Tunnel Portals

    RRaddict2 Do you need single or double portals? Is your track or tracks going straight into the portals or are they going in on an angle? Are your tracks or track going into the portal on A curve? All this makes A difference on the width of the portal. Next group of questions. What material do you want them made of concrete, cut stone, brick or wood?All this makes A difference on how someone can answer you. Choo Choo Kenny

I need 4 double and 4 single.  They will be concrete and two of them will be going into a 048 curve.

You can carve most anything from pink foam:

    RRaddict Put down your two curved tracks 4 1/2 inches apart center to center. put your longest car your going to run and place them on your tracks side by side. Measure from the outside of each car and add 1 extra inch and that is how wide your portal opening has to be. You were saying you wanted to make molds. If I were you, you said that you only need 4 & 4 of the portals I would make them out of foam boars and paint them A off white to match the color of cement. Choo Choo Kenny

I also like styrofoam board

Carve your own out of blue styrofoam insulation board. Easy to cut easy to paint.

Thanks all I think the foam will be the way to go. We only have the pink foam here but I think it is the same as the blue.

Your correct Blue or pink works the same.

clem

Our club is planning to do considerable amount of scenery work on a Traveling modular layout, and soon to start. I wanting to know how do you get the stone look /grout line into the foam that you use on your portals? Do you lay it out with a ruler. I think the way you have done your bridges and tunnel portals is super. I don't know beans, but willing to learn .............................................Brandy!

    Brandy Co. sell (hot knife) kits that melt the foam board to make your morter groves but when you use them it really stinks up the house. I use A hack saw blade and light pressure so as not to tear the foam unless the (cut stone) look is what you are going for? Hope this helps! Choo Choo Kenny

If you plan on using foam for landscape modeling investing in a Tippi system for hot wire cutting or a good hot knife is well worth the money. I got all my stuff on the bay at half of the retail price and very happy I spent the money.

I just cut the rough shapes with a razor saw, a hobby knife, or a hack saw blade.  Then I do finish shapes with a rat-tail file. For surface treatments, I simply score the shapes with a blunt tool.  I have an old manicure set that works very well. There is really no reason for heat, although some people find it more convenient than knives for shaping large pieces of foam. If I am doing brick or cut stone, then yes, I use a ruler when scoring surfaces. For random stone, I do it freehand.

Finally, you can get nice textures using various paints. I always start with a fairly thick coating of hobby acrylics, which are foam-safe. Most spray paints will melt foam, but this isn't always bad. A light dusting of a textured paint applied over the acrylic can simultaneously produce a nice stone texture and also soften the edges to give an "old" weathered look.

You can make a tool out of a piece of threaded rod or a six inch long 1/4 inch bolt and two different size washers and a couple nuts.  Place a nut on one end and slip on one of the larger washers.  Put enough smaller washers on till you get the desired thickness and put a big washer on and repeat the process until you have the length you want.  Top it off with the other nut and your ready.  Just roll the washer assembly across a piece of foam board with enough pressure to cause groves.  A straight edge will help keep your lines straight.  Find another flat tool to make the short mortar joints.  Distress the finished product with a wire brush.  Use it like a hammer, bristles down.  Don't scrape with it.  Paint it your desired colors.