Casting

I ended up cutting some shapes from foam, glued them upside-down to a board to make a rubber master, and casting them. They came out ok since I wanted stone bases. In retrospect Shapeways would have been a better bet for volume and consistency. 

Sorry, not the answer to the question you asked. I do think that if you uploaded some designs to Shapeways others would find them useful as well-including me.

Find an old computer keyboard

I have never built these myself, but I have heard of people using old computer keys.

Cast Them

Matt,

Just go ahead and cast the piers.  You will spend more time searching and trying to find an "easy solution" than if you just bite the bullet and do it yourself.  I recently faced a similar issue for steel trestle tower piers.  After contemplating scratch-building all of them (I needed twenty for the current project), I found it very easy to build four to serve as the mold masters.  With my silicone mold created from the master, it was a simple matter to use a small amount of plaster from each batch I was mixing for other casting purposes (tunnel portals and liners).  I touched on the trestle tower pier masters briefly in my latest blog post: 

https://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2018/01/salt-creek-trestle-3-underpinnings.html

While I did have to scratch-build individual piers for a second trestle (not yet reported on in my blog), I am quite happy with the many "standard" piers I cast.  I had a whole platoon of them!   I stilll have a couple of squads left....

Bill Decker

McMinnville, OR

Simple concrete piers

    I just cut them from foam core board with a sharp utility knife. Takes a few minutes to make enough for a building. If they need touch up one can coat them with sheet rock mud or other spackling type putty. If it's in a spot that will show a piece of cardboard glued on top to represent the cast in nailing board is a nice touch. Real pier blocks come in so many different sizes and shapes that it's hard to model an unrealistic one :> )....DaveB

Balsa Foam

I've found that Balsa Foam is a great material for representing concrete.  Very easy to sand and otherwise shape.  

Tip:  coat first with artist's gesso before painting with acrylic craft paints.

Al Carter

Wood and sheetrock mud

Ive had great success with cutting wood to shape, then cover the wood with sheet rock putty, using my finger to apply a even coat. let it dry, then sand softly to remove ridges. Then a wash of your favorite concrete color and chalk weathering , youll have concrete piers for anything you want.

Concrete Building Footing/Piers - Foundation Parts Redux

I am hijacking this older topic as I am modeling a couple of 1890-1910 wooden raised floor RR structures that were built on open concrete piers (not massive bridge piers) wooden posts and beams and and am looking to see if there are any pier footings currently available in injection molded plastic.  The primary structure I am building is a Southern Pacific 1905 Signal and Telegraph department maintainers workshop/residence.  The plans I have are for the cold weather location version with enclosed crawl space.  However, I will be building the warmer weather location version which I understand had an open raised floor showing the piers.  

I remember this type of construction still around for the campers cabins from my otherwise misspent youth when I worked at a summer camp in the 1950's in Oregon. It was also common for any smaller buildings in California before construction switched to concrete pad (the bane of California and other western state model railroaders who have been deprived of basements for layouts ever since.)

Actually I would love it if the cast plastic piers were available in O scale as HO well as I could use the larger piers for a massive 175,000 gallon 41 foot diameter 18 foot high water tank I need to build that was built on a hillside on wooden piers. 

Oddly enough this kind of

Oddly enough this kind of pier is a bigger pain to get right then you would think.  You usually need a bunch and they need to look the same and be the same height.  I ended up making a master then casting them.  I cast them with Durhams Water Putty as it is much stronger then plaster and thus you dont break them as easily.  On the down side you have to paint them as it does not absorb anything.

Now the big question is.l. What did i do with my mold?

-Doug M

Those precast piers are made

Those precast piers are made for 3D printing.  I would look at someone with a 3D printer to get it done.

square stock

First stop for me is always the "Scrap & Crap box" in hobby room,  little drawers on shop bench (my lost & found) and have found Gold in X- wife make-up and such tools they use  "with permission of course".  Please don't laugh,, If it works toward your goal!

Have been known to cut the base off of some kit-bashed  industry kit.

Evergreen co. comes to mind also.

Just a little break from finishing the I.H. Metro & Divco for the back roads.

Boudreaux,    B.C.E.  R.R.

Many railroad service kits for yrs. have had (plastic) great material.

Alas another Casualty of DA's Demise

Detail Associates

Footing Piers -- Concrete pkg(12)

 229-7202

Out of Stock

Availability: No Info from Vendor

HO

SCALE

$4.40

Would These work?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/273994294185?hash=item3fcb5523a9:g:HP4AAOSwIhVdb8u8

Chuck

Would these work--reply

Chuck 

Thanks...

The ME footing piers might work for the huge water tank piers which are (one is supposedly still visible at the site I am modeling.  However I didn't see it on my last outing.) quite large. 

OOPS I didn't recognize the footing in one of my recent pictures of the Water Tank area.  It is now an un-official  playground:

Made for 3D printing

As someone said earlier, these just beg to be 3D printed. If you can get some dimensions, together with that photo, it shouldn’t be too hard to knock something up.