ok, i have tried the idea i saw that looked pretty easy and seemed to work pretty well except for a few of my roads that are comming up glued from my layout. i tried a idea someone had not too long back by using course black sandpaper cut to size and line painted on them for medians and such. they initially came out great but i think because of my layout being in the garage and the weather here in Hell rio being cold at night and a little warmer during the day it is having the effect on the glue and there comming up on the ends so; what are some of the ways you have made roads that worked great and looked realistic on your layout.
Everyone thanks for your imput as always
chris
I used thin sheet styrene for the road itself. First, I glued a bunch of toothpicks, end to end, down the center of the road to give the road a crown, then painted and glued the styrene down with rubber cement so that it would have some “give”. You also have to ruff up both the base that you are gluing the road to, and the bottom of the road with some sandpaper to give it some bite for the rubber cement to grab on to.
I used used pieces of linolium from carpet stores and painted back side with spray can (light grey & light misting of tan). You can mask the lines and paint with brush or spray can. If pieces are big enough you can cut them to fit the shape of your roads. It is quite flexable. Price is right and no mess. It’s quick & easy. If you get pieces that are wide enough and lon enough you can cut the roads out of the piece that will fit any shape you want.
thanks guys for your input. i have heard of styrene in post dont know what it is but have heard of it. probably go to a store here and they wont know what it is either[V] people here didnt even know what dullcote was LOL[:(]
now linolium i have never heard of using befoer now, might have to look into that possibly.
if anyone else has a great idea drop it off would greatly be accepted
thanks
chris
I just use plaster or drywall compound for my roads. In N scale the crown is barely noticable so I don’t worry too much about it. Then I paint it with Woodland Scenics asphalt top coat, then lightly sand it with fine sandpaper to take the new look off it. Rubbing it with a fine-grained sponge takes out the scratches from the sandpaper. I’m happy enough with the results.
Styrene is just thin sheet plastic, like the stuff marketed by a company called Evergreen and another called Plastistruct, thats all. It’s used for scratch building alot.
As to the crown in the road, yes it is not real noticable in N. Thats why I used the flat toothpicks. I just didn’t like my roads billiard table smooth, so I added a slight variation to them, thats all. It didn’t take hardly any time at all. Just me being picky.
I use matte board a lot…it’s cheaper than sheet styrene yet thicker than poster board…the only problem with it is that you need a lot of glue to hold it down especially on the edges because if it doesn’t glue down to the surface you’re adhering it to, it has a tendency to curl up on the ends…I use a dilute mixture of plaster of paris to make railroad crossings…just pour it down over the rails and as it sets, take an old rolling stock truck and roll it back and forth at the road crossing to make flangeway ruts at the inside rails so that the wheels won’t come off the track and derail the train after the plaster dries…chuck
The best thing I have found for making roads is wood putty. That was after seeing how George Selios used it to build his streets in the first of three of Allen Keller’s video presentations of the Franklin and South Manchester. It doesn’t set up as fast as plaster so you have a longer working time and can easily shape it to create a crown in your roads. I wish I had the video handy right now but it is on loan.
A cheap source for large pieces of styrene is your local Home Depot/Lowes/WallyMart. Those “For Sale” or “For Rent” signs are all big, cheap, (compared to Plastruc) and made of the same stuff.
Mike Tennent
well, guy’s , thanks for your suggestiong on roads. i am going to have to droodle with each suggestion and see which one caomes out the best for me.
for rent sugn , never thought about that . can drive around town and get a few ( JUST KIDDING ) [:D]
really thanks alot ironpenguin,jecorbett ,cwclark ,pcarrell ,Seamonster and Seamonster. these are all great ideas for me to use. hope you all have a great new year. And Have a Merry Christmas!!!
chris
I use plaster or joint compound and masking tape. I use the masking tape for my border. I lay about three to four layers of tape down. I mix the paint into the plaster first. I spread medium amounts of plaster , or just make sure you dont go over the taped border. You can use a popsicial stick or any strait object that will fitt across your taped borders. Then just work the plaster in. Its kind of messy at times ,but it works .If you want cracks in your road , take a hair dryer and speed the drying time up,or let the plaster setup a bit then take a needle or fine point object and shape the cracks you want. The neat thing you can do with cracks are air bru***hem wih black paint or use a marker,or you can just leave them alone. They give a realistic look .When the plaster sets up abit remove the tape slowly. Take fine grit sand paper and smooth the road abit til satisfied . Well have a good one and Getter done.
thanks I.C.66 , Probably going to use this idea at sometime. i have alread made my areas that go around the tracks( ramps out of joint compoud, but used fine grain sand paper for the actual streets. not sure what to do now? dont know if i should leave well enough alone or just redo all the streets.
Thanks for the reply i appreciate it
Chris
P.s. See your a larry the cable guy fan also lol[:D]
I also am planning to use the Woodland Scenics Road System. It goes like this:
-
Use paving tape (really thick tape) to mark out the boundaries for roads & paved areas.
-
Mix up some Smooth-It (molding compound by Woodland Scenics) and spread it between the strips (spreader included with paving tape).
-
Remove tape strips, lightly sand road.
-
Paint (Woodland Scenics top coats available in Asphalt and Concrete).
This system is nice because making curves, dips, and rises in the roads is quick and easy.
Styrene and WS Paving material, as well as Cornerstone streets are great.
I’m trying something new for the road on my layout. I take some fine black ballast and mix it with white glue, black acrylic paint, and a few drops of water. When it’s dry and is completely hardened, I take some fine sandpaper to smooth it out. Sounds like a big job, but it’s easier than it sounds and it looks just like asphalt.
thanks for the imput guys. andylmusic76 that is a new one i havent heard about before. does it really come out that good?.
welp today ai bit my lip and pulled up my roads, and started over ;funny how the mind changes my whole town is moved around (re-aranged) streets are redone, and have added a few more rock formations and moved a couple.As long as i dont get a wild hair and mess something up everything will hopefully be ok[:)]
Thanks for all the tips again,
Chris
In HO I use quarter inch foam cord board cut to width and glued down with white glue. Paint with craft paint as it is cheaper than model paint and fine for this purpose.
Dave
talon104,
so far it appears to be working. I’m still working with the smoothness of the road since I model in N scale, but I am very satisfied with the look.
Another source of tape to make your road border is the 3M double sided stuff. I cut it length-wise into strips and lay it down. Don’t peel off the top backing, though. Mix some slightly runny plaster (about the consistency of pancake batter) and pour it down. Use a popsicle to float it. Just like floating concrete. Once it sets, you can scratch it to make cracks, chip it along the edges, just like your real roads do (especially if you live in the north or midwest). I use acrylics in the small bottles you get from the crafts section at Wal-Mart. I found that charcoal grey with some trail tan, and some white makes a pretty realistic color. Look at real asphalt… it’s not really black… or grey…
Add a little more white and trail tan for concrete. Then add a wash of india ink and alcohol… weather with some chalks… seal it with dull-cote… and voila…
Of course it’ll take a little practice… That’s the neat thing about the acrylics… it’s easy to paint over and start over…
Hey, I just stumbled onto something that is very similar to what Marlon is talking about,…and there’s pictures!
http://home.cablerocket.com/~crowley/ashphalt_roads.htm
That looks great, don’t you think? And it’s in N scale!