i cut the holes in the bottom of the “hill” to give access to the track running thru the tunnel. After picking up another locomotive and train cars ( you know how that works) I added a section to the end of the layout and ran some siding tracks (that connect to main track )including one that terminates under the hill.
i am looking for ideas to cover the back of the hill - was thinking of rock face but not sure how to accomplish that easily - I used plaster molds to do rock cut - but I would need a lot of plaster molds to do the rock face
May I assume you just want something to cover the plywood at the end of the hill, something that would resemble a cut rock face? If so, I'd suggest a sheet of foam (probably a half-inch to an inch thick) cut to cover the plywood. Before you attach it, you can lay it flat and create the rock face. One method would be to manually cut and texture the foam to resemble a rock face (there are a number of videos on-line suggesting techniques), but I'm inclined to using a simple and inexpensive alternative:
- First, loosely contour the outside face of the foam board to roughly resemble the shape of a rock face cut (rounded edges, some shallow grooves, etc.).
- Cut off a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil (something like a foot or foot and a half square) and loosely ball it up, and then open it up and spread it out flat, leaving the folds and wrinkles in place.
- Mix up a loose slurry of plaster of paris, enough to pour a thin layer over the unfolded foil and thin enough to spread out and cover the foil. Pour the mix onto the center of the foil and spiral out to completely cover the center and out to near the edge of the foil, in a roughly rectangular shape.
- After the plaster of paris has begun to set up (it will get a bit warm, and become somewhat stiff), lift the foil from underneath and 'plop' the layer of plaster of paris in place over a section of the foam board. Gently press the back of the foil to press the plaster into the foam board face, then peel off the foil, leaving the plaster of paris to harden in place.
- Repeat as desired to add additional sections of plaster of paris 'rock', enough to cover the rock face, either using the same piece of foil or another. You can add in sections of molded rock, or you can add in sections of 'rock' created by letting a plaster of paris pour harden in the aluminum foil and then breaking it into pieces.
- When you are satisfied with the rock face, you can use any of the many rock face painting techniques to finish the rock face. I typically use a base coat, followed by dabs of other rock colors, followed by black washes to highlight the crevices, and white dry brushing to highlight the 'sunlit' surfaces.
- After the rock face is completed, you can attach it directly to the plywood, using construction adhesive (make sure the adhesive is foam board compatible).
I used this 'plop' technique in part to decorate a tunnel I added over existing tracks, where I faced a similar situation of not having much room for transitions (note: some of the pictured 'rocks' were from molds):
I also used the technique on a drop-over tunnel I created for my brother-in-law's seasonal layout
that connect to main track)including one that terminates under the hill.
