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MRH 120 Day Challenge - Post No. 02 - Basic Ground Work

Thu, 2012-06-21 05:43 — rtw3rd

Scenery - Structures

It doesn't look like much progress; however there is a fair amount of work to get to this point. I installed pads for both the motel and cafe (using foam board), spackled the grades from the pads to the surrounding grade, created ditches by the road, and put a base coat of "dirt" junk paint over the entire area.

In the future I'll install drainage pipes from the road side ditch into the retention pond, paint the retention pond and add water, carve rocks where it says "rock cut", and do road / parking lot work. By the way, the squeeze bottle of brown paint in the foreground is a handy way to paint. Instead of dipping your brush in a paint can and removing the excess paint against the can rim you just "squeeze-n-paint" It's much faster and easier.

Rick

Comments

Construction

Thu, 2012-06-21 06:32 — LKandO

Rick, you could mark off the whole area with surveyor's pink ribbon wooden stakes, place a couple Cat dozers, some stacks of culverts, spread a little crushed concrete access road, and call it a finished land developer scene!

Glad to see you aren't waiting for the house to sell before doing what you obviously enjoy.

Alan
www.LKOrailroad.com

Walk-in, Double Deck, HO, 1969, Freelance, 28'x32', DCC

Good idea, Alan!

Fri, 2012-06-22 06:25 — rtw3rd

I like your "under construction" idea and may use it if I can't get this area completed.

Rick

The former Richlawn Railroad Website - Featuring the L&N in HO / MRH Blog Eastern Standard Time

Pads?

Fri, 2012-06-22 11:07 — Hobo Al

Hi Rick,

Question: what are the "pads" for and how do you use them? I'm trying to find a way to get structures to look like they are really built on foundations into the ground, not just "sitting on top" of wood or grass. Will your pads be used for inserting structures "into the ground" or something else?

Thanks,

Pads

Fri, 2012-06-22 12:45 — rtw3rd

Al,

The pads are to provide a completely flat surface on which to place the structures. I find that one of the conditions that causes structures to look like that they are "sitting on top" of the surrounding landscape is because there are gaps between the bottom of the structure and the surface on which they sit.

Once the structure in on the pad I try to make it look "one with the ground" by either using modeling clay or bushes / grass to merge to two into one.

Rick

The former Richlawn Railroad Website - Featuring the L&N in HO / MRH Blog Eastern Standard Time

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