Cardboard Web

My first step in actual construction is assembling a cardboard web using hot glue.

To the extent practical, I like to first build the web to the "original" terrain contours before the railroad arrived.  I then add fills above it and cuts into it.  Both are visible above.  I'm starting to create the fill leading up the the trestle, and have built the slope across the Raft River branch below where it will enter a tunnel.  Prior to cutting the hillside around the track, I installed some supports for the sides of the cut.  They will maintain the overall landscape contour once the cardboard above the track is removed.

Here's the same area once the cut and tunnel locations were finalized.

Note the deep cut at left that was built the same way as the one leading to the tunnel (i.e. "original" contours first).

While not necessarily obvious from the photos, I do NOT weave the strips basket-style.  Doing so adds no meaningful strength, and contributes to an uneven, lumpy surface to the scene.  Even in rugged country, most of the scenic contours are smooth enough that I like to make the job of finishing the smooth slopes as easy on myself as possible.

Tulle and Tape

To hold up the plaster, I have used various things over the years.  I started with paper towels and such dipped into plaster and draped on the web.  I found that method more difficult to control than I liked, and eventually moved on to applying a layer of cheesecloth to which brush coats of plaster were applied.  That worked much better, but cheesecloth unravels readily.  Unfortunately denser weave fabrics don't seem to work as well, since the plaster tends to stay on the surface without fully bonding to the substrate.

Just yesterday, my wife volunteered (!) to pick up some cheesecloth from the fabric store, but there was none on the fabric bolts, only more expensive stuff in bags.  A store employee suggested tulle - typically used as bridal veil material - as a cheaper substitute (modelers may be familiar with it for making chain link fencing).   Tulle was about half the price of cheesecloth, has much smaller gaps between strands, and no tendency to unravel.  Sounded good to me so we gave it a try.

Above is some tulle proving highly successful for holding up plaster.  The brush coat formula that worked well with cheesecloth (1 part plaster to 1 water) wasn't so hot with this stuff, as it beaded up somewhat on the synthetic material.  Changing the ratio to 1.5 parts plaster did the trick.

Big pieces of fabric-type material aren't necessarily the best to use everywhere, especially in narrow spots.  Another new technique to the rescue!  My friend Steve Blodgett, whose layout was featured in the "Fun with Talus" article in the January, 2011 MRH, has been using fiberglass mesh drywall tape for scenic applications for a while now.  I found a new variety at the home center that is advertised as being easier to hide in its intended drywall use, and is more flexible and thinner than the older style tape, plus it has a finer mesh.  Here's a hillside covered with it:

The new mesh tape works much better for me than the old.  As shown in the photo, I add scenic support directly across places like tunnel openings and bridge abutment locations, then cut the portals and abutments in later.  We found ourselves using a lot of the tape along backdrops, in the bottom of cuts, next to the track, and generally anywhere it made sense to take advantage of how controllable it is.

A note about attaching mesh tape, tulle and such - ideally it should be secured to the substrate before plastering.  Otherwise you'll have material shifting around constantly as you apply plaster.  Over the cardboard, I like to use hot glue since it goes quickly.  Stretch the fabric as tight as you can to eliminate sags between supports.  Hot glue doesn't work that great atop fascia from my experience, so there I use yellow glue.  Overlap the material past the fascia when convenient, glue it down, apply a coat or two of plaster, then trim flush with a utility knife.

Let's Get Plastered!

Once all that substrate goes in it's time to plaster.  I used generic casting plaster.  Again, the brush coat mixture is about 1.5 parts plaster to 1 water.  I apply with a 2" disposable brush.  After two or three brush coats, I can start to add some finish coats of much thicker stuff, mixed 2:1 or so, and applied with a drywall knife and/or just by hand.

Here's the trestle area after the initial brush coats, and with the plaster shell cut to allow abutments and piers to go back in for a test fit.

Looking the other direction, some thicker coats already started to go on, providing a look at something approaching the final contours.  Rocks, stream banks and so on are still to come.

Another location shows a different bridge cut in to its scene.  Much of the final fill contour will be built up from dirt and rocks, but that's a job for the (hopefully) near future.  Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks...

I prefer plain old masking tape

Rob:

I tried a lot of things on the cardboard strips as well, but I finally settled on plain old masking tape. It's cheap, fast, and free from mess. I typically paint the tape with my dirt color after applying it, and then study the scene for a few days before plastering, making any adjustments as needed.

The paint also gives the tape some tooth, so it holds the final plaster coats better.

Your use of mesh tape is an interesting alternative to masking tape - how's the tooth for holding plaster?

Thanks for sharing Rob.......

It was nice to follow along.  The area around the trestle came out very nice.  What a difference from the rough cardboard to the final photo of it.  Looking for more

Steve

Looks Great

I especially like the way you model the initial webbing as if the railroad wasn't there and then cut tunnels, fills and cuts etc as needed.

Abutments

I sure like the way every thing seems to fit with the "Act as if the tracks were not there".  Did you make your own abutments.  They sure look good.  If you did make your own, would you give a brief explanation of how?

Thanks

Doing the Rio Grnde in a Luz NM

Roger Bodwell

Keep Writing in Such Good Detail

Hanging on every word.

Nice Tutorial

Very nicely done, Rob- it's great to see some scenery taking shape on the 8th Sub. The concept of making land forms as though they were there prior to the arrival of the railroad is something that's often missed by modelers but adds a tremendous amount of realism. Neat idea about using the drywall mesh tape, too.

Tom Patterson

Re: Abutments

The abutments are scratchbuilt from styrene sheet.  What you see in the photos is essentially all there is to them - two sides, a front, and a shelf for the bridge shoes, plus some thicker styrene pieces hidden inside for bracing and along the top edge to make the abutments look as if they're the thickness of prototype cast concrete.

Re: Joe

It works great.  The plaster grabs onto it and it ends up working like rebar.  It's the same general idea as the tulle or cheesecloth - plaster doesn't sit on the surface, and the whole thing becomes an integrated structure with plenty of strength.

Progress Happens

Some additional plaster was applied today, and the scene around the steel trestle is taking shape.  I'll need to permanently install the abutments soon, along with the tunnel portal for the branch below it.  The trestle will have to be removed again for most of this activity, and while it's out I'll carve rocks along the ravine and build some banks for the dry wash.  The trestle will get final weathering before re-installation as well.  More photos to come in the next few days...

Using sawdust to form contour

I have recently started using sawdust to form a base for my hardshell desert scenery. I am modeling the Cajon Pass Summit area and am trying to exactly reproduce a scene from photographs. As such, I am not only trying to get something that "looks good" but also is prototypically accurate. I can visualize the final contour better if I actually create it, not in plaster, but in sawdust. After roughing in the contour with newspaper I spread sawdust over it and mold it by hand until it looks like the final surface I am trying to achieve. It reminds me of the fun I had as a 6 year old playing in a sandbox. Then, when I'm happy with the look, I cover it with plaster soaked towels. Of course you could use any other covering of choice ( cheesecloth,tulle,plastercloth,etc.). I often cover the sawdust with a layer of dampened newspaper so that the sawdust falls cleanly away when I remove the supporting crumpled newspaper, but this is optional. I would suggest first tying this out to correct a contour that is a little low. Just spread out a little sawdust over the low spot in the plaster or cloth base and add another layer of plaster over it. The adjustment goes really fast.

Rob, nicely done!

Rob,

I really like your "how to" with the pictures.  It is very clear and easy to follow.  Thanks for posting.

Rick

Love the Tape Idea

If the tape is capable of holding drywall compound on a vertical surface it surely will hold scenery plaster too. One would have to imagine the fiberglass rebar effect should be substantial. Checked out tapes at Home Depot. Many different widths available. 300-500 ft rolls less than $10.00. That's not much more cost than masking tape.

Great idea!

Thanks Guys

I picked up my experimental roll of the new tape last Friday at HD - 300 feet for about $8.  It's Fibatape brand, and was in a new display box next to the older style tapes from the same brand.  The last time I was looking through the drywall materials only a few months ago this thinner and more flexible tape was not available.

Once the tape or tulle has received one or two brush coats of plaster it all but disappears if you look at it from below.  Plaster surrounds the fibers completely.  The tulle is completely invisible in many areas and from under the layout all I can see is what looks like a smooth layer of plaster suspended between supports.

ABOUT YOUR DESERT

HI!!

I ALWAYS ENJOY YOUR POSTS. AS YOU MENTIONED THIS PLACE WILL BE A DESERT.HAVE YOU THOUGHT, WHAT KIND OF VEGETATION ARE YOU GOING TO ADD? I WORKED WITH PEGASUS HOBBIES CACTUS ONCE AND THEY LOOK GREAT IF YOU PAINT THEM AND MAKE A LITTLE WORK. I RECOMEND THIS SHORT VIDEO THAT I FOUND ON YOUTUBE. 

PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PLANS.

BEST REGARDS

LUIS FCO

MEXICO CITY.

Re: Luis

The layout is set in the northern Great Basin in Utah, but also draws from adjacent Idaho and Nevada.  Vegetation is bunchgrass which is yellow much of the year, plus shrubs like sagebrush, rabbitbrush, four-winged saltbush or greasewood.  There are a few naturally occurring trees like cottonwood, willow and box elder along some of the watercourses, while upland slopes can have Utah juniper, with bigtooth maple and Gambel oak in scattered places, the latter two mostly in drainages.  We actually do have cacti, but the species present like plains prickly pear are so small as to be difficult to represent in HO scale.  I'll add some photos in a separate post to give everyone an idea.

Prototype Inspiration

Here are some prototype views taken along the former Western Pacific's 7th Subdivision in western Utah.  These were taken at roughly the time of year I intend to represent - late summer.

First is the big cut at the summit of Low Hill:

Next is the siding at Delle:

Both of the above views look north toward the Lakeside Mountains.  Bunch grasses, sagebrush and rabbitbrush are common, along with smaller plants like snakeweed and sunflowers.

Below is a view of the Stansbury range from near the salt plant at Timpie:

This location is at the bottom of the lake bed from ice age Lake Bonneville, and here the shrubs are mostly things like four-winged saltbush and greasewood, which tolerate poorly draining salty soils and are somewhat greener than sagebrush or rabbitbrush.

For some additional photos of typical scenery take a look at the Golden Spike historic site on this page  http://www.rgusrail.com/utgspike.html , and some shots of Palisade Canyon, Nevada  http://www.rgusrail.com/nvpalisade.html (the latter link has shots of some of the tunnel portals and bridge abutments I've modeled).

I saw a clinic on making various cacti.

I don't remember if it was a clinic at an NMRA meet or in a magazine, but if I remember correctly the way they showed for making prickly pear cactus was to make the leaves from construction paper of the appropriate green color.  You make an armature of twisted wire, but the part that is twisted together is planted in the scenery base material and only the thin tendrils are above ground.  The "leaves" are then glued to the tendrils.  I'm sorry that I don't have pictures, but I hope I've given you an understandable "word picture."

Re: Russ

I've seen cacti made following the technique you describe.  They work for areas with larger prickly pears like parts of Texas.  The types here are essentially so small they aren't worth modeling in HO.  Unless they're in bloom you may not notice them even if you're out hiking unless you start looking specifically for them.

There probably won't be any cacti modeled on the layout.  If you have a great technique for building sunflowers on the cheap however...

Now your really being difficult, Rob!

 "If you have a great technique for building sunflowers on the cheap however..."

The thought of trying to make sunflowers in HO scale is scary to me.  Since a sunflower bloom is probably 6-8 inches in diameter, you wold probably need to cut out individual yellow petals and paste up around the black center, and I'm not sure how you would go about making up the leaf structure!

Great post

Sunflowers

Don't know how many you need, or how cheap "cheap" is, but Busch makes 60 packs for about $10.00:

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Busch-6003-Sunflowers-p/bus-6003.htm