Another noobie question. Now that I am building a larger layout, I am having butt together sections of foam. As careful as I was with my scoring and snapping, I still have some slight gaps between the foam sections. Additionally, on some of the factory edges, the foam tapers slightly causing a depression along the seam. What is the best way to fill the gaps and depressions? Sculptamold?
I’m useing foam board to and I have gaps too so I use Woodland Scenics foam putty and it seems to work okay for the most part.
Looks like a good solution. Anyone know if Hobby Lobby carries Foam Putty?
I use Dap spackling compound for dips and leveling and use a rasp to lower high areas.
In this photo in the lower right you can see where I rasped out the higher foam and under the track I used Dap to fill some little dips. I am pretty fussy when it comes to having perfectly level trackwork and it pays off as I rarely have derailments. Those that do occur are usually my fault.[:O]
I like the DAP product. Be sure to get the light weight stuff. Keep in mind it is not an adhesive and it has no structural strength. Bill
I’ve used shims under the roadbed (usually cardboard or card stock) and, occasionally, drywall mud. The object is to keep the railheads as smooth as possible.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Ditto that, although I’m using wood as subroadbed and homasote or cork under the track.
I just connected two wood pieces of subroadbed which ended up with more than an eighth inch gap, so I just trowled in drywall mud. The light weight spackle is another good filler idea - I may look into that woodland scenics stuff I saw demonstrated at a train show too, when I get to that point.
I’ve saved my old business cards to to minor shimming and user thicker materials. I have some longer pieces of lumber which are “true” to check my railgrades to keep it fairly even and a bubble level across the grade though out.
You’re running tracks above your fireplace? I thought of doing that on my layout but decided that the extreme heat would be a problem.
That’s ‘‘Furnace Gap Canyon’’. [:-^]
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
BTW: I also use Dap Vinyl Spackle…but I have no foam on layout.
Ya got that right Frank! I only “nearly” had my ass burnt once. It was when I was shooting that unforgettable epic “Unstoppable II” that the ovesized camera hit the cliff face and headed for the hearth below[:O]. I made a dive that would have been the envy of any wide reciever catching it with one hand inches above its bricky doom.
Camera unit #1. In fact it was the only camera unit as it was a very looooow budget affair.[~]
My fireplace crossing past muster with the two building inspectors in the family. In fact they laughed at my usual overkill. The fireplace can be on for hours and the underneath is just warm to the touch. On top it is as cool as anything else in the room.
I welded together 1" angle iron and placed two 1/2" cement boards inside. I did a test fit, removed the cement boards and painted the angle iron,
I made roadbed out of cement topping mix. I used a steel stud for the upper track.
I lifted off the oak mantel and as I answered SWIMBO’s call for bathroom reno’s, I added tile thinset, grout and various other cementy type things that were left over in the bucket after jobs around the house. I’d throw down the l
Brent,
You have to be careful…with that asperin. [(-D] [(-D]
Is that cement board about 5/16 thick? I used it in my bathroom floor beneath the Marble tile. That stuff is sure hard to cut, without the proper cutting wheel. Sounds like we went to the same school…just yrs apart. [:-^]
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
Frank. The cement board is a solid 1/2 inch, I went out and measured some leftovers to be sure.[8-|]Just like the masonite, that cement board produces a large cloud when cutting it. Not only did I cut the stuff sixty feet down the driveway, but I eventually got the kid to stand there with the hose spraying a fine mist while I was cutting. I found with a good blade, the saw went through quite easily. I bought a good quality one as I saw many renovations in my future. That’s what happens when you let your wife retire at a young age.[(-D]
Aspirin! Don’t all great directors have a[D] in their hand while directing.[oX)]
Brent,
You’re obviously going to stay in the house awhile since the railroad above the fireplace is not positive selling point. Very nice though.
Larry
Larry just like the mantel, it lifts right off. Push away the joiners and undo four screws, cut through the foam mountain where it joins up to the cement mountain at either end with a knife and away we go. A little ballast and other very repairable bits might suffer, but not anything of any significance. The mantel will just pop right back on.
The layout is not portable but is movable. I doubt I would ever use the fireplace section again, but after the buildings and rolling stock were packed up, give me an hour and you would never know the layout was ever there.
Back in 1953, MR published a track plan by John Armstrong titled "Rumpus Room Railroad. The layout ran around the room and ran 3 tracks (in tiers) across the mantel of the fireplace. The front of the fireplace was past the edge of the track unlike the design above. Armstrong suggested building the layout in moveable sections; the layout also integrated storage above (with concealed lighting) and below. [John Amstrong vol. 1 Room Size mrpdf015.pdf]
I thought long and hard about running it across the mantel but decided it would be just to high. If the mantel didn’t pop off so easily I may have ended up doing anyway.
I wonder how many have had a fireplace screw up their plans?[|(][(-D]