Updated 7/24/13 -- Riprap around a Lionel Lighthouse

Looks like a great idea Pat.  You have given me an idea too!  I am wondering if real railroad ballast would work and look similar to what you are doing?

Thanks,

Alan

Pat,

It should look very sharp when you are finished. Too bad you did not have enough room for battleship cove. It was a great place to visit.

Alan Graziano

I had worked the Lionel Grain elevator into my layout with some simple layer-ing and drywall compound. You can also use hydrocal or Plaster of Paris.  Bases can be hidden with out dis-assembly of the model.

for realism for larger rip rap it looks good when the are set in the soil not on top for the base level.

Looks great, Pat.

Larger rocks are a good way to define many types of waterways. I scout out gravel banks, roadsides, etc. for the right shape stones. I paint and drybrush the natural rocks in the same way as I do the surrounding plaster ones to allow colors to blend together.

Jim

Pat, If your location permits you would want to raise the base of the light house above the water level and have a steep slope to the water for your rip rap. Adding flotsam (rotten tires, crushed oil drums, bare timber snags) to the slope for detail will add character. The stone you pictured looks about right in size. In an exposed location the rip rap can be quite large, 6 to 8 feet for example. I like the sizes in Jim Policastro's scene.  Regards, Pat B.

I agree with wsd...first put down a base of spackle or something to represent 'earth". Then place the stones into the wet spackle. Also, I'd suggest using smaller stones. As rip rap goes yours are more boulders. Dial it down a notch and you'll be looking pretty.

Nice. Smaller gap fillers added and some rock weathering for sure. Add some green/brown/black washes for tidelines maybe? Where's North?(algae, slime, mosses), buoys? A lighthouse keepers boat(s)? A small dock/ramp and or extra boat for on the shore? Sky Raa..tss.. I mean beautiful Sea Gulls?   

7/19 update --

I stopped by a company that ran a gravel pit the other day.  They had all kinds of crushed stones available for sale, from lawn boulders to pea gravel to pebble stones.  The counterwoman suggested # 8 gravel would be very close to O-scale sized rip rap to go around the lighthouse.  I think she was right on target.  I'm planning on using some scenery materials to put an "earthen" berm around the lighthouse, add some riprap along the edges, then use some riprap to build out a breakwater.  This will a highly visible area on the right front corner of the layout.

What do you think? 

(The price was right too -- a buck for a gallon bag of # 8 gravel!)

BTW--I found the lighthouse didn't have a totally flat bottom surface, I created a little foundation out of wood to compensate for the left side being lower than the right.  That took care of the problem.

Nice Info on the #8 gravel!

Now that looks like rip rap. Maybe try out a few "natural boulders" more rounded (by longer wave exposure) poking out from under the rip rap edges here and there, they may have been there long before the sharper rip rap was added.

I've used Pine Bark Mini-Nuggets (mulch) for flat shaped rocks. It takes paint and glue very well, and it is very light. The regular size nuggets are too large, IMO.

Since I had to do some "space compression" since the layout is only 6 X 15 feet, I modeled a "tide's out" situation.  I need to do a little more "sand-y work" on the "beach", but here's how last week's efforts with the lighthouse turned out.  I'm going to add the rowboat, oars and the lighthouse keeper figure to the "ramp" area this weekend.

In any event, with some # 8 gravel, some 50/50 water/Elmer's glue, raising the lighthouse about 1/8" with some wooden shims running down the bottom of the two long sides, voila! 

BTW--the sound effects were a little bit louder and not so muffled with the wooden shims underneath instead of the lighthouse just laying flat on the layout.  Lionel needs to find a quieter motor, though, for the revolving light as it makes a noticeable noise.