Can anyone tell me the best way of building a road without using messy plaster? I’ve thought about using the black foam roadbed. Does anyone have a kit available for roads? Any suggestions would be appreciated guys and gals. Thanks
On my layouts I’ve used cork for roads. Just cut it to the size you want, spray paint it black, glue it to the table, and you’ve got some pretty realistic looking roads. I think it looks great, and it’s easy to do.
I’ve taken digital pictures of roads, imported them into Microsoft Word as pictures, and adjusted the image size to a reasonable value. For O scale about 2 1/2" per traffic lane. Then printed the image on good quality paper (which has some texture) and glued it to either the plywood surface or a subroadbed as appropriate The subroadbed is styrene, balsa, basswood, you name it.
I’m sure there are others but you might take a look at Scenic Express and see what they have.
Cbq, that is interesting. I use roofing shingles - easy to cut to shape, easy to find the ‘right’ color - dirt-like, macadam, concrete-looking, etc, and I like the texture. Inexpensive too.
I use shingles also! I thought I was the only one. They look great, are inexpensive if you find a house being built, and can be formed really easy. I won’t use anything else from now on.
We used gray paint for our paved street. Seldom in real-life do you see black asphalt roads.
Jim
I took black paint and HO ballast and mixed them together. I then painted a country road with this mixture and sprinkled on some more dark gray ballast. After it dried, I used one of my die cast automobiles and put ruts and skid marks in road.
If I do a highway, I might do something similiar. I think a wall paper roller would smooth the pavement. Remember to put yellow solid and dashed lines in the center and white lines on the edges. Also remember there are other things painted on the road besides yellow and white lines.
You might get some ideas for signs and pavement markings from: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/traffic/publication%20manuals/omutcd/2005OMUTCD/03_Part%2002_111705_final.pdf
Scroll down the document to find the signs. It is a big file.
Also, put some guard rail at the curves.
I used black foamboard. I taper the berm then glue the road in place. Take water mixed white glue and paint the tapered berm and sprinkle fine sand on the berm. Once dry I take white blackboard chalk and color the foamboard then clean off the chalkdust to leave a gray irregular color effect.
I use printed paper. I’m not going for the realistic look. But if I was, I’d find nice asphalt and concrete patterns, print long strips, and lay them down where I need roads and sidewalks. I used 1/8" Masonite for the curbs.
You can get suitable textures for free at http://www.cgtextures.com/
I would recommend using a laser printer rather than an inkjet, since the surface of a layout is a pretty harsh environment for a computer printout. A laser print will easily last 35 years (likely more, but the technology hasn’t existed much longer than that so life beyond that is purely theoretical). Depending on the printer and ink, an inkjet print might last a decade, but the worst case scenario is that it could fade in less than a year.
A print won’t have as much physical texture as other methods, but when I look at the texture in the concrete and asphalt outside my house, the texture would be almost smooth if I scaled it all the way down to 1:48 anyway. So I would argue that a smooth-to-the-touch texture isn’t unrealistic, as long as it looks like concrete or asphalt.
Now, from my own experience: It took me about an evening to lay down the Masonite on my 8x8 layout (including lifting up the track and sliding the pieces under it). With someone helping me, it probably would have taken less than an hour. Laying down my prints took 2-3 hours. With help, it would have taken a lot less. So with one or two people helping, you could probably have your Masonite down and paper roads down in a single evening. Then you could use whatever your preferred method is for the green areas.
We actually DO have BLACK asphalt roads down in Georgia. To model this, I have gone to WalMart and by the Camper/RV section in automotives, they have black textured self adhesive strips that look like asphalt roads. You will need to weather them a little with some dirt tire tracks etc., but they look good. It does depend on what era you are modelling. If you are modelling the pre 50s era, you would only use a single solid white strip down the center for lane dividers. After the early 50s they started with the double yellow.
Dennis
Dennis, we have black asphalt road in NC too. Must be a New England Yankee thing. Better add those big pot holes for up NAWTH too.
You guys beat me to it. My thoughts exactly.
Add some cracks, the deteriorating shoulders from frost heaves, and worn out center lines and we’re all set. Up this way, what the sun doesn’t do to fade the color from black to grey, the plows and road salt takes care of. Plus, we don’t have Cool Hand Luke type road crews up this way to recoat them.
Jack
Another “helpful and insightful” scenery making post from the owner of a plywood prairie! [(-D]
I have stood behind too many asphaslt pavers not to know that new asphalt is black. New Concrete is gray, and then it is sprayed with a white curing compound. The coloring over time depends on the bitumen content of the asphalt and the type of aggregate. I have seen reddish pink asphalt roads in certain parts of the country where the aggregate is primarily a reddish type of rock.
Just make sure your highway has a yellow dashed or solid line in the center, the water drains off of the roadway into an adequate ditch and there are 4’ shoulders or else your plans will be rejectd by the DOT. Remember the clear safety zones, too. We wouldn’t want our plastic people running into a tree too near the pavement, but then we could have a plastic furneral home for those not wearing seat belts. [:O]
Nope, Soundstop prairie. I built layouts before you were out of short pants. Another one of your misguiding comments. [D)]
Sing it with me everyone…“me…and my shadow…”
Those who can do (CTT Feb. 08). Some of those that can’t follow us around trying to discredit us. Pathetic…[V]
I like Buckeye’s idea of drainage along the sides of the more rural roads i use - ours are all black-asphalt here. - or maybe adding a slight crest to the middle of the road - I could do this with the shingles I use.
WOW! I am always amazed at the posts on this forum. Here I am reading the other model railroad forum for layout construction tips and the information is right here at home. [bow]
I have used gray matte framing cardboard for concrete roads. I have also painted the cardboard the color I want. You can glue gravel along the side edges to simulate a shoulder and hide the cardboard edge. I carpet tape the cardboard to the layout. In my part of the country (Michigan), aged concrete is a brownish gray color and asphalt is medium to dark gray.
For white lane dashes, I have used white mailing labels. With an exacto knife and straight edge, I cut the labels on a piece of glass, about 3/16" wide and 1" long. You can then peel them off the glass and stick them on the road. If you need solid yellow or white stripes, lay down a long strip of masking tape on the glass and paint the tape white or yellow. With a long straight edge cut them into 3/16" wide stripes and apply to the road.