What would be a good scenery base to start with. My new layout will have foam board but what I am trying to decide is what do I put on top of the foam? I am thinking of using grassmat with carpet tape to put that stuff down before track. Would that be my best choice? Thanks everyone!!
Oh, and I am sorry for my bad language on the Huge Guy auction too, and I am sorry for being hard on myself.
How realistic do you want to make your scenery? If you want a toy train look, a grass mat is fine. If you want something more than that, I suggest painting the foam with brown latex paint and go on from there. That will give you a dirt colored base. You can then add various ground covers etc.
You should get Dave Frary’s book: “How To Build Realistic Model Railroad Scenery”
Oh, thanks Dennis. I would like to have detailed scenery with a mountain. Ronnie the builder would like to build a mountain so I guess I will better get some paint and start from there.
I prefer plywood scraps and a “mesh” of cardboard strips. I place my buildings on plywood “risers”, and taper the scenery around them. For vertical surfaces, I like chicken wire with plaster cloth strips. And if you can get a hold of some used ceiling tiles (the 2’x4’ drop ceiling type), you can really get some surfaces (ledges, tunnel linings) up in a hurry.
Hi Berk765,
If You are going for the “Toy Train” style of layout, the foam would be a good base, then use the carpet tape you mentioned, and then use the green indoor/outdoor “Grass” carpeting. For a Toy Train Layout it looks Good and is very durable and fade resistant, which the old green paper and sawdust mats were susceptible to fading over time. The foam will let you use pins to stand up things like fencing. I got some Singer brand straight pins at Walgreen’s, cut the round plastic heads off, then used a #71 drill bit in a pen vise to drill a hole in the bottom of my fence posts, stuck the pin in and pushed it into the scenery base.
Below is some pics of a Halloween display layout I built for my Girlfriend and her kids, it is built on a hollow core door. I attached the Grass with carpet tape, then laid out the road material (discarded pallet lining) and the buildings and sidewalks where I wanted them then cut through BOTH the road material and the grass. I then pulled up the grass where the roads would go and laid the custom cut roads back in place so that the roads were below the grass instead of on top of it. The sidewalks were some wood stock similar to yardstick material painted flat grey. Having cut some shallow “form lines” with a razor saw before painting would have made them look even better, but I was running out of time and could only do so much.
Doug
Thanks for the layout pics, it’s really nice!! Sorry if I hadn’t replied in a long time because my mom’s computer has internet problems.
Berk,
I love the layout! Very toy like indeed, and that’s a good thing.
I went to the hobby shop last night to take a look at a roll of grass paper (which looks like it could get pretty messy as the grass starts falling off), and Woodland Scenic’s vinyl grass sheets or rolls. I liked the WS stuff, but it didn’t seem like it would hold up to a 2 year old dragging cars across it. I could easily scuff it up with my fingernail. The indoor/outdoor carpet was actually more of what I was looking for when I went in there, but wanted to see what else was available. Maybe something with a lower pile. Has anyone tried felt from the fabric store for a kid layout? I don’t know if that would work any better either.
Wes
I used a product from Ozite called Top Guard. It comes in rolls of 32" by 20’ long. I got my roll for $25. Anyway, it has a fabric side with a rubber back. Cuts easily with good scissors and accepts spray paint well. Here are three pictures of the stuff, with the first being right out of the box, the second painted, and the third showing how it looks on my little layout.
