The other day I was at Lowes picking up materials for a job. Right in front
of the contract sales desk was a display for Concrete Crack Seal. I have never
used this product, but like any model railroader, I am always on the lookout
for anything to make modeling easier. I immediately thought of concrete roads.
The tube said it was self leveling and has the natural color of concrete.
I bought a tube, it was only a couple of dollars, for a test. The pictures below
show how I made a small test form. Bear in mind that this was just a
quick test and I didn’t spend a lot of time getting it smooth. I really wanted
to see the finished color. The stuff dried to the touch in a couple of hours.
The product
The test form
The “road”
I am going to have to try it again. I pulled the form up before the road was dry and
cracked it . I’ll post some more when I try again. Dave
There’s an idea for Woodland Scenics. Modeling concrete. I bet that would be popular with modelers. And then they just need some yellow striping kit that comes with it.
Thanks for sharing your cool idea! I am going to be putting in a road on my layout and have been thinking of ways to do it. I may just have to give your idea a try!
I have actually used something similar. At Home Depot they have it in a two liter bottle. Grey in color and have used it for platforms on my Diesel servicing track. Works great and ends up a dull grey in color. It is much harder than concrete itself. I plan on using it for roads when I get to that point. I have a great time going to Home Depot and just looking trying to figure out how I can use a particular item on my layout. I am about to make several pits under the track for coal and ash. In the electrical isle I found a grey extension to a gang switch box that should work fine. I will have to dremel off some bumps but I think it will look great. I will post pics when I get that far. Hey and it works great filling cracks in your driveway too!
Terry
Dave, Thanks for the great idea. I’m also going to look into the possibilities of making “concrete retaining walls and bridge supports” with it. Now all we have to do is find some HO scale “re-bar” and scale mixer trucks and a scale cement plant and we’ll be in business here. Also Dave, you accidently hit upon the secret of how Pennsylvania built their great highways with all the cracks in them. All these years they’ve blamed us truckers for it.[:O][:O][(-D][(-D]
There is a dry powder at Home Depot called “Pour-Stone” that is pretty good for that sort of thing, although any concrete-type product is going to be pretty heavy.
