Getting ready to start Mountains and Tunnel thru mountain. New at this, so what would be the fastest and cheapest way to make a mountain and tunnel. I heard that the strofoam was the best way to go. Can anyone help me with this question. I’m making a 4x8 layout. Thank you.
Layers of foam will work. You can also just take old newspapers, ball the sheets up and stack them, using masking tape to hold them in place. You can put wire window screen over the balls of paper or wet sheets of paper with a thin plaster mix etc. and lay over the paper balls. Build up the thickness of the shell with more layers and more plaster etc. For your tunnel have your portals in place and use the sheets of paper to form the mountain above and around them. When it is all dry remove the balls of paper.
In the past I used cheap cloth like muslin soaked with a thin plaster mix, and found it very sturdy when dry. [2c]
First, what’s the hurry? Sure, we all want it now, but this is one of those things where you’ll probably get better results by taking your time, particularly if this is the first time around.
First - the tunnel part. You’re not really building a tunnel, of course. You’re laying down the track, taking great care because you may not be able to get to it later, and then you’re putting the mountain down on top of it and around it. At each end will be a tunnel portal, which you can buy or scratch-build - your choice. I’d get the portals in place right after the track.
My subways have a camera inside, so the inside of the tunnel is part of the scenery. If that’s in your plans, you’ll need to make up some sort of interior for the tunnel walls. If not, most people just build an interior for a few inches, just enough so it looks like a real tunnel through the portals.
I like foam, too. I still have some left over from my layout base, so I cut it, stack it and shape it into my elevated landforms. This gives a nice, solid mountain. Others prefer to make a form out of cardboard or wire, and then cover it with some kind of hardshell, a surface made of plaster-impregnated cloth or paper, or some thin plastic materials. Hardshell is very light. Based on your layout plan, you might think about making the entire mountain removeable for access to the track below.
Finally, you’ll want a realistic surface. I personally use Gypsolite, a grainy plaster that gives a rough “ground” texture. I paint it with a brown and green random camouflage pattern, and then apply turf and ground foam for the final texture.
Each of these paragraphs is a job in itself, of course, but it’s a starting point.
I was in no hurry so I used wooden “profile” boards for my moutain ridges and then linked the ridges with cardboard strips overlayed with Woodland Scenic plaster cloth. I would experiment with cardboard templates and when I got one I liked I would trace it on wood/plywood. This was a no cost option for me since as a sloppy carpenter I had boxes of wood scraps left over from building my benchwork. This took more time and effort but I now know I can lean on most portions of my scenery to reach beyond if need be.
Mike B.
I started with screen and plaster - terrible
I tried Woodland Scenics plastercloth over rolled up newspaper. Quick - NOT cheap. It was a big mess and planting trees is a XXXXX.
I tried foam. I love it. Cheap, I get it at dumpsites for construction. I glue the pieces together with LOW TEMP hot melt glue, That is not so cheap, but it is FAST.
It can be covered with ground goop and made to look like all forms of mountain terrain. Or it can be carved and painted to look like a freshly blased cut. It can be carved to make a blasted tunnel portal, or worked into any other portal style. I have more pics in my Sig than anyone would want to look at.
For foam, PRACTICE IS MORE USEFUL THAN INSTRUCTION. However, you can get more instruction than you will ever want, but just asking more questions.
Good luck, I love terraforming with foam. I hope you do as well.
Art make a compelling argument for foam and if you look at his work it obviously works well for him!
I have never used the screen method myself but I can imagine…
Plaster cloth is a ripoff IMO. If you know of someone who works with casting broken bones ask for their end of rolls and scraps. Better yet just use cheap cloth paper towel, old sheets etc. soaked in a thin plaster mix. It worked for me.
Yeah…planting trees is easier in foam for sure. Make sure you get the extruded pink or blue not the beaded white foam.
My problem is I seldom see foam in dumpsters around here. we just don’t use it that much here except in commercial applications.
Dumpster diving for foam takes persistance and good timing. I have best luck at comuercial sites. I watch to see when the stacks of foam start arriving on the site. I then find the forman, that takes some doing. I then start by telling him I am a model railroader and use foam scraps for mountains. I am successful less than half the time, but a few strikes in the mother load will last a while.
I tried the screen/wire and plaster when I was first in the hobby. It works OK but does take some time to get the hang of it. I used the pink foam and plaster cloth this time around and it works better IMHO. A lot easier to work with and easier to form initially or reform after the fact. I also use “ground goop” and that makes the foam look a lot more realistic when properly sculpted and covered.
On a 4x8 you don’t have a lot of options for mountains - at least ones that won’t look out of scale or like a train driving through a landslide. Up and over might be the best bet for elevation.
-Tom