I have a rather odd question. A friend of mine is building a small layout that will travel with him to the various farmer’s markets and bazaars he frequents. He wants to attach the buildings so that he can pick it up and take it with him quickly rather than spending time replacing all the buildings back on in the right place every time.
It’s a 4x4 sheet of plywood with 1/2 inch to 2 inch foam attached. On top of that, he has some paper mache and plaster cloth for scenics.
He could just glue all the structures down with acrylic caulking compound. Down side is that he could never get the structures off the layout if he needed to repair something or modify the structure. He could put a solid bottom, like 1/8 inch masonite, or plywood on each structure. Then use long screws, like drywall screws, come up from the bottom of the layout, and screw each structure down. I have never tried anything like this, so perhaps a bit of experimentation with a scrap building is in order.
I didnt think of screws from the bottom. I thought of drilling holes with a long bit and gluing wire through the building, feeding the wire down through the base then twisting the wires tight then a drop of hot glue. Got that idea from a set of wratchet straps from Harbor Fright I bought a few weeks ago and took more time than usual removing them from the package!
Glue magnets into the layout base or bottom of the buildings and corresponding metal contacts like washers on the other piece?
I assume the buildings need to also be removable. If to be permanently fixed then I recommend latex acrylic caulk because it’s strong enough, glued down buildings can still be removed if necessary and the caulk dries clear which means it won’t necessarily show around the edges of the structures.
I wouldn’t use Gorilla Glue. It expands as it cures and could get quite messy. It might even raise the structures up off the base. Also remember that solvents will dissolve foam board. I’m not sure about Gorilla Glue but I would certainly test it out on a scrap piece before using it on foamboard.
Gorilla Glue is very strong but I use it where neatness doesn’t count due to the expansion property.
I watched on What’s Neat using magnets to join modules on a layout where track and lift-outs just snap together instantly with the track perfectly aligned.
There’s no reason your friend couldn’t split his layout and use magnets to lift out structures. Fit brass strips contacts between the magnetized layers and lit structures and bus wires don’t need to be touched during the moving process.
A problem with using magnets on a portable layout is, if you leave the buildings on the layout, there is a shock level which will either cause them to fall off, or at least move.
If you make the magnets strong enough to guarantee the buildings can’t get shocked off, you run the risk of making the connection so strong that you’ll damage the building in trying to break it free.
I suggest using guide blocks to align the building, plus one or more machine screws to hold it down. Large is better, if it won’t show.
All this on the assumption that the buildings normally stay on the layout.
I, and plenty of other guys out there, just used common plastic safe construction adhesive and never looked back. All of the structures on my modules are glued down with DAP and aren’t going anywhere. One, a church, keeps taking damage to the steeple and I just do repairs in place
I would suggest removing and replacing the buildings each time. Unless this is a busy city scene, that shouldn’t take long on a 4x4. Mel’s suggestion with magnets allow for easy, quick and repeatable mounting.
