For bushes and other low ground cover I use four basic techniques. In all cases, I glue the bushes / ground cover in place with hot glue. The hot glue enables me to plant a bush and immediately move on. Do use some glove protection on the main hand you use to plant with because hot glue can cause very nasty burns if you don't protect yourself.


1. Woodload Scenics Foliage

This is the stuff that comes as ground foam bonded to a mesh netting. You can tear off chuncks, roll it up into a ball-like shape, and plant it with hot glue as an instant bush. It comes in 4 colors: light green, medium green, dark green, and conifer green. I use mostly the first three colors for bushes, with a preference for lots of light green, because that's the color many real bushes are as compared to trees. I only use conifer green once in a blue moon as foliage on background conifers.


2. Lichens and ground foam

Lichens has a form of branch structure that looks good under ground foam foliage. I typically spray the lichens a light tan or brown-gray, then hit it with spray adhesive and sprinkle on green ground foam, and it's ready to plant with the hot glue gun.


3. Horsetail foliage from Scenic Express (see note below)

Scenic's Express horsetail foliage is great stuff ... I love using it to model vines, blackberry bushes and the like. It has a nice leafy look, with the underside of the leaves being noticeably lighter than the upper side. This looks great in the foreground for low, vine-like growth. It also looks great growing up buildings and tree trunks where approriate. The stuff's a bit pricey, but you don't need use a lot of it to be effective. I have one mat of horsetail foliage that has lasted me for nearly two years on various scenery projects. I use hot glue to plant the horsetail foliage.


4. Scraps from Deciduous trees (see next topic post for details)

These look the best, because they have a nice branch armature under all those leaves. And when you're making deciduous trees using the techniques I'll be describing in the next post, you'll end up with some ratty looking trees now and then that can better live their life as a collection of bushes instead of one big ugly tree. Again, I use hot glue to plant these tree-scrap bushes.

Here's some photos showing the kinds of bushes and ground cover discussed here, and how they look in a scene:


(click photo to enlarge)

And in case you can't figure out what is what, here's the same photo with everything labeled:

(click photo to enlarge)


Next, realistic deciduous trees you can make quickly and that don't cost you an arm and a leg.


NOTE: Scenic express sells a plethoria of great scenery products. Go to their website, click "About Us" and call their 1-800 number, asking for a catalog.

Their web site is: http://www.scenicexpress.com

Frankly, their website is pretty sad. But their catalog is amazing -- I keep one in the "reading room" just to thumb through and use for planning scenery projects. Much of the catalog is full color and it's like the "who's who" of model scenery products. If you are serious about doing good looking model railroad scenery, the Scenic Express catalog is one resource you don't want to be without. (No affiliation with them ... I just love their catalog as a resource).


NEXT TOPIC: From the ground up - Realistic deciduous trees F-A-S-T!

[jfugate]

As promised, here's a photo showing what's been discussed recently about scenery textures front to back. The foreground is fuzzy sweatshirt grass, the middle ground (behind the tracks) is the scrap sweatshirt material that was used for the fuzzy grass in the foreground, and the distant background is yellow plaster-tempera with just a hint of blue-gray color added to give it some distance.


(click to enlarge photo)

There's a canyon between the middle ground and the background with a river in it, and that river runs to the right (just out of the scene), turns toward the fascia, and runs under a two-span truss bridge, and to the edge of the fascia.

[Anonymous]

Awesome. The grass techniques are more like artistry - the depth of field illusion created by using the different methods is amazing!

[hminky]

QUOTE: Ferns are a tough one

I have a web article about making ferns from feathers:

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/ferns/



Hope that helps
Harold[:D]

[SpaceMouse]

The color is a little off, but that can be solv-ed.

Great. thanks. I bookmarked that sucker.