Interesting idea Rick. How

Interesting idea Rick. How big of an area is your Hoovertown ? Maybe a 1/2" sheet of gator board, or just two sheets of regular foam board would work. I believe their size is 20"x30". Is that big enough? How big of an area do you need?  I am looking at doing something similar for my layout, to build the town at the bench.

Randy

Randy, it's hard to measure my area

However, I'd say that it's roughly 3ft by 20".  I looked at Gatorboard and other simular products; however, the shipping costs were expensive.  I appreciate your input.

Recycling!

Great idea for recycling! You could also try cutting one sign into 2" strips and use that to build a grid work support. Might make it too thick though. Might have to use contact cement or a glue called "Goop" to stick these together.

You don't need much strength, buildings don't weigh much.

I looked at Gatorboard and

But I thought gator board came from .. Well, Florida. 

Sorry, I couldn't resist..

Randy

Randy - LOL!

Yes, we do have a lot of gators here in Florida, and with the flat landscape it's easy to get bored, but unfortunately they don't make Gatorbored.....I mean Gatorboard here!

Gator

Good art supply stores carry Gatorboard.

Mark - thanks!

That's a good thing to know.

Just did a web search on Gatorfoam

For the size I need (32" x 40") it would be $31.00 per sheet if I buy a minimum of three sheets.  I did find a place where I could get it for $37.00 per sheet, which is much higher than the $0.00 per sheet that my homemade substrate will be.  I'm sticking with my homemade solution!

Update - Yellow / White glue doesn't work well

After letting the yellow glue set for six hours I tried separating the layers of corrugated plastic and found that they came apart a little too easy.  I also saw that only the glue around the edges set and the glue in the center was still wet.  I've heard of others that used white glue to glue pieces of foam together and even after years some of the glue was still wet.  It seems that non-porous materials don't allow for the evaporation and full cure of white and yellow glues.

My next experiment tomorrow will be to try 3M 77 spray adhesive which I know that will give instant adhesion.  I'll be interested to see how strong the bond is by trying to pull the layers apart.  The bond doesn't have to be indestructible, but strong enough.

More later.........

Consider 3M 90

as it is considered "high strength". And as you are probably already aware - spray both surfaces to get a contact cement type bond.   The link below is a good chart for various 3M spray applications. Hope this helps.

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/0f/0f2fddb1-49a6-4303-9329-f70adaa61c06.pdf

Gluing them together

You might try construction adhesive( that comes in caulking gun tubes) or floor tile cement in a can. The tile cement works better with a bit of open time to help it start setting before you stick the pieces together....DaveB

Plywood

Have you considered 1/4' plywood with a waffle/egg crate construction?  Very light, strong and easy to find materials.

I built a sectional staging yard, 2 yard sections, 15" x 66" , with 1/4" plywood.  I put a 1/2 x 3/4 strip of pine on the edges for stiffness and as joint reinforcements.  I can pick up either section with one hand.

I' don't know if the wood

I' don't know if the wood glue would work well. After years and years of struggling with adhesion I suggest ...

Two sided tape

3M spray adhesive it is!

My test with 3M spray adhesive was successful in that it is very strong and of course fast setting.  Thanks to all for your suggestions!  I'm in the process of fabricating the sandwich substrate and have completed two layers (out of three); however, I ran out of signs!  I'll have to wait until a couple more appear in our subdivision.

Go board for substrate?

I have been toying with a similar idea, and am considering using 1/2" "go board" which is a tile backer board, cuts easily with a razor, is very rigid, and weigh only 7.5 lbs for 3/5 foot board.  Found it at menards. 

Wonder if anyone else has tried this?  I loved it for my bathroom tile project!

thanks

paul

Using Corflute (Your corrugated sheets)

I've been using this for months  as I have friends in Real Estate and get the old auction signs or buy it at 12 dollar AUD for an 8' x 4' sheet  3 mm thick. I don't waste time by trying to make it thick I glue it to 2 inch foam that I also get free,  with Liquid Nails  works well doesn't stay wet  separate   etc.

Shanny

Sintra® PVC sheet:

I bought some Sintra PVC sheet to heat-form into rolling hills, but it should also make a great substrate for mounting structures. Find it locally at a sign supplier (not a sign shop). I think I paid about $22 for a 4' x 8' x 3mm sheet of black Sintra. It's rigid yet somewhat flexible. Excellent for facias, too.

** UPDATE 1-8-17 Hoovertown working on the plaza

I used the existing blue foam cutout to transfer the pattern to the sign material.

I made two layers from the sign material and glued them together with the corrugation running at a right angle using the 3M spray adhesive.

I spayed the substrate assembly with gray auto primer and used some weathering powders to vary the color.

With Hoovertown in the corner it limits the way the buildings can laid out to allow for optimal viewing.  The Mrs. suggested the "L" layout and having a plaza / park in the front.  I used sidewalks by Blair Line(r) painted concrete gray.  The walks within the grass are cobblestone textured plastic sheets painted to represent ....well....stones.

The smaller circle will have a fountain.  The larger circle will contain a bandstand.  Also in the area will be hedges, bushes, trees, flowers, picnic tables, a bathroom, a playground and other details.  I'll be using Woodland Scenics(tm) new plug style lighting for street lamps and structure lights.

Not bad, not bad at all!

Not bad, not bad at all!

Thanks, Michael!

I'm hoping to complete this in the next few months (grin).

** UPDATE - 1-10-17 Hoovertown street lighting

I've decided to use Woodland Scenics Just Plug(r) lighting for Hoovertown.  Yes, I know that lighting can be done much easier using components; however, I'm more interested in ease of installation than cost for this.

For lighting along the buildings I'm using the single Lamp Post JP5633 units.  All three lamps can be connected together with the included connector and plugged into a single port on the controller.

Here's a view of a lamp mounted on the sidewalk.  I believe that these lamps are among some of the better looking units available.

Here's a shot of four of the lamps powered on.  I REALLY like the fact that the brightness can easily be adjusted.

This is another view from other angle.

These were extremely easy to install and connect.  I'll be adding more lights along the other side along with lighting in the plaza / park area.

Toooooo Bright. Use a

Toooooo Bright. Use a resistor on those Rick. Go out at night and take a picture of a downtown street and I think you will agree. The one on the right I am guessing is the closest to the power supply also?

Too Bright

Neil.  The Just Plug system is a plug and play system.  No resisters required.  Each plug on the Light Hub has a

rheostat to control brightness, Rick is still working on installing the lamps and I am sure will adjust them when

he installs the town on the layout.

Howard

What Howard said.....

I'll adjust the brightness once everything is installed (including building lights).