Material for Building Layout

[serenityFan]

In this youtube video:

which is from the 2009 project party introduction thread, what material is that white/creamy coloured material used as risers? It seems to pop up a alot in Japanese layout constructions, but I never figured out what that is ...

[bill937ca]

I would say it is Woodland Scenics Sub Terrain System. It is usually white so the  cream color may be  a result of artificial lighting. Woodland Scenics publishes a booklet outlining the system.  I've used it on my layout with good results. I believe Kato imports Woodland Scenics products into Japan.

 

http://www.guidetozscale.com/html/subterrain_system1.html

 

http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/items.cfm/SubTerrainSystem

 

http://www.amazon.com/SubTerrain-Manual-Constructing-Lightweight-Woodland/dp/1887436022/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

[to2leo]

That thing looks like a roller coaster!

[Guest ___]

The Woodland Scenics tends to be white. Of course I suppose the white balance in the video could be off, or the lighting is doing something odd there, but the tram looks about the right shades of white for the WB.

[bill937ca]

The Woodland Scenics tends to be white. Of course I suppose the white balance in the video could be off, or the lighting is doing something odd there, but the tram looks about the right shades of white for the WB.

 

I think something has been sprayed onto the Woodland Scenics stuff.  The train and platform colors look right now that you mention it.

[disturbman]

Seeing this thread, I was wondering... Does soemone use this product for his layout(s)? If not, do you create risers yourself?

[CaptOblivious]

Seeing this thread, I was wondering... Does soemone use this product for his layout(s)? If not, do you create risers yourself?

 

I think a lot of us, myself included, have used this stuff and found it really helpful. It's a tad expensive, but the inclines are totally worth the price.

[Martijn Meerts]

I've used Noch inclines on my father's layout, but they're too steep for some trains. On a straight it's generally fine, but in a curve you need to be really careful.

[Bernard]

Seeing this thread, I was wondering... Does soemone use this product for his layout(s)? If not, do you create risers yourself?

 

Vincent - I use them. They are a huge time saver, you can use plywood and cut the risers out but these just save soooo much time.

[to2leo]

I think the next logical step for the company to do is to make them stackable so that people can use them for their helix for multi-levels layout.

[Hobby Dreamer]

Thanks Bernard for that photo!

 

Seems like a good way to make inclines, curves etc and add some dimension to the layout.

Rick

[quinntopia]

I'm a user as well.  Despite the cost, its a one time purchase for something critical to good operations down the road.

 

[bill937ca]

Seeing this thread, I was wondering... Does soemone use this product for his layout(s)? If not, do you create risers yourself?

 

I've used it as a base for my layout and to build a tunnel on a table top layout.  The 1/4 inch foam sheets can be painted black with WS Ashpalt Top Coat and used as a base for my city scenes.

[Bernard]

When you think of the ease, the time you're going to save building your layout, they're not expensive at all. To save some money, once you get the inclines to either 1" or 2" you can use insulation foam board if you are going to have your layout elevated for a long stretch. Here is how I used it on a long curved section of my layout. When I got the WS inclines to 2", I just etched the radius I wanted to create on the 2" foam board and matched it up to the WS and cut away. Here is an early photo of the results.

[serenityFan]

This is what confused in me in the first place: all the risers in your pictures do not look like the risers in the first video  :grin

Some of the blocks are obviously cut manually, and this is the main difference.

 

Maybe the cut looks more neat when you use the heat cutter, what did you use when you need to cut/carve your risers?

[quinntopia]

I used a saw.  Seriously.  If you look closely at the photo I posted, there's nothing neat and pretty about it! 

[Bernard]

I used my wife's carving knife, or it used to be hers....and mine doesn't look pretty either. To cut the WS risers or inclines you can use an Xacto saw with back brace for a straight and steady cut.

 

As far as looking pretty, that usually gets fixed latter with trimming, hydrocal cloth, ground cover, etc. It's like moldings on houses, it hides the mistakes. 

[cteno4]

the ginzu style serrated edge knifes work very well with foam. dont want the usual serrated bread knife, but the more straight edge blade with the tad of serration. this saws the foam w/o crushing it and doesnt leave much in the way of foamdust behind as well!

 

one trick a hollywood foam rock guy taught us at the aquarium was to also use a vibrator sander with 40-80 grit sandpaper on it to shape the foam really fast. use one of the sanders that has the little dust catcher on it (the rotation of the pad moves some veins inside to create some suction from the sides of the sanding pad to suck it up through the sides of the sander into a catch bag) and hook a small shop vac to that. really gets rid of most of the fur flying, but will burn the vibrator sander out early, but worth it to keep you from being covered in statically charged foam dust! you can get super neat effects with sandblasting the foam with various grits, but thats a whole different ballpark of equipment, mess, and work!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[stickboy]

You can make your own...

 

I wanted 1% grades for my Z scale end module, so I cut 50mm foam to the correct incline (using a simple jig to keep it square), then cut slots so it can be bent into curves. If it snaps, it doesn't matter, just carry on glueing the next section. Low temp hot glue makes the job easier.

 

Photo shows the inner track rising at 1%, outer track falling at 1% (from module join)

 

[Bernard]

Stickboy - Welcome to the forum.

On the 50mm foam board to make the bends you made cuts on one side and alternated when the bend changed?

Do you have a track plan of your Z layout? What are the dimensions of your layout? (Too many questions come to mind....if you don't mind how about starting a new thread in Personal Projects.)

 

Jeff - I was thinking of using a sander w/bag. I had a Black & Decker corner sander but I'm not happy with it's results. (Time to go the Lowe's or Home Depot.)

Also isn't there something you can put on foam to make it hard after you finish shaping it?

[stickboy]

Hi Bernard

 

To explain, I just posted my intro. I would be happy to start a personal projects thread, but my Z gauge layout is North American, not Japanese, so would it be better if I just posted info which would be relevent to you guys (such as how I make risers) in threads like this? I haven't started a Japanese layout yet, I will be sure to post progress when I do!

 

To anwer your questions, yes, I cut slots in one side depending on the direction of the curve. The WS risers have them both sides to be able to bend either way.

 

The module is approximately 2' x 4'6" (600mm x 1350mm). I don't have a plan, because I lost a lot of files when my last iMac died, but here is an "overhead" shot...

 

 

I covered the risers with plaster cloth before laying the track with 2mm thick double sided tape, no pins.

 

 

Hope this info is useful to someone!

 

Cheers, Phil

[cteno4]

Jeff - I was thinking of using a sander w/bag. I had a Black & Decker corner sander but I'm not happy with it's results. (Time to go the Lowe's or Home Depot.)

Also isn't there something you can put on foam to make it hard after you finish shaping it?

 

Bernard,

 

might try a harbor freight in your area i think their really cheapo 1/4 paper sander has a dust catcher. the hollywood guy said they would burn theirs out all the time doing this, but they didnt care they just bought a case of them! they would do huge things in foam like this for sets. they did a lot of sandblasting for fast detailing/texturing, but thats a really messy prospect, even when you do it in an enclosed blaster! sorry im dredging this all up from 30 years ago at the aquarium (yikes its that long ago, way back to high school!)

 

Those cool little edging sanders were not around back then. they would be cool to get into cracks and such. the trick was to use rough paper to cut the foam well, fine stuff just smooths it off and usually you want a more rough surface to make it more rock like. you may have to cut your own heavy grit for the edge sander to work well. i think they have a little cheapo one at ac moore that i may grab with the half off coupon and do some experimenting, thanks for the idea!

 

i remember we did fiddle with the dremel, hunks of 40 and 60 grit sand paper glued to sticks, and other little rasps to make some details. it was messy what ever way you do it. having the shop vac running and sucking right next to where you are working helps a lot, but the stuff gets statically charged and will defy the sucking action of a shop vac that could suck a cat up from across the room at times!

 

basically we were trying to do some quick and dirty mockup walls for some exhibit design ideas and wanted some modular rock faces we could lego together easily. was great fun to play with! was the best job i have ever had, just got to experiment and play with all sorts of fun stuff like that for years and get paid well for it!

 

BTW, all the final rock for the monterey bay aquarium was made from taking latex casts from real rocks. making a negative form, then spraying in FRC (fiberglass reinforced concrete you spray on with a gun that shoots quickcrete and fiberglass fibers) onto the neg mold then before the concrete dried we pressed on the latex rock moulds to make the surface texture. once dried if the concrete was colored to approx rock color then it looked like a hunk or bland rock face in the shape we needed to slip into a tank. then just took the pho rock hunks and plopped them in the bay and chained them down to a hunk of rock that has stuff growing on it that we wanted on our pho rocks in the tanks. then come back every couple of months to do some weeding and transplanting some critters with epoxy that would take too long to settle and grow. after a year or so you could not find our pho rocks on the bottom! we had to make sure to tie little buoyant tags to them that were made of a foul proof plastic and brightly colored so that we could recover them. even then we lost several as they were never re-found! one was a rock mound about 6' around and 4' high. a diver found it like 6 or 7 years later by accident! a boat had dropped an anchor on it and poked a hole in the rock and he wondered why there was this huge hollow rock down there!

 

Most folks just get a gallon of oops mix latex paint cheap at home despot or lowers. a good earth brown exterior latex gives the thickest and probably stickiest coat. you can even start your ground cover on top of the wet paint if you like.

 

some just do crude shape on the foam then coat with plaster cloth to give more texture and smooth things over some (saves having to really sand things down to perfect shape).

 

another option if you want a really hard surface is to use a acrylic or vinyl foam coating agent. this is what they use when they make all the sculptures at the venetian. they cast the master then made foam replicas and coated with resin, cleaned up and the pho painted stone texture onto it. makes for very light weight lions!

 

here is one that was recommended on the scenery board a while back (the chap tried several of the brands he could get his hands on) and seems reasonably priced

 

http://www.fxsupply.com/materials/foamcoat.html

 

we are going to have to get on this path this winter with the new jrm layout as we are doing all our hills and such with foam sheeting and carving it. want to keep it light and sturdy

 

cheers

 

jeff

[cteno4]

Phil,

 

Welcome to the forum! great work on the risers! I had to go DOH! as you showed it was so dirt simple to make your own. just clamp 2 pieces of wood on either side of the foam and cut your grade then do your slices to make the curves needed! really great work and great example of easy do it yourself that anyone can do!

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[scott]

I think the stuff in the pictures is just extra-firm tofu.

[cteno4]

rice for making earth? tea for ground cover? probably best to avoid using any fish though... an edible layout?

 

jeff