Building up more scenery on existing scenery.....WHITHOUT DUST !!!!

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi,

For sure the worst ennemy of our little trains and scenery is dust.

She had the power to kill or colors, fade the whole effect and produce electrical problems on track.

One aspect of scenery construction, rarely or never speaked about is the fact scenery is a long process, which need to be build to continue our existing scenery.

Our little world need a hardshell to build up ground and scenery surface.

This work involve a production of dust which by the law of murphy…like to fall down on existing scenery and trains…yeah and everywhere else !!!

I’m quite disappointed to see about articles in MR and in the other publications to see this point is never really discussed when build up scenery on existing layout scenery.

The most used medium hardshell scenery is plaster, from paper hardshell, to rock molds, and passing through gauze impregnated plaster.

I must admit I have used it a lot, but after some mentions in articles and some book references , and disapointed by the dust production, I feel it was necessary to banish the use of plaster and use something else.

I will never use it again as hardshell for my railroad scenery construction.

No comments, plaster is a excellent medium very versatile but, and 1.000 '“but” it cause a lot of mess and …a killer scenery, the dust… even, plaster gauze give a bit dust and mess and no comment if we need to cut it or carve existing plaster hardshell scenery; the white spots dust on existing scenery or structures are not easy to make them dissappear.

Solutions exist to not use plaster as hardshell, and are related in MR and on other publications but I never really see and article about the how to do and the results.

One of this solution, the one I use myself is the use of “red rosin paper” and white glue for hardshell scenery.

Cheap, easy to use, lightweight, cover acres of scenery in one r

2

Good point on dust control, it’s very important to a reliably running layout.

I use Sculptamold over pink foam (Styrofoam) for most of my scenery base. You can make a mess with it, but the amount of dust is negligible. It cuts with a knife, so a big serrated knife is one of my best tools when working on it. I’ve made lots of mods t my scenery and this makes it easy to do. You can end up with some crumbs that need a vacuum, but they are identifiable and can be cleanedup easily vs dust.

The other hint that I might usefully offer is my conversion to making most of my scenery as liftouts. Take it away from the layout and make a mess, but then you solve most of the problems asscoiated with whatever materials you use. Of course, it’s hard to eliminate all scenery that’s somewhat fixed, but about 75% of the later part of my layout is done this way.

3

Lightweight plastic drop cloths from the dollar store are also a life saver.

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I always keep a good supply of these on hand.

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-Kevin

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4

I’ve used Paper Mache on all of my layouts since the early 50s, my grandmother got me into using it as a child in the mid 1940s. With WWII going full blast that was about the only thing not rationed. She made our Paper Mache from newspapers and some really sticky glue, an eight years old viewpoint. When it dried it was super strong.

For many years I’ve used CelluClay Paper Mache for my ground cover, it is very strong and I’ve never ended up with dust on my layout from the Paper Mache. To give the Paper Mache a bit more strength I add Elmer’s White Glue to the mix at about 5:1 ratio, that’s 5 parts water to 1 part white glue.

I always do the water/powder mixing at my workbench. Having used CelluClay powder for so many years I can mix up a batch with very little leftover dust on my workbench and it is a very easy clean up.

There is a down side to using Paper Mache, being a wood product it does shrink as it dries so you have to allow for the shrinkage.

5

I’m not so sure, Marc. I do agree that the material does have the capacity to be dusty if it is constantly moved, handled, abraded, crushed, broken, or touched, but most of us don’t do much of that…if ever. Certainly not after we have sprayed it with scenic cement, or in my case, diluted yellow glue with a drop or two of liquid dish detergent. Those compounds tend to seal the surface, and they tend to wash down any lingering dust on the ground foam elements while they drip.

I haven’t found my scale rooftops to be any dustier than the night-tables in our bedroom after a period of time.

-Crandell

6

I ran into an issue where I had to make some changes to rock faces in a couple of places. There was not much room to replace the rock face once the changes were made. My solution was to use a bread knife and cut a slice of foam off the sheet that was only about 1/8" thick. I carefully picked away at it to rough it up and glue it into place on the wood. I then painted it and added a bit of dirt and foliage and it blended in perfectly with the 1 and 2-inch foam adjacent to it. You would never guess it is less than 1/8" thick. It was a good fix and being so thin you can bend it around things if need be.

7

I use Durabond patching plaster over aluminum screen for landforms, and never found it to produce any dust…after all, it has to be mixed with water to be of any use.

I do agree, though, that dust of any kind can cause a lot of problems on any layout…in my opinion, it’s the main reason that most modellers need to clean track.

Wayne

8

Thanks all for your remarks.

Seems nobody want really left plaster for hardshell construction.

As mentionned in my topic it’s a versatile medium to make hardshell, but I feel it’s from and old age and not to mention the weight it involves beside the dust in mess it makes in the making.

We use plaster since many many years.

Just see another issue exist and it’s never to late for changing.