I’m in the process of rebuilding my layout. I had used 2" extruded foam in the past for the scenery but, being a poor college student, I do not have the “funds” to use this method.
For a little background, here is what I’m trying to do:
My layout is set in postwar Appalachia, about 1950. Its a U shaped layout, with the narrowest section being 2 ft wide and the widest section 4ft. I want the scenery to tower over the structures and trains, so I resloved to make 27" tall mountains. With the table top being 40" off of the floor, this makes the mountains 67" off of the floor. I plan on having hidden staging track running through the interior of these mountains, so I would like them to be hollow.
I guess my question is, what would be the better route to go. Stick with the extruded foam and build the layer cake type of mountain, or go the cheaper route and go with the classic cardboard/papertowel/plaster method? Or even perhaps combine the two?
Foam can actually be free if you scrounge around construction sites and do some dumpster diving. I use the 1 inch thick white styrofoam insulation, which is more readily available here in Arizona, by just gluing layers together with plain latex caulk.
A combination of the two might work well on a limited budget. Finding scraps at a construction site as cacole suggests is a great way to acquire foam that can be used to construct mountains.
With cardboard latticework, you still need some sort of support at the end of the strips where they tie into the layout framework. You could use foam scraps to make that support structure, then tie it all together with cardboard strips and have at it with the towel/plaster covering.
I envision using the foam for your mountains with the foam standing upright to create a profile for the latticework to attach to. Uses much less foam than laying the foam flat and trying to build up a profile out of foam only.
Hope this suggestion helps or at least gives you a different viewpoint.
If you want to affix the cardboard to the foam, you may be much better off with a different adhesive, such as liquid nails or something along those lines.
I’ve never tried it but some how combining the two methods doesn’t sound like a good idea. Nothing wrong with using both methods on the same layout just hot gluing cardboard strips to the extruded foam isn’t grabbing me as being worth it. I see no reason why you can’t use a hot glue gun on extruded foam I’ve done it on a river cut scene on my layout and had no problems with it.
The whole reason behind using hard shell scenery is you can cover a lot of square footage for hardly any money. Extruded foam has a lot of merits but the cost of that stuff is through the roof. I wouldn’t go dumpster diving for foam as most of the time the stuff thrown in the dumpster is there for a good reason because it’s junk.
If youor seriously considering combining the two methods I would build a small test module not part of the layout to test your idea.
Just use the foam, it is usually free for the white stuff and you can build it up like building blocks and just contour the front with a WS hot wire tool. Then you cover the whole thing in plaster cloth which can be bought for a dollar a role or free sometimes at the local hospital.
When it comes to extruded foam it’s either the pink or the blue stuff NEVER the white. The color difference is only done by the different manufactures. The white stuff will leave those tiny little balls all over your layout roon far worse then the mess the other stuff leaves behind.
The white stuff dose not leave as big a mess as others would have you believe. I cut major cuts with a flush cut saw (leaves no more foam balls than the pink stuff leaves dust) but most cuts are done with a hot wire. No, you can not sand it but all you are trying to do is get your basic shapes done, the plaster cloth will cover any problems. I use the white stuff all the time and do not have a problem since it all gets covered in plaster cloth and it is free and sometimes even comes in mountain shapes.
I use both on my Maclau River RR in Nscale and used plaster paper towels for hardshell; it works well but it’s messy beleive me. It could introduce dust plaster on the layout.
Reading the book of Mister Howard Zane www.zanestrains.com I made a try to his method which is clean and use the old cardstock lattice method but use heavystock paper covered with white glue as hardsell; the cheapest you can find and better than better: CLEAN!.
I have put a post about it a few days ago about “easy and clean hardshell” on this forum.
I use foam only on big surface or as support under the cardstock lattice, everything is glued with hot glue for the frame lattice. It’s strong and light.
On this picture the plaster rocks mold were applied on a foam structure whitout any hardshell.
Hi Jake, I recommend the use of the white stuff, that is in the form of packing around objects. I happened to get a free cello case, that I cut to fit the corner. I hold the pieces together with pieces of track pushed into them, and then glued. I used scraps of foam covered with plaster cloth to form the rugged mountainside. It forms a hollow shell that is about one inch thick, so that when I drill holes in it for “planting trees”, and then spray paint it, the trees have adequate support. I do not think that the paper lattice shell method is strong enough to support 50+ trees. Even with about 50 trees "planted in the foam shell, (that is about 3 ft. long), the entire shell mountain can be removed to rerail the trains that get off the track. Bob Hahn
I can still lift my entire 4’x8’ modules with one hand, even after all the plaster cloth and rock molds etc. Also as stated if you need a lift off section it can be solid for durability without weighing much.
Most hot glues should work for the cardboard strips. If the glue it too hot and melts the foam, you can get a low-temp hot glue that will work with foam.
Once the latticework is in place, many modelers use those commercial paper towels like you find in public restrooms. The commercial products are heavier than the regular kitchen paper towels. Remember, the towels will be soaked with plaster. You need a heavier towel to keep the plaster-soaked towel from sagging between the latticework. Newspaper, as long as it’s not coated paper, will also work, but it may sag, too. To help prevent sag, you can stuff wadded up newspaper under the latticework to help fill the spaces. Apply the plaster toweling and when it has dried, remove the wadded up newspaper.
If you can find them, the brown commercial towels work great and the brown color will help your later scenicking efforts. Mix your plaster to a potato-soup consistancy. Don’t forget to cover your tracks with masking tape or blue painters tape to keep plaster drippings off the tracks.
Mine aren’t as high but I used foam to make the risers and used cardboard lattice to the shape. I had no problem hot glueing the strips to the foam - just had to hold them in place for about 15 seconds before they would adhere. There were a few places were I layed the foam and shaped it with a hot wire - by all means buy one and save yourself a huge mess. So, I used a combination and it worked great. One thing I will always recommend after using both within the last week - use plaster cloth. Yes, it’s $8.99 per roll but you avoid all the messy issues of towels dipped in soupy plaster. Perhaps being a ‘poor college student’ I would use the cardboard lattice method and spend my money on plaster cloth,
My first layout - when I was really trying to be cheap - I used window screen stapled, glued, or duct-taped to the cookie cutter plywood. The fiberglass window screen is easier to work, but more likely to sag without some cardboard support. Either will work fine, though. Just support it with cardboard (I often used cast-off chunks of the white beaded foam instead of cardboard) until the terrain is roughly where you want it. Next step is to cover the screen with household paper towels dipped in Plaster of Paris - much cheaper than Hydrocal, and the screen gives PoP plenty of strength. I used Teri paper towels which has the cloth thread reinforcements, and never had one rip on me unless I was deliberately tearing the towel. I used food coloring to color the plaster an earth color from the get-go. Once the plaster/paper towel layer is on, the screen/plaster/towel is self supporting and quite rigid yet won’t crack or chip easily when bumped. I know this from all the moves my layout made. Downside of this method is cutting the scenery shell to make changes is not fun if metal screen wire was used. And you can’t just poke tree trunks into it - holes have to be drilled. Make sure you lay tarps or plastic sheet or old cardboard on the carpet under the layout. Not much plaster drips through the window screen, but when it does you will be thankful you covered the carpet. The PoP on window screen produced good results for a very cheap price. And it was much easier for me to adjust the window screen to the desired topography than to visualize stacked layers of foam and carve accordingly. Others have different experiences. Fred W
