Hello all,
Hope you have some spare time to answer 2 quick HO scale questions: 1 - Where can I buy foam board or blocks - like the one described on page 74; figure 1, in last months MRR magazine? and 2 - whats the easiest way to make custom retaining walls?
Thank you in advance!
Greg Hopkins
I don’t have last month’s issue at hand, so I can’t answer your first question. As for the second, I don’t know what the “easiest” way is, but I do know of several “easy” ways to create retaining walls.
One is to use strip wood (I’ve used 3/32 square) to build cribbing and then backfill it with “scale-sized” pebbles, dirt, and/or ballast.
Another is to apply a coating of molding plaster or plaster of Paris over your hardshell forms and then after the plaster is about 80-95% dry, hand carve stone work in the plaster with X-Acto knives, dental picks, or nut picks.
A third is a variation on no. 2: instead of plaster, carve stonework in a coating of colored Sculptamold.
I’ve used all three methods; all three produce good results provided you make an effort to keep everything - especially the stonework - reasonably close to scale. In other words, don’t carve stones so large that they resemble something only the ancient Egyptians with 100,000 slaves would have used.
As far as the retaining walls are concerned Dave Frary sells latex molds that really work well. Check out his website at mrscenery.com.
Hobby shops sell the foam blocks but the most economical way is to by either a 2,8 or 4x8 sheet of foam insulation at Home Depot, Menards or Lowes. This cuts easily with a sharp knife and comes in thickness from around 1/2" up to 2". We are doing some supplemental insulating around the house with these sheets and the scraps are ideal…Walt