I have a layout that requires a 20" square pop-up access hole (not sure of the technical term) that allows me access to otherwise inaccessible track and scenery. Unfortunately the layout is deep enough to require an access hole but not deep enough to be able to adequately hide the hole from view. I could make a scenery cover for it, but it would be a hassle along with I fear excessive wear and tear to be removing it all the time. My hope is that I would only need to access for routine track maintenance a few times a year - but you never know if a derailment or such may require more frequent access. The track in the area is pretty bullet proof - but there are some turnouts that could potentially cause problems.
The access hole currently interrupts a mountain “range” with a elevations in excess of 24" from the rail height - so the gap created by the access hole in the range is pretty noticable. Any ideas? Does anyone line their access holes to minimize visual impact?
Photos are worth a thousand words!
Thanks from shores of Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota - where is the snow is falling and the wind is blowing today - so a good day to work on the layout.
I have two access holes on my layout. One is a drop out section that literally drops out when I disengage three barrel locks on the underside. The topside of the section has an industry scene on it so it at least serves some purpose. The other access point has a lift out section with a park scene on it. The section is made up of several layers of white bead board so it’s quite light. The heaviest thing on it is an old Bachmann K4 that serves as a park display. The loco is glued down so I don’t have to remove it when lifting the section out. The biggest part of making the section is knowing up front what you want.
Do you have a picture of the area you are working on so we can see what might help? I am sure there will be a lot of good ideas here once we see what you are up against.
I’ve got subways, almost entirely underground. So, I’ve got a number of liftoffs for access. The trackwork is bulletproof, but the guy running the trains? Well, let’s say he doesn’t always throw the right turnout.
This picture shows five liftoff areas:
Here’s the same shot with the liftoffs removed:
These are all small, of course, not man-sized, but the principle is the same. Mostly, I’ve disguised the edges by using irregular shapes, which the eye doesn’t catch the way it sees a straight line. Then, before I put on the final scenic cover, I put a strip of plaster cloth, about an inch wide, over the seam. On the top (removeable) part, the plaster cloth goes right on the edge. On the stationary section, I put down some plastic wrap before I apply the plaster cloth. This prevents the plaster cloth from bonding to the scenery, but still lets me form it over the contours. Once the cloth hardens, I remove the plastic wrap and apply the scenery, with a lot of ground foam over the seam. After it all hardens, it only takes a bit of effort to break away the bits of glue that hold it together. The plaster cloth comes up with the liftoff, but when it goes down, it covers the gap and the ground foam hides the fine edge.
No real pics to show it off. I tend to overlap the foam and carve an uneven edge that looks like normal variations of land. I then hide it with some bushes etc. Around the hunting scene, I have used faux fur and some real mink fur grass to overlap the seam. I have not finished that yet so I don’t know how good it will get. The only hint I have is to make the overlapped part uneven. I will look forward to your solution. We all learn this together as we experment.
I don’t know what your layout construction is but mine is 100% foam board and 100% foam scenery. This enables me to make cut-outs or lift-outs to reach those areas which are not reachable from the sides. My layout is 7’ to 9’ wide in some areas and operation would not be possible without the cut-outs.
I also build my scenery in complete separate modules. For example I have a tall mountain with 2 vehicle tunnels, roadway and a shopping center which lifts out entirely and only weighs 1 lb. I don’t have much problem blending in the scenery to cover the transition.
I will charge up my camera batteries and post a photo if you wish.
Thank you gentlemen - I like the idea of using barrel locks. Will think about that.
Art - was at Beckers this this week picking out my Christmas gifts. My daughter attends Bethel University (694/Snelling), so its pretty tempting to stop as I travel to/from Wayzata to/from Bethel.
Here are the photos of one of my lift-outs. The scenery is not complete as can be seen on the bare rock formation in back of my Horseshoe Curve. Also the transition area by the river edge needs additional foliage. The next few months are my time to work on the layout. I hope to finish a lot this time around.
All I use is 1” pink foam board for everything you see. I carve it and glue it together. I added a lot of ground cover, fallen leaves, stumps, fallen trees and different bushes. Landscaping this lift-out would have taken me several hours of work but by making it on the bench instead of on the layout it was done in about ½ hour.
The transition seems are covered by scenery in a mixed manner. Try to avoid putting bushes, etc. in a straight line and don’t be afraid to glue bushes on walls, rocks, and buildings if that will aid in covering straight lines.
The best one I ever saw was a lake that was hinged and dropped down. There were barrel locks to hold it up. The shore had foliage all around it to hide any seam that might show up. It looked really good. Brent
