Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2019 20:37:24 GMT
This post documents my Christmas Layout build for anyone interested.
I first discovered O and STD Gauge trains Christmas of 2017. This is my first attempt at scenery. Hopefully it will help some beginners out there who have yet to give it a try. Go for it!
I took some pictures during the process but I didn't plan on making a step-by-step post on how to build it. So my apologies if there are some details left out. Obviously, it all makes sense to me since I went through the process. I may leave out some details so if you're confused about anything, let me know and I'll be happy to explain.
My goal for this project was a three-level Christmas tree layout that could be easily transported and stored. Time will tell if I was successful regarding the storage aspect. It certainly is lightweight.
I can pick up any of the four sections with one hand.
Project supply list:
-three 4'x8' sheets of 1.5" thick XPS foamboard
-one 4'x8' sheet of 2" thick XPS foamboard
-two 2'x2' sheets of 1" thick XPS foamboard (for tunnel portals)
-four 16 oz. cans of Great Stuff spray foam
-two 8 oz. containers of original Gorilla Glue
-six 36"x72" rolls of low-pile quilt batting
-two gallons of white latex paint
-one quart of gray latex paint (tunnel portals)
-one quart of black latex paint (to black-out the inside of tunnel)
-two small containers of white glitter
-one box of razor knives
This is the a snapshot of the SCARM file I was working from:
First, back in October, I had to layout the XPS foamboard on the garage floor and make sure reality matched my SCARM file. There were just a few adjustments to make certain there was enough clearance/relief from the edges.
Next I cut the XPS and glued it with Gorilla Glue. Since it was October and no hurry, I waited 24 hours for the glue to fully cure. The following picture is one half of the scenery completely glued and ready for paint. I built each scenery half (either side of the tree stand) in halves. So it's four quarters total. I did that so they would be easier to handle for set-up and storage.
Now that the scenery structure was complete, it was time to dry fit the tunnel portals and check how the ground level FasTrack layout looked. At this point I was still trying to determine how to bridge the two sides (see the Standard Gauge track laid out on top center, around the hole for the tree stand).
I painted the under side of the XPS structure with black paint so viewers wouldn't see pink inside the tunnels. The outside I painted white.
I painted my tunnel portals gray and glued them to the main XPS structure (front only, no real detail on the back). Here is everything dry-fit around the wooden tree stand. I also added some additional XPS pieces between the tunnel portals as a base for what would become spray-foam cliffs/mountains. I discovered during the gluing process that Gorilla Glue doesn't stick to parchment paper. That kept the structure from sticking to the garage floor.
I moved the front sections of the XPS structure outside to the driveway turnaround. I then used Great Stuff foam to create mountains between the tunnel portals.
IMPORTANT STEP: As soon as the foam covered the XPS, while it was still wet and expanding, I laid the quilt batting over it. As the Great Stuff sets up (it takes a half hour to an hour), while wearing latex gloves, I would push on it here and there to create some contours.
Also, I don't have a picture of this but I also cut some XPS into rough mountaintop shapes so the silhouettes would project above the flat surface. That's tough to describe but the pictures should make it clear. I hope!
Here's a picture of one side of the structure after the Great Stuff dried. The top is now covered with quilt batting also. Ready for white paint.
Here's a picture of everything painted white. I covered the top of the entire structure with quilt batting (just like the mountains) and gave everything another coat of white. It really soaked up the paint: a gallon and a half total. While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled glitter over everything white. Later, before I moved the layout inside, I took each piece out on the lawn and dusted off the any excess glitter.
Notice the center "bridge" piece in the background. Ultimately, I decided to use Great Stuff and make it mountainous landscape as well. I'm glad I did because it gave me some wiggle room when it came time to piece everything together around the tree stand.
I set up the tree the day after Thanksgiving. My wife and kids decorated it. Then it was time to get down to business. Here are a couple pictures of the layout coming together inside around the tree stand.
Finally, the complete layout minus some scenery that was added later. This picture has some strange effects because I took a panorama with my iphone. But I like it because it shows a top view as if you're standing looking down at the layout.
And this after my kids had a go at adding bottle brush trees, Lemax figures (Menard's), etc.
I first discovered O and STD Gauge trains Christmas of 2017. This is my first attempt at scenery. Hopefully it will help some beginners out there who have yet to give it a try. Go for it!
I took some pictures during the process but I didn't plan on making a step-by-step post on how to build it. So my apologies if there are some details left out. Obviously, it all makes sense to me since I went through the process. I may leave out some details so if you're confused about anything, let me know and I'll be happy to explain.
My goal for this project was a three-level Christmas tree layout that could be easily transported and stored. Time will tell if I was successful regarding the storage aspect. It certainly is lightweight.
I can pick up any of the four sections with one hand.
Project supply list:
-three 4'x8' sheets of 1.5" thick XPS foamboard
-one 4'x8' sheet of 2" thick XPS foamboard
-two 2'x2' sheets of 1" thick XPS foamboard (for tunnel portals)
-four 16 oz. cans of Great Stuff spray foam
-two 8 oz. containers of original Gorilla Glue
-six 36"x72" rolls of low-pile quilt batting
-two gallons of white latex paint
-one quart of gray latex paint (tunnel portals)
-one quart of black latex paint (to black-out the inside of tunnel)
-two small containers of white glitter
-one box of razor knives
This is the a snapshot of the SCARM file I was working from:
First, back in October, I had to layout the XPS foamboard on the garage floor and make sure reality matched my SCARM file. There were just a few adjustments to make certain there was enough clearance/relief from the edges.
Next I cut the XPS and glued it with Gorilla Glue. Since it was October and no hurry, I waited 24 hours for the glue to fully cure. The following picture is one half of the scenery completely glued and ready for paint. I built each scenery half (either side of the tree stand) in halves. So it's four quarters total. I did that so they would be easier to handle for set-up and storage.
Now that the scenery structure was complete, it was time to dry fit the tunnel portals and check how the ground level FasTrack layout looked. At this point I was still trying to determine how to bridge the two sides (see the Standard Gauge track laid out on top center, around the hole for the tree stand).
I painted the under side of the XPS structure with black paint so viewers wouldn't see pink inside the tunnels. The outside I painted white.
I painted my tunnel portals gray and glued them to the main XPS structure (front only, no real detail on the back). Here is everything dry-fit around the wooden tree stand. I also added some additional XPS pieces between the tunnel portals as a base for what would become spray-foam cliffs/mountains. I discovered during the gluing process that Gorilla Glue doesn't stick to parchment paper. That kept the structure from sticking to the garage floor.
I moved the front sections of the XPS structure outside to the driveway turnaround. I then used Great Stuff foam to create mountains between the tunnel portals.
IMPORTANT STEP: As soon as the foam covered the XPS, while it was still wet and expanding, I laid the quilt batting over it. As the Great Stuff sets up (it takes a half hour to an hour), while wearing latex gloves, I would push on it here and there to create some contours.
Also, I don't have a picture of this but I also cut some XPS into rough mountaintop shapes so the silhouettes would project above the flat surface. That's tough to describe but the pictures should make it clear. I hope!
Here's a picture of one side of the structure after the Great Stuff dried. The top is now covered with quilt batting also. Ready for white paint.
Here's a picture of everything painted white. I covered the top of the entire structure with quilt batting (just like the mountains) and gave everything another coat of white. It really soaked up the paint: a gallon and a half total. While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled glitter over everything white. Later, before I moved the layout inside, I took each piece out on the lawn and dusted off the any excess glitter.
Notice the center "bridge" piece in the background. Ultimately, I decided to use Great Stuff and make it mountainous landscape as well. I'm glad I did because it gave me some wiggle room when it came time to piece everything together around the tree stand.
I set up the tree the day after Thanksgiving. My wife and kids decorated it. Then it was time to get down to business. Here are a couple pictures of the layout coming together inside around the tree stand.
Finally, the complete layout minus some scenery that was added later. This picture has some strange effects because I took a panorama with my iphone. But I like it because it shows a top view as if you're standing looking down at the layout.
And this after my kids had a go at adding bottle brush trees, Lemax figures (Menard's), etc.