Looking good

Hi All;  Looks like you laid some good plans.  I wish you well.

Merry Christmas to you, too.

Cheers.

Foamular without plywood sub roadbed?

So my work getting started on the OSCR in my Condo has been delayed due to expense of said condo fee's so it's relegated me to an arm chair modeler for now. But that's good as its given me time to fine tune the layout design, details, construction costs and so forth. But i'm ready to move forward. I've got a newer design that I will blog about in the near future and post on the track plan thread as well. I know its working backwards, but I need to know an answer for my material shopping and construction start this weekend. 

Here is the final design of the OSCR:  

More on the design later, and i'll upload the plan to the track plan thread. 

The construction of the benchwork and sub-roadbed will take place off site and I am heading out to buy construction materials this Saturday June 6 (June already!). But a call to my local lumber supply says I need to buy a 4' x 8' sheet of 3/4" plywood when I only need 6' x 1' 1/2". I was planning to have a 1 inch Foamular sub-roadbed on top keeping in mind I have to carve out a creek with the plywood being the base of it. But I thought, with 6 feet, do I need the plywood? Why not go to a 2" Foamular. I already had cross bracing every two feet anyway in the design. Will the 2" Foamular be supportive enough, and not too warped, for my 6' design? I've noticed a few articles where some modelers have used the Foamular without a plywood base. 

Any short notice opinions, or all for that matter, are most appreciated. 

Thank you and happy modeling. 

Brad

My Foamular Experience

I use 2" Foamlar without a base on 16" center benchwork. It is plenty supportive enough to carry its own weight and the modeling on it. However, I will caution you it wouldn't take much to do damage with your hand if you were to lean on it heavy. It is also easy to imprint it if not careful. So long as there is no from-off-the-layout abuse it will be fine. Additional pieces of foam or even small pieces of thin plywood can be glued to the bottom if the creek bed gets too thin.

Also know the panels come pre-scored for breaking down into standard construction dimensions - 16" and 24". During your fit-up do not place a scored line at a point of tension. The foam is weak across the score line. You can see one of these score lines running parallel to the fascia in the pic below.

Here is an image of the very first foam panel installed on my layout. It illustrates the construction.

The Foamular I purchased was not warped in the slightest. It has not warped or sagged on the layout although mine is the full 2" throughout. It is pretty rigid stuff.

Be aware there is wide deviation in thickness across a Foamular panel. As much as 1/8". If you are not butting together foam panels this is of no consequence. Read more here:  http://www.lkorailroad.com/base-foam-landform-complete/

If you want additional strength in foam there are other stronger Foamular panels available. Read more here:  http://www.lkorailroad.com/foam-education/

Thanks Alan

Thanks for the knowledge. Is that the C-200 or C-300 Foamular you are using? 

Looking good. 

cheers,
Brad

Some is 150, most is 250.

Some is 150, most is 250.

Progress

I've got my benchwork done and resting on the IKEA GORM shelving. One thing about living in the middle of a Condominium construction area in Toronto, I walked out one day to run an errand and noticed a couple of construction guys working with the Blue Dow styrofoam. I walked up and asked what they do with the spare materials/leftovers. The nice gentleman said "how long are you heading out for?". I said I was just going around the corner. I returned to see a full piece of foam waiting in the lobby! So I thank the Construction employee for that. I'm thinking too, that the blue will be easier to cover with paint than the pink. If you can notice, the front fascia, cut from an old backdrop, almost matches the blue of the Dow foam! All will be painted of course.  Plastering, sanding and adjustments to do, uprights for the backdrop and lighting and then put my Girlfriend to work painting. Onward and upward.

Happy Modeling.  

Framework and issues

One thing about choosing my lumber, and I thought I did with care, when I adhered it to the foam, I found it was warped after attaching the front fascia. I used the No More Nails adhesive I used to adhere the frame work to adjust the fascia at the corner. There's been comments about the foam warping and not being level, mine was fine. But my issue was the 1 x 3's I selected. And, cutting the foam, it was jagged, hard to get a straight cut. So with the fascia i'll have to spackle it to the foam to make it even. 

Next up, cork road bed or no? Following @Scarpia's blog and the mess that ensues cutting foam in an apartment, I'm thinking cork is the best route. 

Fascia and Backdrop

I've got all my fascia up now and the backdrop. Next up I will apply a coat of paint to blend it in with the rest of the shelving and get rid of the blue. Make it look less under construction as it's our living room. I got a bunch of paint swatches yesterday and was happy that the swatches blend from the variations of brown I want to match the shelving to the variations of grey I want for the backdrop. Most modelers do the happy blue for the backdrop. I'm going for an overcast day.

One error I need to correct. I attached the uprights for the backdrop support and for the clamped lighting I will be using (IKEA just raised the price $5 per for the Jansjo clamped lights I want - arrrrg) No More Nails attaching them to the framework of the layout. No, I should have attached the backdrop to the uprights and screwed the uprights to the frame work. This will be better for when I have to move the layout. So this will take some doing to detach these and go with plan B.

Next up, will be laying cork, painting the layout and finally laying some track!

For now, dealing with the backdrop. I'm concerned about the two seams. But I may go the entire length and height of the layout for the photo backdrop which I have yet to design.

Onwards and upwards. 

Toronto condo layout

I was interested in seeing you results. I am also modelling in a condo suite (the CN Weston sub from the Junction to the MacMillan yard in N scale). Since there was not enough room in our "living in " condo, my wife kindly suggested that I buy another unit in the same building. This way, she was assured that I would not ask for the second bedroom! So, I purchased what is basically a one room suite with bath and kitchen. The layout is around the room shelves with a free-standing peninsula in a 14 by 25 feet space. Perhaps there are a lot of condo modellers out there in Toronto, who knows? I will be presenting the layout at a meeting of the Toronto chapter of CARM (Canadian Association of Railway Modellers) and I can be contacted at: wsd40@gmail.com if anyone is interested in presenting their condo layout to the group.

William Waithe