Show us your modeling skills and techniques.
Oct 16, 2019 17:24:02 GMT
thebigcrabcake, 4dogsinjersey, and 2 more like this
Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2019 17:24:02 GMT
It took me years to develop techniques for building mountains, kit bashing, painting, ballasting, etc. I would like to share some of what I have learned and I am hoping you will share some of your skills. I learned most everything by being on model train forums and making friends who have had a lot more experience then I have. This will be a great help to me and many others who are trying to model on their layouts. So, Show us your Modeling Skills.
Today will be the mountain building for my Banff Springs Hotel. This started with a space that was completely empty. I had been dreaming for a long time and finally read an article about the Railroad's wealth and stature in the 1800's. When the continental RR was completed they wanted to bring wealthy patrons to the West Coast and they built remarkable resorts to temp these people. The Canadian Pacific built the Banff Hotel and that was it. I was off for a great journey in model railroading.
This was the open space with track installed.
Here is how the mountains were planned.
I built a framework out of lumber and used chicken wire for a support for Plaster Cloth. I bought the 12" wide cloth from Amazon, very inexpensive. The towels are to prevent the plaster from dripping on the track. It can be a messy job.
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For scenic accents use Blended Turf from Scenic Express and sprinkle over the areas you want. I painted the plaster cloth dark and left some white because I wanted the white to represent snow. After sprinkling the turf, mix a spray bottle with 1 part glue and 4 parts water, shake well and mist the surface. It will dry and hold the turf forever.
Below are the supporting mountains for the lake and hotel. These were made by strapping cardboard strips on the top and bottom edge of the scene and laying plaster cloth over chunks of styro and the cardboard strips. Mountains are never smooth, so do your thing and it will look great. There were two pieces of styro I wanted to represent a specific highway wall, so I had to shape them. My way of shaping styro is to use a Steak knife heated with a hand held gas torch. Painting these walls was a chore. Protect the surrounding areas and use throwaway brushes. Mix a latex grey paint and fuss with it by adding different colors to create different appearances. I used some latex pure white and swirled that in. Add water because you do not want the paint to be too thick. Then take the brush and dab the paint on all the surfaces. Let dry. After it drys, lightly spray paint RustOleum using Camoflauge and black textured paints. Don't forget your helper who will share the memories with you.
Today will be the mountain building for my Banff Springs Hotel. This started with a space that was completely empty. I had been dreaming for a long time and finally read an article about the Railroad's wealth and stature in the 1800's. When the continental RR was completed they wanted to bring wealthy patrons to the West Coast and they built remarkable resorts to temp these people. The Canadian Pacific built the Banff Hotel and that was it. I was off for a great journey in model railroading.
This was the open space with track installed.
Here is how the mountains were planned.
I built a framework out of lumber and used chicken wire for a support for Plaster Cloth. I bought the 12" wide cloth from Amazon, very inexpensive. The towels are to prevent the plaster from dripping on the track. It can be a messy job.
_
For scenic accents use Blended Turf from Scenic Express and sprinkle over the areas you want. I painted the plaster cloth dark and left some white because I wanted the white to represent snow. After sprinkling the turf, mix a spray bottle with 1 part glue and 4 parts water, shake well and mist the surface. It will dry and hold the turf forever.
Below are the supporting mountains for the lake and hotel. These were made by strapping cardboard strips on the top and bottom edge of the scene and laying plaster cloth over chunks of styro and the cardboard strips. Mountains are never smooth, so do your thing and it will look great. There were two pieces of styro I wanted to represent a specific highway wall, so I had to shape them. My way of shaping styro is to use a Steak knife heated with a hand held gas torch. Painting these walls was a chore. Protect the surrounding areas and use throwaway brushes. Mix a latex grey paint and fuss with it by adding different colors to create different appearances. I used some latex pure white and swirled that in. Add water because you do not want the paint to be too thick. Then take the brush and dab the paint on all the surfaces. Let dry. After it drys, lightly spray paint RustOleum using Camoflauge and black textured paints. Don't forget your helper who will share the memories with you.
