conductorrick
New Member
Thank you very much! Sorry I haven’t been on, just so busy right now.
Posts: 9
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Post by conductorrick on Jun 18, 2024 15:07:21 GMT
I have an o gauge layout that’s 8’ wide and 16’ long. And I would like it to look like kinda look like Lancaster, with the rolling hills, lots of grass, trees, and wood houses with barns and maybe silos. I have an outer loop that goes all the way around and connects to the inner loop that goes up to a hill and then comes back down. I have read some articles you have posted and they said that Sculpta mold is something that should be put onto another surface and not made to make hills with. I don’t want to make really high hills. I guess cause I want to be able to see over to see the other track😂. So my question is what has everyone else has done for making rolling hills. Something not too difficult.Has anyone else had done something like this? I’m sure you have but I am new to landscaping and have the fear of messing things up. I have been told that you can’t mess up a layout you just do something differently in that area! So any tips, advice ,and suggestions are appreciated greatly!
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Post by steveoncattailcreek on Jun 18, 2024 15:45:00 GMT
I have an o gauge layout that’s 8’ wide and 16’ long. And I would like it to look like kinda look like Lancaster, with the rolling hills, lots of grass, trees, and wood houses with barns and maybe silos. I have an outer loop that goes all the way around and connects to the inner loop that goes up to a hill and then comes back down. I have read some articles you have posted and they said that Sculpta mold is something that should be put onto another surface and not made to make hills with. I don’t want to make really high hills. I guess cause I want to be able to see over to see the other track😂. So my question is what has everyone else has done for making rolling hills. Something not too difficult. Well, I think the easiest method might be to start with a flat layout surface (which is always a good place to start if you want your trains to run smoothly!), and use layered sheets of extruded foam to build up any desired 'rolling hills' you want to add, just like building a layer cake. Extruded foam board (the pink, green or blue sheets at the hardware store) can easily be carved with a sharp knife or (better yet IMHO) one of the hot wire cutters. You can also use plain old styrofoam sheets (or scraps cut from recycled containers, etc.) instead, but styrofoam tends to be *much* messier to work with, especially when cut. Frankly, my layouts are rather flat and boring from a geologic point of view, but I *did* use carved layers of inch-thick styrofoam insulating foam sheets on top of the tunnel I created, *after* the tracks were laid, to create a rolling 'ridge' from the cell tower at one end, through the windmill and solar panels in the middle, to the farmer's market at the other:  BTW, scrap styrofoam is a cheap material that can be used for a variety of projects. I used a scrap shipping container to build a drop-on tunnel for my brother-in-law's layout, including the tunnel portals out of sheets carved off of the block with a hot wire tool and glued back together: 
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