instead of masking the track and road bed before doing scenery /hydrocal work etc why not cover it in card board cut 6 inch sections of inch wide card board and lay it on the track once done take off it can also be reused[8D]
Also, it doesn’t get adhesive from masking tape on the railheads. (if that’s what you mean by masking ) I’ve used cereal box card for this. As you say, it works fine and is re-usable. Ordinary newspaper in strips works quite well if in thick enough layers to survive a blob or two of wet plaster. (Not an issue for plaster cloth users, I understand.) Whatever is used must be heavy enough to resist being blown off by the pressure of an air brush, if you’re using one at that stage of your project. small strips of anything are a chore around curves, but then so is curving masking tape.
Anybody ever tried that 3M blue painters tape? It’s supposed to come off easier without leaving a residue.
Rob
All these methods require forthought and planning. My question is how to clean secenry off of track?
My last three layouts,all at least in the 20’x30’ range,scenery first then track! You have to plan and install sub-roadbed first anyhow,why not jump to basic scenery next,then track?Made a mistake,no harder to change then any other method.I’ve done On3,Sn3,
D&RGW,RGS,mountains almost to the ceiling and close to the floor,1500 lbs. of plaster flying everywhere! No track loss,no ugly surprises,and best of all,NO STRESS!
I wouldn’t try this on my first layout,maybe not even on the 2nd or 3rd.,but you could try a small section on a presently under construction layout and see if it’s for you.
coalfired: Interesting suggestion, and obviously it works for you[:)] don’t you get into track laying situations where the foreground pre-built scenery, however basic, just plain gets in the way?
I find that a little dribble of paint or plaster or whatever wiped up with a paper towel immediatly after doing it, leaves just enuff residue on the ties and ballast to give it an interesting well used character
traiwreck2
hu-mor
Pronunciation: (hyOO’mur or, often, yOO’-), [key]
;n.
- a comic, absurd, or incongruous quality causing amusement: the humor of a situation.
- the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or comical: He is completely without humor.
- an instance of being or attempting to be comical or amusing; something humorous: The humor in his joke eluded the audience.
- the faculty of expressing the amusing or comical: The author’s humor came across better in the book than in the movie.
- comical writing or talk in general; comical books, skits, plays, etc.
- humors,peculiar features; oddities; quirks: humors of life.
- mental disposition or temperament.
- a temporary mood or frame of mind: The boss is in a bad humor today.
- a capricious or freakish inclination; whim or caprice; odd trait.
- (in medieval physiology) one of the four elemental fluids of the body, blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile, regarded as determining, by their relative proportions, a person’s physical and mental constitution.
- any animal or plant fluid, whether natural or morbid, as the blood or lymph.
- out of humor, displeased; dissatisfied; cross: The chef is feeling out of humor again and will have to be treated carefully.
#8212;v.t.
- to comply with the humor or mood of in order to soothe or make content or more agreeable: to humor a child.
- to adapt or accommodate oneself to. Also, esp. Brit.,humour.
flea307:
“2. to adapt or accommodate oneself to. Also, esp. Brit.,humour.”
One might say “Especially to Brit humour” (and the insistance that the “u” be retained as in colour, flavour, etc.
After all, old chap, they did invent the language, after all, what? [;)])
Now, have you cleaned that scenerey off the track yet, or is it all set up and refusing to budge? [:D]
The English may have invented English, but I don’t think they really know how to speak it. I watch Junkyard wars and half the time I don’t know what them wankers are saying. What the heck is “Aluminium”? A small man name Al Lou? The only things English I respect are muffins and the Black Adder. And don’t get me started on Canadians. Red Green would fit in perfectly in Little Rock Arkansas. I love different cultures, gives me something to make fun of. As to scenery, I ordered some 1/87 scale dynamite but it got held up. Seems there is stupid law about mailing explosives. So I have to wait until its legal to sell fireworks again to residents of this state to buy some M60s. You know, there is a fireworks stand less than 5 miles away on the Interstate that sell fireworks to EVERYONE but residents of this state! We can only buy them like 1 month a year?
somone asked if using blue masking tape it better. I am an artist persay and I am always taping projects up. I have come to the conclusion that masking tape and blue masking tape are much the same…one just costs more. A trick I learned in artwork is to take the piece of tape and stick it to a table and rip it off a few times before applying it to anything. This may sound odd, but it will eliminate sticky residue and still have enough stickiness left to hold its own. thats my 2 cents…saved me a lot
To answer DER5997’s question,does scenery before track sometimes get in the way?
It can make things a little tough at times,such as reaching into a deep canyon. The secret here is the word basic.You don’t want to work around trees,buildings,etc.It can be just plain plaster,plaster with color,my favorite,color with simple ground foam ground cover.Easy to fix if it gets messed up.I might add another mess is somewhat avoided,fly’n white glue,you can come back later with more care and careful aim.
I forgot to add my two cents on 3M blue tape. I was in Home Depot the other day and learned ther are different degrees of “stickyness”.High tack,low tack,very low tack,etc.
It was new to me.
You can also go to the autoparts store and get cut masking tape which has precision cut side and is lots better for doing model work (and car painting, that’s what it’s made for). It’s 1/4 inch wide, has a non residue glue, and has no fuzzies. It’s too expesive for track, but is great for striping locos and cars.
I have done many layouts in my railroading years . I have done the track first and the scenery last. I think that if you lay track and build scenery around it you have less trouble with spills and geting plaster or paint on the track. My nex t layout is giong to be a masterpiece and im giong to do benchwork first and then im going to lay track, as i lay track im going to do scenery too. thats the way john allen and malcolm furlow built their empires…
I read something by Linn Wesscott (the editor of Model Railroader in the 60s) in a Kalmbach book he wrote, that doing the scenery before your track might make it more interesting, cause you’d be forced to deal with the problems that railroad civil engineers have to face.
I remember hearing that somewhere, too. But then I thought “Why not use dynamite to make your tunnels, and have someone shoot arrows at you while you’re laying track, etc, etc.” More problems to deal with I don’t need! [^]
Me either, but they sure came up with an ingenious show. I’m glad to hear other modelers watching it, it is my favorite show on tv. I think there are definate correlations between building a torpedo out of a fire extinguisher and building a shanty out of left over pieces from 16 kits. Maybe we should start our own version, “Scrap Box Wars.” I’d watch.
Ron
instead of masking the track and road bed before doing scenery /hydrocal work etc why not cover it in card board cut 6 inch sections of inch wide card board and lay it on the track once done take off it can also be reused[8D]
Also, it doesn’t get adhesive from masking tape on the railheads. (if that’s what you mean by masking ) I’ve used cereal box card for this. As you say, it works fine and is re-usable. Ordinary newspaper in strips works quite well if in thick enough layers to survive a blob or two of wet plaster. (Not an issue for plaster cloth users, I understand.) Whatever is used must be heavy enough to resist being blown off by the pressure of an air brush, if you’re using one at that stage of your project. small strips of anything are a chore around curves, but then so is curving masking tape.