ok so I am new to building layouts and am planning on starting my first layout soon. i bought a fairly cheap train that comes with the track with the molded ballast track and was wondering if you guys have any idea on how i can make it look a little better without trashing the track and starting fresh. i was thinking that after i figured out where I want my track to lay, cutting out a little groove for the track to fit in and then laying modelers ballast to make it look more realistic. for my first track I dont know if I want to get into the whole figuring out track radiuses yet (start off with baby steps then work to bigger steps on my next layout.)
any ideas on how I could usse what i got and make it look more to scale and realistic?? [D)]
Welcome to the hobby and to the forum. It would not be wrong to lay the track on a piece of foam. Paint the foam black first. Then lay the track and run the train. Then put a little ballast on the road bed and out on the foam a little. Practice with a little ground foam and a building. When you have had enough of that, add a switch and some more track. After a while you will have a better idea of what you like to do. If you start over, you can use most of what you have. I am on my sixth layout over 60 years. It is better than my first. Keep us posted.
I like your idea about a groove to recess the track a bit.
My third layout is in process. I wanted something to practice with using my new airbrush, and grabbed some of that same track. I sprayed it “railroad tie brown” and it looks very good.
I will be spraying my track mounted to cork, and then ballasting over the cork, but I was impressed how browning the sides of the rails and the ties added to the realism, and even the same brown on the molded ballast helped simply by taking away the shiny plastic look. You can do the same with a can of spray paint.
I don’t know how much track you are speaking of, but here’s a thought on improving the appearance of that pre-moulded ballast: After the track is in place and tested, use a small brush to apply a thin layer of white glue (Like Elmer’s) directly to the ballast area (not atop the crossties). Sprinkle on ballast lightly. Some ground foam can also be sprinkled on in your choice of color - like a little line of brownish burnt grass near the base of the ballast where it will blend into your other groundcover. This will represent where the grass doesn’t grow well near the ballast and where the RR may use herbicides. Allow to dry overnight and then vacuum. Some frugal folks sweep up the excess for re-use rather than vacuuming, but if the ballast and ground cover is applied in a thin layer, there should not be too much waste. The idea is to add texture and color to that moulded plastic ballast, but only to use a thin coat of glue so that there is only a thin layer of ballast or ground cover that will not interfere with operation. The track should be cleaned before operation to remove any spots of spilled glue or the like. As with any technique, you may choose to test one spare piece of track with ballast to try different combinations of ballast/ground foam.
Remember that your track itself is a model of real track, and if you improve its appearance you will be improving the overall effect or appearance of your model railroad. “Detailing” a section of track with items such as a few discarded crossties and some shrubs or “weeds” can be as rewarding as detailing a scene near the station (especially where the track is in the front of the layout and highly visible). Good luck.
The proposed grooving of the foam is more work and more difficult than laying cork and flex track.
It also develops a skill that won’t be used in subsequent layouts.
Baby steps are fine, as long as they are forward. Cork and flex track laying are the first such steps most modelers learn (with the possible except that we are lucky to learn that we can buy train sets sometimes for less than the cost of locomotive alone!).
One thing to think about is if you spray the track, if too much paint seeps into the railjoiners it will wreck your electrical continuity and you could end up with dead spots. So don’t overdo the paint.