Streets

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hello All,

What material do you use to make your streets and highways?

Also what size do you use and technique do you suggest?

Thanks,

Mark

2

Woodlands scenics has a nice street building system. They give you a raised masking material and you mask off your streets then you pour plaster in and smooth it out like a real street.

3

I’ve used Durham’s water putty, mix in black/white paint and you have a gray ooze that you shape into place…I’ve laid fake street track down and covered it with this. Have to have a good wet dowel, otherwise it gets rough.

4

For “free” road material I found that regular beach sand, sifted thru an old flour sifter works well for both gravel roads & paths. (Soaked with glue/water mix after spreading carefully) For paved roadway I use the same basic idea and painting the fully dried sand in concrete or aged blacktop colors and adding tar strips and pothole repairs with dark gray and black paints. By the way, the larger pieces left over after sifting can be used in a number of ways also… Be creative…

One note of caution though, when cured and painted it is almost as hard as real concrete and is a bear to remove or alter if you change your mind. Unpainted just rewet it really good and it’ll turn back into sand-goo.

5

I’ve used plaster, spackle, wood putty, just about anything I can smooth out with a putty knife, sand and paint for asphalt, but for concrete roads, I really like styrene. Not the Walthers street system,its great, but expensive to use in great quantities. It’s much cheaper to use sheet styrene, about .020 -.030 thick. Cut it to fit, ( I usually make a heavy paper or tagboard template) score seam lines in it, dont forget cracks, storm drains and manhole covers too! Paint it aged concrete or my favorite, Floquil Foundation, than an idia ink wa***o bring out the seams, weather and age it, then glue it down tight. Then make sidewalks and curbing the same way out of .040 styrene and apply.

[image]http://www.fcsme.org/05ed7a10.jpg[/image]

The advantages include freedom from using somebody elses template for curves, plus the fact that the paint and weathering can be done seated at the workbench, not hunched over the layout!

As far as street width, I have found a great variance in street widths. Main Street in my hometown is a lot wider than the side streets, and most highways vary a bit too. I would recommend measuring them but make sure you look both ways 1st! [:0] [;)]