What do you use to make asphalt roads?

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

I would like to know what do you use to make asphalt roads?

I want to add some small asphalt access roads to my layout and would like to be able to just cut it out of something and lay it on the table then trim it with ground cover material.

So I thought I would ask you folks what you use and do before I started.

I have seen many different roads on the pictures in SPF but not sure how they are made or with what.

Thanks in advance. [:)]

Kev.

2

I use shingles left over from when I had the roof re-done on my house. I cut them with a scissors.

Enjoying the World’s Greatest Hobby
Northwoods Flyer

3

Scenery Express has 5" wide self adhering neoprene that might fit the bill. I’ve used it and also the more labor intensive “Smooth-It” by Woodland Scenics. The neoprene is easily installed and can be trimmed with scissors

http://www.sceneryexpress.com/products.asp?dept=1153

4

Black self adhesive skid proof rolls, sold at Lowes, probably elsewhere. Peel and stick.

5

Arts and crafts store like Michael’s have a very thin black foam that is a little thicker thn paper that works well also.

6

Black or Gray Fine Grit sandpaper, Black / Gray latex paint with very fine Mason’s sand mixed in (stir often), plain old black construcion paper.

7

For my modular club modules, I went with the self adhesive no skid stuff mentioned earlier. It went in very quick, and it’s held up to transporting for over a year so it seems to be pretty durable. I bought mine at my local Ace Hardware, and the downside was that it was fairly expensive at about $1 a foot for the 4" wide stuff I used.

J White

8

I have used both roofing paper and wondreboard.

roofing paper

Concrete backer board (wondreboard)

Wonderboard will not look right if just placed over base because of its thickness as in many of the scenes above. Works best on open grid or areas where raised roadwork (highways) are desired. Use a razor knife to score and break it

9

Thanks guys, The pictures are a great help to see how things work. I have made my first one with roofing underlayment black paper and it looks fair to me. The thing about my layout is I am trying to not put anything fixed on my table so I can rearrange things as I go along. I am also more into the toy train style of it like Northwoods but still want some level of realisem.

Great help.

Thanks again,

10

I have used 1/8" masonite. It is easy to cut and is the perfect thickness. If you paint it flat black, you have a perfect blacktop road. Just add automotive pinstriping. N scale Woodland scenics road bed split apart makes PERFECT road crossing for between the rails. It’s soft, flexible for corners, and already beveled for wheel clearance. I hope this helps.

11

mrlionel,

can you post pictures of how you use the N scale roadbed?

Thanks,

12

Rough side of thin paneling, painted black, and cut to fit.

Artist craft paper for more faded tones, on flat areas.

13

Kev, Don’t know how fancy you want it to be but one of the “BIG” time layout guys, can’t remember his name, would use the Masonite. He’d cut it to shape and size but before putting it down and painting he would actually break some of the pieces. Then paint, glue it down and then use some sort of a compound to simulate joint patches in the road. Really looked great, but a good bit of work. Used to see a lot of his layout photos posted on that “other” site but haven’t seen any for quite a while.

14

For inspiration, check out some of Jon Grant’s Sweet Home pics on the MR forum. Dude is a master.

15

This is my first shot using roffing paper as suggested by wsdimenna

16

I too use shingles - I can pick up some at our local hardware store - they have lots of colors and very fine grains: looks perfectly like macadam.

17

I used shingles too. the gray part looks like a blacktop road that hasn’t been repaved in years, and the black section looks like a freshly repaved road.

18

If you go to You Tube, search “mrlionel1965” my layout video, you will see it in the intermodal yard. The stuff is perforated anyhow. Just tear it in half and press it between the center and outside rails with the angled edge to the outside. It is a perfect match, and the fact that it is soft, it works wonderfully in curved areas

19

I also used roofing shingles. Only difference is that I did not use the front side because the granules were atypically large. So I used the reverse side which has very small granules. I also eliminated the sheen the back of these tiles have by making a few passes over the surface with a stiff wire brush.

Because I used the shingles that had slots in them, I cut them lengthwise to remove the tacky strip that ran down the middle reverse side. They were about $2 each at home depot

I used two strips of this asphalt tile laid side by side and I covered the middle seam with 1/8" k crepe paper tape I bought at Michaels and an airbrush and stencil to paint the lines. The lines help hide the edge of the crepe paper tape

From there I added some brown dirt in very small amounts and used a finger to grind it into the surface for a bit more realism. To further add to the realistic effect, I took a hobby knife and made some random scraggly lines here and there and then filled them with a vy fine line of black gloss pait to simulate tar lines. I even dug a few pot holes here and there and filled them in with paint and scrap granules which I covered with diluted modge podge to keep them in place.

For sidewalks and the curbs I used 2" thick pink styro insulation boards i bought at home depot (about $30 for a 4’x8’ sheet) cut to 1/8" thick? I cut them on my table saw with a fine toothed blade which gave the sidewalk surface a fairly realistic concrete looking grain. The two inch width makes for a nice 8’ wide sidewalk I used a strait edge and a pizzacut wheel to score the foam to create the lines in the sidewalk Also note, this foam tends to retain its shape better when pressed after it has been painted. That helped eliminate the sharp edges along the curb. I just pushed softly on the sharp edge.