Newbie here-
I have a “very basic” 6x8 white plywood platform, and an oval HO track tacked down. I have several “town” pieces and a mirror for a frozen lake. I’m trying to add some texture for the platform, and camoflauge the edges of the (rectangle) mirror. I used Spray Snow from Wal-Mart and it was a wet/sloppy disaster.
I am very quickly running out of time and don’t want to disappoint my children on Christmas. Please help.
-almostChristmas
I gather you do NOT want a permanent setup? Mosrt methods used by modelers are permanent, or at least require partial destruction to change. The only thing I can think of, if you want a snow scene, is cotton padding. Years ago you could buy this about 1/2 inch thick and a foot wide in rolls, but with plastic “bubble wrap” don’t know if this is even made anymore.
-almostChristmas
If you can, I would suggest taking the track back up and laying Grass Mat down first (this can be found at Hobby/Craft stores), then covering that here and there with wisps of cotton and some basic scenery (a couple of trees or something). This way, after the Christmas season they can remove the cotton and have a nice base to build upon if they want.
Also, if you can you might want to pickup a “Turnout” and replace one of the straight pieces of track with it, then use the straight on the new end of the turnout. It is a small addition, but will make the layout so much funner to run.
Anymore questions, just ask. But I feel cotton is still the best substitute for snow, especially if you want it temporary. Have fun
-Justin
I wouldn’t even try to get into any kind of “heavy duty” modeling here. The cotton mat idea is realy good. You may want to go to a local crafts store (not hobby shop) and look for materials that sre used for those Christmas village dispalys that people do. They shouold have white cotton mats with probably even some litter in it to enhace the snow effect.
Good luck and its definately worth it. Some of my fondest Christmas Memories are of my own dad’s Christmas display.
Dan
Ok, advise heeded. Any easy way to pull up these tiny tacks and not break the track at the same time?
Yeah, you might try a pair of needle-nose pliers. But be very careful, sometimes once track is tacked down, it doesnt want to come back up (I learned this the hard way on one of my old layouts). My dad makes Christmas villages every year, they do still produce that white cotton stuff for snow. It looks good, and is very easy to make look nice, and take up when its all over with. GOod luck! Merry Christmas.
Matt
Don’t use cotton mat! It WILL get caught in the wheels & gears & it wii be a real chore to get it out. The grass mat is a good idea…you can build on it. Woodland Scenics has snow in a shaker bottle. use diluted white glue to attach it.