building landscapes for model trains and dioarama

this post is for building model scenery for models they can be used for model trains or building a setting for a plastic kit to give it life. im no pro but are getting better. this post can also be used by any one interested in building scenery so can give hints.

i will start by the gear you can get from your local model shop or online.



in the photo there is a rock making kit, water fall or river kit, plaster cloth the same type if you break a bone and need a cast this is not hospital grade tho,different colored textures and some trees.

well i started to build some scenery, so first i started to get a hill shape i wanted just using bits of foam and paper

then using the Woodland Scenics plaster cloth real easy to use just get a container and put water in cut the cloth in to lengths and put in and then lay over when over lapping put it about 50mm over the other piece and rub your hands over it . it will look like this.



it is quick drying stuff round about 1/2 hour or less. the next part will be putting a fine top of plaster on.

You seem to have access to pretty much the same materials as we do.
When you mix the top-coat plaster, add brown pigment, that way any accidental chips don't stand out like white beacons, as they will be 'earth-tone'.

From experience, if you are doing a railway scene (for convenience say OO/HO), do NOT use OO size ballast chips, they are way too big, and look like boulders. Use the next scale down, ie N gauge.

I used to use as fine a ballast as i could get, and always used grey coloured ballast the green stuff you find on most british layouts looks terrible
Interesting thread this one sky
Thank you
Tony

thanks for the info eric and tony any pictures you have can be added here too.

made a start on the waterfall the rocks are made by a mold and mix 1 cup lite plaster and 1/3 water mix slowly then pure into mold let set for a hour pull out to early and it will break i know it took 5 goes at it. then i used pigment started with yellow then brown and final black its water based and works good.

so here is the picture so be kind and tell me how it looks. and if i can do better.

a4kskyhawk wrote: so here is the picture so be kind and tell me how it looks. and if i can do better.

Well it certainly looks like a rock formation to me.!
The question is, "does it look like the rock formation you WANT it to look like"?
If the answer to that is "No" then you can do better .... If the answer is "Yes" ... then great job.
We've got no way of knowing what you want it to look like.
Personally,??? .... I may have been tempted to airbrush in a few greyish areas ... but that may be the lighting & it's just personal choice.

well thank you poly it my first attempt at it for me it looks ok, i have added some green to it, just working on bits at a time to get what i want.

The grey scatterings don't look right to me now. I studied Natural Sciences & that covered a bit of geology. I think any scattering would be weathered off the main structure & would be the same type of rock.
Disregard my computer colouring, that could be wrong, but on this screen it looks like you've got a SANDSTONE mini mountain ... but the rocks that have weathered off it look like GRANITE ... I don't think this would happen.
I think you're going for the volcanic rock look & that is more likely to be a greyish mixture. ... If my screen colour is correct & the main body is like sandstone.... then you'd more likely find this where there used to be a sea bed millions of years ago.
I don't think you'd find the two rock types together.

Having said this, I stand to be corrected? ..... Pol.

thanks poly its going to be blended in once it drys. but keep comments coming thanks.

a4kskyhawk wrote: thanks poly its going to be blended in once it drys. but keep comments coming thanks.

Just had a thought, oddly enough you'd quite likely see the rock types the other way around. :lol:
You could easily have a rocky sea bed of sandstone & then get an eruption of grey volcanic rock sticking up out of that :silly:
I think it'll fine if you just blend it all in as a mixture.

Polyphilla nevers been to kiwi land .. if i look around here there would be examples of the colourings used ..the unwashed cliff face and a washed greywacky stone at the bottom ,.. possibly more a sea side setting or the bottom of a canterbury river bed but still a good observation by pollyphilla.

locky wrote: Polyphilla nevers been to kiwi land .. if i look around here there would be examples of the colourings used ..the unwashed cliff face and a washed greywacky stone at the bottom ,.. possibly more a sea side setting or the bottom of a canterbury river bed but still a good observation by pollyphilla.

If there's supposed to be water at the bottom there (did I read that it was going to be a waterfall) ... then the rocks at the bottom probably would look darker if wet. :lol:
I'm a stickler for detail Sky, Ann nearly kills me for pointing out all the faults when she's trying to watch a film on telly.... it looks great mate, just get on with it & do it as you want it to appear. You are entitled to use some artistic license. :lol:

My only comment would be if its an English landscape everything but the most exposed vertical surfaces 'green up' pretty quickly (grass, moss etc)
When this cutting was made in the M5 it was bright red sandstone over its entire surface.

As stated - you wouldn't find granite (created by pressure and heat) sitting on top of sandstone, which is created by waterborne detritus, layering, and light pressure from its own weight.
The scree slope would be at the bottom, unless it was a very fresh land-slip.
Volcanic rock (lava) is very black and shiny.
Pumice is light grey and very porous - it floats in sea water.

Other than that, it looks OK, Sky!