Layout Building - Earth and Water

Earth

I believe I am finally done with the majority of the plaster work on the layout. There is one more edge that needs some work, but the end is in sight! Plaster of paris makes such a mess.

Now that the majority of the scenary base is in place, I grabbed my earth tone latex paint, a quart mixed up at Home Depot, and painted over the shiny foam. 

I also experimented with adding in some earth blend turf to see what it looks like. It does make a really nice first layer of texture.

Water

My building compatriot created a lake using some plastic stones from her store of crafty things. Then out came the white glue and foliage bits to hide the edges of the foam cut. I think it came out very nice.

I came back a little while later to sling paint and plaster around and found another addition. A witch decided to move into the area!

The elves and orcs better beware...

Layout Building Progress Update 2

Mountain Building

This weekend was an exercise in geology and earth forces. It takes several hours to build a mountain, and a couple hours remain for the base structure.

The elven village will occupy the plateau area. We also plan for a waterfall stepping its way down the rock face to a lower level pool.

Cardboard Framework

I used the traditional cardboard frame and plaster approach to forming the mountain area. The web of cardboard is formed of 1 inch wide strips from a medium size Amazon box hot glued to the foam and wood base.

Lesson learned: Bare foam melts when first hit with hot glue. I took to pinning a strip of cardboard to the foam to act as a glue down spot for the web.

Plaster of Paris Shell

I haven't used plaster of paris in a long time, so it took me a couple of batches to get the right mix of plaster and water. The instructions on the tub called for a 2:1 mixture of plaster and water. While probably perfect for patching walls, it was too thick to effectively dip paper towels into. I ended up using more of a 1.25:1 mixture, which was runny enough to dip, but strong enough to form the hard shell. I'll simply add an additional layer or two to make up for the weaker plaster.

Tunnel Portal

I also built a tunnel portal out of match sticks and craft sticks. I'll paint it next weekend and integrate it into the plastered areas.

The upper level portals will be simple cuts into the rock. The lower portals will be finished stone or wood, depending on the location.

Layout Building Progress Update 1

This is the first of periodic updates on the construction of my railroad layout. In model railroading terms, it is completely freelance. It does not represent any particular place or time period, but is instead a blend between a medieval fantasy world and trains.

The layout is on a 4 foot by 8 foot table, topped by a 4'x8' sheet of foam insulation. I originally modified a track plan with a couple of loops and a 90 degree cross over section, but later decided I did not want to mess around with handling the reverse polarity problem it created. Nothing was permanently attached, so I reconfigured the plan with a couple of siding/branch lines.

This last weekend saw the creation of a cardboard web to support a plaster scenery shell.

There is plenty left to do, so onward!