Heres what I’ve done so far.
-I’ve got a sheet of grass down.
-I’ve got all of the road bed down.
-I’ve got all of the track down and wired up correctly.
-Now I was going to start on the mountain…
I’m using the “Mountain scenic valley” set up, that usually retails about 70-85 dollars…
Was this a good choice? Am I doing this in the right order? Is there something I need to do before my mountain?
Any tips before starting my mountain? There seems to be a lot involved…
Thanks,
Brandon
I started my scenery a couple of months ago using wood profile boards covered by cardboard strips, Woodland Scenics plaster cloth and then adding rock molds so I can’t speak specifically to your situation. However, here is how I approached it: I have three distinct mountain areas that are seperated by trackage (a.) a small triangular area in one corner, (b.) a medium mountain and (c.) a large mountain with a tunnel. For each step I started with the small triangle and if it looked OK I then proceeded to the medium mountain and if it looked OK I than proceeded to the large mountain. This way I could get a feel for the materials and techniques I was using on a very small scale before risking working on the larger areas. If I really messed anything up I felt comfortable that I could tear it out and start again with minimal effort. I didn’t have to start over again but it gave me great piece of mind and I didn’t waste as much time and materials when I got to the larger areas. I think the hardest part of scenery making is just overcoming the fear of starting.
Good luck, Mike B.
The first step is design.
Real mountains are usually ridges, longer than they are wide. Individual “peaks” are where three, sometimes four, ridges intersect.
If you slice through a mountain perpendicular to the ridge, you get a pretty standard cross section. Flatter towards the ridge, then it steepens to around 45 degrees max, at the middle of the slope, then curves into a flatter valley, with a little gully at the creek or river. You can save some horizontal real estate, and gain some vertical elevation quickly using strategically placed cliffs.
Oftentimes, larger wide valleys are formed when there’s a landslide that dams up the creek. Over millions of years, the “reservoir” behind the “dam” silts up to the point where you’re back to a creek in a valley, but in this case, the valley floor is near flat except for the tiny gulley at the creek, and the valley walls don’t curve down to a sloped valley floor, they transition rather abruptly from steep to flat.
Look at as many pictures of mountains like you want on your layout as you can. Get a good feel for how you want your mountains to look before you start building. Then when you know what you want the end result to be, feel free to ask about techniques to achieve a specific result.
Don’t forget to leave access to any track that runs into or under a mountain!
Mike… Thanks so much! I think you already saved me some trouble… staring small (like a corner) to big. Knowing me I probably would have started on the biggest part first, so I really appreciate your advice!
Do your ballast last except for any tunnels you may have. Are you talking about the Woodland Scenics product? I’m curious to find out if they give you enough material to actually do the job. Let us know.
Yes …thats it Woodland Scenics!
I will let you know how it turns out. Because of lack of time it will take me awhile to complete the project. It says there is enough material to do a 4 x 8.
The directions aren’t very good though…
That’s because they want you to spend $20 more and buy their “how to” video.
hahaha, scam!