Earlier this year, I made and planted some trees. The upper picture was how it looked when planted. I took the lower one today. I think it’s time to add some “fall coloring” to the trees; “Slap Ya Mama” seasoning that I picked up in New Orleans last year is mostly red pepper. THAT should do it.
Truth be told, it doesn’t look that full in the top picture either. Did you make the armature yourself? I wonder if something that’s more full to begin with, a bit more dense, might hold up better.
FWIW I’ve had good luck with the super trees, and I believe others have as well.
Oh oh … another cat on the layout thread …
If it makes you feel any better I know of a local layout where nearly an entire forest of nice trees was deforested by a huge fall invasion of mice.
And the mice were not satisfied with ruining the forest. The also left ample evidence of the digestive process … A cat would actually have come in handy … Literally dozens of mice were killed in traps before the problem came under control and even then from time to time we’d find “Hi! remember me?” reminders.
Dave Nelson
Sounds like a little “change of seasoning” is in order. Had a cat once that kneaded the foam surface, foam mess without creating anything scenic.
Don’t dnow if they work for cats (probably not), but dryer sheets are effective at keeping mice at a distance. We put some in the drawers and cupboards at our camp last winter and there were no reminders left around as had been over the last 50 years. Will try it again. On a layout they could be put under hollow mountains and hung on the wiring underneath to keep the little critters at bay.
Good luck,
This is not directed to the original poster!!
Here we go again with a thread that will bring out the cat haters and how they will dispose of the problem. The same could be said about any animal. I could say “Dogs” tore up my layout. The best way to handle the problem would be to get a pellet gun and shoot them, or how about antifreeze water. Oh my God a giant Beaver broke in to my house and stole all my trees and wood from the trestles to build a Dam, I guess I will club him. I hate to think what some of you would do if a Child tore something up. Do you beat them and lock them in a closet? Yes it is a pain, but life goes on and redo the scene. I have visitors all the time with small kids, and stuff gets touched,bent,moved and yes tore up. You don’t see me post of how to punish the infidels! I just take a deep breath and move on.
Just for future reference cats do not like Citrus smell. Buy some kind of orange spray and spray around the layout a couple times and they will eventually take the hint.Then pretend you are working in a citrus grove!
I used a weed that grows wild for the armatures. I just started at making the new tree, and yes, it will quite a bit fuller and denser. I am gluing clumps of foam to the armature with Ilene’s Tacky Glue. I will be experimenting later with some 1/4" dowel, and wire, and be posting a “how-to”, as well.
Wow! A pre-emptive rant against those who might make a cat joke or two.
Personally, I am truely indifferent about pets in general - would never go out of my to hurt one, would never go out of my way to have one, don’t think people should have them unless they have the time and money to care for them properly AND to see to it they are not a problem to others. I would even “save” one in an emergancy, and then promptly turn it over to someone who “loves” animals.
Anyway to the point of pets and train layouts - train layouts are an optional part of life - pets are an optional part of life - two options which often are not compatible with each other. I choose a model train layout.
Sheldon
A little Powdered Cayanne Pepper seasoning sprinkled around the layout always worked for me.
Had bugs on the layout so I got some mice to take care of them. They multiplied so I had to get a cat to take care of them. Then had to get a big dog to get rid of the cats. Then I got a fifteen foot Anaconda to get rid of the dog. Now I can’t find the kids and the wife stays away from the train room.[:-,]
Just kidding. (pun intended)
Pete
Using natural materials for scenery is a great idea. However, next time try not to use catnip [:D]
On a more serious note, do be careful if you don’t 100% prevent the cat from goign in the train room. Many seemingly innocuous plants are deadly for cats. If you can;t arrange things so the cat can’t get in (my train room is one of my bedrooms so I keep the door closed at all times, or I would have paw marks in the foam and be missing anything small enough to be picked up and carried, and anything slightly heavier would be on the floor after getting batted down), make sure nothing harmful is around, either construction materials or natural scenery materials that might be poisonous. After that, as far as keeping the cat off, you’reon your own. There have been tons of threads about this and I am convinced there really is no foolproof way to keep a naturally curious cat from checking things out when they get a mind to. I’ve caught mine (well, the little one, the bigger one doesn’t jump up too high as he is too fat to do it) in some really odd places - like walking across the top of an open door! If there is the slightest hint that there might be something of interest, the cat WILL find a way to get there, citrus spray, pepper flakes, and squirt bottles of water notwithstanding. Still wouldn’t trade’m for the world - they just don’t get to play trains with me. I ha dmy test track on the dinign room table and naturally the little one jumped up to see what I was doing. She’s normally VERY jumpy, so I figured if I let her sniff the loco and I hit the whistle she’d take off - nope, didn’t even phase her.
Our old cat would bat at the trains as they went by. She’d run behind something when the locomotive appeared and then jump out and bat at the caboose. Then the morning came when she couldn’t move her legs. She just looked at me sadly as I scratched her ears and said goodbye. Trees can be replaced.
Hey I got plenty of squirrels for the cat to play with instead of your trees
A very simple yet effective method: a super soaker water gun, trust me it works my old g/f used to show Maine Coon cats and they used to like to jump up on everything. She showed me the water gun trick. I have a knucklehead mrr friend who had a cat who left him a nice present on his layout ( we’ll leave it go at that) so he has the bright idea to get one of those ultrasonic pest repelling gizmos and put it in his train room. Not a very smart or nice thing to do to your own cat. It wound up screwing up his own hearing aid…lol
Great point…
My 25 pound Maine Coon cat Spooky and my 20 pound Norwegian Forest cat Uff-Da are indoor kitties (they’re WAY too smart to go outside and relegate their position on the Food Chain, LOL!), and my layout is in the garage (“California Basement”). The only problems I have with them is when they decide to help daddy with a project when the kitchen table turns into a workshop. Mainly, stealing and hiding a neccessary part just when I need it.
However, if someone could offer a cure for the RACCOONS that use my garage as a thoroughfare every evening, I’d certainly be thankful. Its kind of disconcerting to be working on the railroad and look down and see one of those furry little bandits staring back up at me with a rather baleful look in its beady little eyes.
Oh, and spiders hitching a ride on the pilot deck of one of my articulateds every time it comes out of one of my tunnels–and we’ve got them BIG out here in the Central Valley! Not necessarily poisonous, just BIG and irritated when their webs get whacked by a locomotive.[:O]
So, cats are the very LEAST of my worries, as you can see.[:P]
Tom [(-D]
There are several solutions to your raccoon problem. Some of them I won’t list, but if you always wanted an authentic coon skin cap, then you might be able to figure it out.[swg] You can buy one of those noise makers that sound like a dog barking every time something walks buy it or bark like a dog when they stare at you. Also find where and why they are coming in. Is there the smell of food in your garage?
As to OP, cherish the moment you have with your pets. Yes the cat can be a nuisance, but the trees and other items can be replaced. You may get mad now, but trust me, you will laugh at it later.
A couple years ago, I painted some things and I went to clean the brush when I heard the bottle of Polly Scale paint fall over. The cat had spilled it and gotten all over his white feet. The worst thing was that he ran through the house with blue foot prints on tan carpeting. I had to hire a pro to come clean that. Now the cat stays permanently outdoors.
Had the same problem with the cat. Watching smaller buildings become playtoys, trains get derailed, trees and scenery eaten, etc… can be very tough knowing how much time and effort went into them. My wife, a veterinarian by trade, wouldn’t let me do anything more severe, but recommended a “shock mat.” Before one goes to PetsMart and makes a butt of oneself asking for “something to electrocute a cat,” know that they don’t have anything like that. There is an online shop that does – Dr. Foster’s and Smith.http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=668The shock mat gives a gentle shock to anything that touches the mat including humans. The shock is very mild – along the lines of a static shot. If one gets a mat, then one will certainly get a weekly shock to remind them how weak it is. Most people will notice it and wonder if it really happened…However, this weak shock seems to really annoy the cats. Since I’ve put the mat on the layout and they found it a few times, they have never set foot on the layout again. It also works on countertops, table tops, and anywhere else you put the mat.
Great! Like birch trees in a New England winter, it may fair better being part of a denser population. And I’m always looking for modeling tricks, so I’ll keep an eye out for that how-to.
I have cats, I put a door on my train room, Rick
We have 3 cats, and the one in basement, er, train room, stays down there. She, apparently, is the ‘alpha’ cat and we tried everything, but she would not get along with the other 2. Before I sprinkled the cayenne around the layout, I popped the top to let her get a whiff of it. She hated it! So, rather than seal it to the layout using the traditional medium, I sprayed a heavy shot of ultra hold hairspray (you know, the stuff chicks used in the 80s) in the locations she seemed to like the most.Then I sprinkled the cayenne on top of. I set her up there to test it: mission accomplished. I’m almost done making a new tree to replace the one she ate. When it’s in place, I’ll post pics. PS, I sprayed the tree with hairspray and sprinkled some cayenne on it, too.
And, since I used 12 gauge wire to make the armature, I don’t think she’ll like chomping down on that as much, either.
Well, I’m working on a new batch of trees.
This is the rebuilt tree, with a dusting of cayenne pepper.
This is the new armature, made from 12 gauge stranded wire. I strip the about 1 1/2" from the bottom, tin it, then strip the rest of the insulation. I use a cordless drill to twist pairs of wires.
This is a section of the assembly line I’ve set up. This is after the 1st layer of foam. I brush on straight white glue, then dunk the armatures in ground foam.
When the first layer is dry, I add coarser foam to fill in tree.
When the upper levels of the tree are dry. I turn it over, glue pieces of foam to fill in bottom level.