post your model RR tips........


This is one of my most successful out-of-the-box projects.

If you're modeling a town scene on a flat surface, sand paper makes great roads. Now, I can hear you all saying, "It probably looks very average," and when my mum made the suggestion to me originally, I thought the same thing. But a fine-grit sand paper imitates road surface very well, is easily cut and trimmed to fit, has near-seamless connections and weathers very easily.

I purchase sand paper sheets in dark grey or black colouring, and I cut the sheets into strips appropriate for the area slightly wider than a scale dual-lane roadway. I then paint styrene sheets a concrete colour and trim them for use as building bases and footpaths. The footpaths overlap the sandpaper roads and create a realistic gutter and kerb.

These photos are from when I first started practicing the technique. The streets look strangely wide in parts because I wanted to model parallel parking, and the sand paper in the servo car park had lifted when I took the photo, but that's a very easy fix.

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Hope this is of some use to you guys. :D

Mitch
 
(N Scale) Small Bodies of Water With Zero Terrain Alterations

I have another tip for you guys, I hope you don't mind.

A lot of my layouts are built without any sub-terrain features, aside from key rivers and creeks cut out during the construction of the benchwork. My layouts are usually then built directly on top of a flat timber surface, and this has always worked well for Midwestern modelling. There are times, however, when the scenery construction process calls for subterranean details and features on parts of the benchwork that can't be cut away once other projects have begun.

I found a way to model ponds, boggy areas and swamps without having to create a depression first, in a way that delivers very realistic results.

My pond was created by first removing the cows in the paddock and scratching away a small area of grass flock. I painted the base of the pond brown, and then I mixed a small amount of wood glue (make sure you use a clear drying product) and more brown paint together in a cup, and then added just enough water to make the liquid mix slightly more runny than the consistency of the glue used.

The colour of the mix will turn almost pink due to the white colouring of the glue, but it should revert close enough back to the original paint colour. I stirred the mix, and then carefully poured it into the centre of the pond making sure none spilled in the surrounding field. I then used match sticks and a small paint brush to coax the liquid up to the grass edge.

Some of the grass foam absorbed the colour of water, but it gave a realistic, muddy look to the banks of the pond. If you don't want that effect, it's very easy to replace the muddy grass once the pond has dried if need be. Within an hour, the pond was dry and the brown paint had created an illusion of depth. I added a couple of varieties of Silflor Grass Tufts around the pond to replicate reeds and bullrushes and replaced the cows.

The project took not much longer than an hour, and there were no modifications to benchwork either. Results are below:

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Hope this is useful.

Mitch
 
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Recycling Beechwork

Last March, I made the decision to pull apart my 6th layout, and begin my 7th. Money was a rarity, so I decided to get the most out of the benchwork I already had. Layouts 5 and 6 had both been built as shelf layouts utilising brackets mounted to the walls and plywood bases on the brackets. Layouts 5 and 6 both made good use of the ply tops, but the accumulation of plaster, cork and other products meant it was time for a new surface for layout 7.

Cleaning off the original surface proved painful and time consuming, and failed to allow for subterranean features. Insulation board was way too expensive, as were foam risers. I ended up clearing anything tall and easy to 'snap' off the surface,and this gave gave me an idea.

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You can see in the foreground a large length of timber. This is one of many spacers which I attached to the original layout surface in places where the surface could be cleaned and smoothed. I then purchased new sheets of plywood which were attached to the top of the timber spacers. The original layout surface now provides allowance for subterranean features with a new clean surface above it. The old layout is essentially buried beneath the new one, hidden by a neat fascia completing the look.

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This photo shows the new surfaces about 1.5in above the old surface. The added height also changes the viewing perspectives of the layout.

So instead of new benchwork and costly foam board or similar materials, a 9x8ft or so clean slate came in at less than AU$100 for new plywood, timber spacers, and other materials such as liquid nails, etc. New benchwork would have been nearly triple that cost.

Not bad.
 
Read the thread, didn't see these tips---turn the lid of a cottage cheese container, salsa dip or similar container upside down to mix paints in. You have a fairly big surface to mix in, the raised lip makes it easy to grab the brush, and simply bend back & forth after the paint is dry to remove it.
--Cut a small square of saran wrap/sandwich bag to seal opened paint bottles, store upside down, you get a longer shelf life.
--To transition from a mainline or siding track to a spur track that sets on/in the ground without any kind of profile, I took the lower end of a WS incline starter set strip (degree of incline doesn't matter) and placed it next to the cork roadbed, were the strip is the same level of the cork, I cut it. This piece has has about four articulated sections to it. I cut these into sections and starting at the cork, spaced these out to give me a transition from roadbed to flat ground. You can vary the distance you space these pieces to give you a short run-off or a longer run-off, whatever you prefer. I trimmed the pieces to width and used WS foam putty to fill in the spaces between the pieces. Mist the surfaces to be filled in with water so the foam putty will stay put. The putty doesn't like being applied to a large (a relative term) dry surface.--Too many adhesive applicators? I'm thinking not! Never heard that statement before, toothpicks are good but have their place...... try this one, strip the end off of one of the Micro Mark Microbrushes (#8317M) and now you have a real fine, semi-flexible tip with a long handle for reaching in places and is easily cleaned for re-use.
 
I posted about this on another thread earlier. Thought I'd put it here too. If you have ever had problems making the ends of flex-track keep the radius where the pieces meet when you are using them for curves. Heres my little trick. I slide one rail of the track out of the ties halfway. do this on another length, then slide the extended rail into the open ties of the opposite piece. The joints are staggered so that rails stay in gauge. I have done this with 3 pieces of 3 ft flex so far. 9 foot piece of flex track that has never gave me any issues, and I didn't have to fight the ends. Hope it helps.
 
"Cross hatch" pattern ribbon looks like chain link fence when painted, The green "mop pads" for buffing machines make good pines, cut to shape glue in place, walla! intsa pines! great for a tree farm or ornamental garden. Also can be cut to make hedges, "hedge maze" is an interesting feature for any layout and can be put just about anyplace.

Great tips guys, keep em coming!
 
I use the flexible white craft glue to glue down figures because they will bend if brushed slightly rather than breaking loose.
You can also use the glue to make windows in vehicles by stretching the glue across the window as a film.
Mikey
 
I posted about this on another thread earlier. Thought I'd put it here too. If you have ever had problems making the ends of flex-track keep the radius where the pieces meet when you are using them for curves. Heres my little trick. I slide one rail of the track out of the ties halfway. do this on another length, then slide the extended rail into the open ties of the opposite piece. The joints are staggered so that rails stay in gauge. I have done this with 3 pieces of 3 ft flex so far. 9 foot piece of flex track that has never gave me any issues, and I didn't have to fight the ends. Hope it helps.
Great piece of advice. When I did it, I placed the 3 sections of track against a straight edge and then soldered the joints. Really makes a nice curve and the fact they are staggered means that junction is no longer the weak link. Unfortunately, I have to climb up to my ceiling track and do this for two of my corners. Wish I would have know this when I laid that track up there!!!

Thanks for sharing.
 
Those small pill bottles are also great for storing small parts like screws, coupler springs, etc.
I also use the Pill Boxes that are marked Sunday thru Sat. You can tape a pc. of masking tape to the lids & make a mark for what's in the compartment. I buy mine at Dollar Tree. Also, Dollar Tree sells a lot of diff. sizes of Compartment boxes w/lids. They also have sets or stacks of refrigerator dishes w/lids for larger items. I also buy almost all of my scenery stuff from Dollar Tree in the Craft Isle.
 
If you can get a Computer Power Supply Cheap you can use it to wire up a lot of accessories on the layout including all of your building wiring, LED's, & a lot of other stuff. It's DC output of 3&1/2 Volts, 5 Volts & 12 Volts. Get the PS w/the Green wire in the harness. The Green wire is the hookup for a switch to turn it off & on w/a Black wire. The Green is hot & the Black is a ground. You plug in the 110Volt AC plug for power to the PS. Always unplug it before hooking up anything. Some PS have an on & off switch built in to the box. If not you can hook up your own w/the Green & Black wire on a Toggle switch mounted next to the metal box. If you would feel safer just add a Fuse to the hookup. On a giant layout you can have 2 or 3 Power Supplies to do all of your acc.'s I also made a Test Stand for my workbench using a PS. to check Bulbs, etc. If you hook up the wires backwards the PS will shut off.
 
If you can't find a Puter Power Supply & you live in the U.S. let me know & I could probably send you one for the price of shipping & a sm. handling Fee. I have about 60 of them. I would have to test them before I shipped you one to make sure it's in working cond. If you want me to make sure it's clean inside(dust on fan & Heat Sink)then I would have to charge a small fee for that too. You can look around the junk stores, usually you will find one.
Retail on a used one that works is about 25 to 45 bucks.
 
If you can't find a Puter Power Supply & you live in the U.S. let me know & I could probably send you one for the price of shipping & a sm. handling Fee. I have about 60 of them. I would have to test them before I shipped you one to make sure it's in working cond. If you want me to make sure it's clean inside(dust on fan & Heat Sink)then I would have to charge a small fee for that too. You can look around the junk stores, usually you will find one.
Retail on a used one that works is about 25 to 45 bucks.
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