Scenics (My Way) by Steve
- Details
- Published on Fri, 30 Oct 2009
Scenics (My Way) Terra Forming Part 1
Model landscaping / terra forming / terror forming 
is an essential part of any model railway layout or static diorama.
What follows is the techniques I have used with all my railway layouts scales z - 0, including my current Lenz O Gauge Layout
Alter Lokschuppen http://busybeas-alterlokschuppen.blogspot.com/
Essentials required :
Imagination /vision in large amounts (after all we are boys with toys 
), water, woodworkers pva adhesive, paint brush, scissors, latex gloves or marigolds if you prefer 
, newspaper.
In addition, I am afrad you will need to spend a little more money too, grass matt and Mod Roc. This is plaster bandage as used in hospitals when setting broken bones.. ( yes we modellers are a resourcefull lot !)
DO shop around for this too, some "branded stuff" is retailing at outrageous prices, up to £10 a roll... bugger that !
Don't pay more than £3- £4 for a roll, it's exactly the same stuff !
I purchased mine from Gaugemaster, as my local model shop was out of stock, but I have to say Gaugemaster do give excellent service.
Off we go then :
Before the landscaping commences, I would suggest that you affix any backscene you chose into position. It's not easy trying to cut one to shape once the landscape forms are started.
My baseboards on Alter Lokschuppen http://busybeas-alterlokschuppen.blogspot.com/ are flat, so I needed to build up the landscape profiles from the baseboard up. I have a preference for 5mm foam craft board, cut and shaped as 'formers' and glued in situ using white pva. Clearly you need to have some sort of master plan /vision in mind to get your levels to size and shape. You can also see in the image below, I have used various polystyrene pieces and off cuts to build up certain area's. DO invest in a polystyrene wire cutter for this, using a carving knife to cut polystyrene is a bl**dy awful mess ! These polycutters working using a small 9v battery for power, which provides a current to a thin wire which effectively heats up and slices thro polystyrene very cleanly.
BEWARE : the fumes from melting polystyrene can be HARMFUL , so do this in a ventilated area.
The spaces /voids between the formers /polystyrene are filled with screwed up newspaper, which is then dampened with a sprayer, of the type used to water house plants.
Here, you can see levels have been built up with various layers of polystyren pieces. Note; how using a poly wire cutter gives smooth contours. These are stuck to the board and each other using 'neat' pva glue.
Prior to cutting /preparing the mod roc bandage, brush a diluted 50 /50 solution of pva and water on the proposed landscape surfaces to help the bonding process.
Ah, the messy hands on bit You should now don your 'protection of choice' latex or marigold Sir ?
This part does get incredibly messy too, so wear some old clothes too ! Pour some water into a receptacle ( posh eh?)
Then using scissors ... now you are wearing glove protection aren't you ? Cut the 1st roll of modroc bandage into strips width ways. The length will really depend on the part you are 'scaping'. I use 6-12" strips for Alter Lokschuppen.
Plunge one strip at a time into the water for around 15 - 25 seconds.. you will get a feel for how long is needed, as you get more experience. As you lift the soaked bandage from the tray drag it along one edge to remove as much water as possible.
DO NOT WRING IT OUT !
You now continue to apply the bandage pieces, overlapping each previous piece to build up an overall thickness of 3 -4 layers.
Remember, this stuff dries incredibly quickly, so work quickly and efficiently, smoothing the plaster surface over the bandage layers as you progress. Now you will realise why I suggested you used 'protection' on your hands, because you need to smooth the layers as you lay them.
All being well, you should end up with something like this !
Don't worry if it looks rough, there's still lots more to do yet
Now you can see the landscape profile starting to take shape.
