I’ll be the first to admit I’m no carpenter, and I don’t have the tons of experience most of you do. This week I helped a friend get off the couch and build his son a long promised “N” scale layout. About 3x5’ spaghetti bowl, multi level. My experience is with foam base and Woodland scenic risers. I took what woodland scenic I had left with me, and offered to go to the hardware store for foam, but he’s old school. Well I’ll take foam over cookie cutter plywood anyday. It will be solid and heavy, but it’s taking at least 2X as long in my estimate. You all can chime in, but I say Thank God for the invention of 1 & 2" thick insulation foam and woodland scenic grades and risers. Great for those who are not Bob Villa. Dave
You got that right. For those of us who are woodworkers and have the machinery, cookie cutter still works. WS risers cost a little, but way less than the machinery to do cookie cutter if you don;t have it. You made a good choice.
As a carpenter for 30+ years you can guess my preference. I have worked w/ foam and for the scenery aspect it’s great, but to glue down track and cut and mortise in the sw machines I’ll stick to wood and add the foam for the scenery. Now if it a portable or modular that’s a whole different story. Those WS risers just seen to be an expensive gimmick for something you can cut youself in no time and have a more stable rise.
I do most respectfully beg to differ. As a model railroader who prefers natural easements at the beginnings and ends of his numerous steep grades I will take cookie-cut plywood over pure foam any time. I also don’t use solid table tops - only sub-roadbed that extends out to a maximum of 2" from the tie ends or 1" beyond the building footprint.
I don’t doubt for a heartbeat that foam is lighter than a solid tabletop framed like the deck of an upstairs bedroom, but I personally use L-girder construction and light materials. Also I cookie-cut 3/8 inch ply, not 3/4 inch. (My rolling stock weights are measured in ounces, not tons.) My concrete garage floor can handle whatever weight I put on it (slab on ground,) and the layout won’t be going anywhere this side of an estate sale, so featherweight construction is not high on my list of priorities.
In my past experience, being able to get at the bottom of a thin track/roadbed/subroadbed sandwich is very helpful when adding turnouts for new spurs and sidings. I hesitate to think about drilling a hole for a turnout actuating mechanism through a pile of foam - not to mention that I don’t own a drill bit that long and my usual bent-paperclip linkage won’t handle anything over 3/4 inch total thickness.
As for quick - I prefer to take my time, and I’m not in a contest to see how fast I can build my layout. I prefer to try to get it as good as possible.
Don’t get me wrong. Foam has its place. It makes great ‘instant mountains,’ which I can then plaster over and detail at my leisure.
Chuck (who isn’t Bob Vila, but has done quite a bit of rough carpentry)
My 6’x20’ HO layout isn’t going to use any foam. On the other hand, since you’re working in N in 3’x5’ I think foam is more practicle. I say foam good for you, cookie cutter good for me. With all the at hand cardboard boxes from all the baby stuff we’ve bought over the past few months, the cardboard lattice and plaster cloth method seems a natural direction for me. That, and I already own a jigsaw. Good luck convincing your friend to let you go the foam route.
Thanks for your replies, and in keeping it all civil. I don’t want to start a war, just a conversation. I’m sure If I was more comfortable with woodworking I would go the cookie cutter route, especially for larger layouts. For those in apartments without the proper tools, Foam can get you running and off the armchair. Dave
The best advice I’ve ever had is to try something before I judge it. I’ll pass that along too. Try different meathods, and then use what you like best.
Two considerations everybody seems to be missing are size and topography of the layout when considering foam versus cookie-cutter/risers. Using the former on a huge club or basement empire is expensive.Using the latter on a 4x8 Midwest Iowa granger line is a waste.