Your Favorite Method to making mountains

I like to start with a molehill...

 

Pete

 

 

 

 

I also like to build layers of foam, sculpt it with a steak knife and apply Durablend.  While the Durablend is setting up I'll do some additional steak knife work.  When it looks good to me I'll give it a coat of some earth tone latex paint and work from there.

The blue foam is a good idea but sanding is not  Use the blue foam but get a good foam cutting wire to shape them   Use the Truescene modeling material to cover them

I generally stack/glue foam and coat with Sculptamold, plaster cloth, etc, etc. Another method I like is the crumpled newspaper followed by plaster cloth, Sculptamold, etc. Not the cleanest way to do it but it is the way I like to do it.  

 

I tried the TrueScene stuff and it didn't work no matter how many times I read (and followed) the directions. 

I am most familiar with the method involving plaster cloth drapped over screen wire.  It has worked well for me, however, I have been very impresssed with the results Eric Siegel has gotten on his layout using window screen foam, cardboard lattice and rock molds.  He really gets good looking results and I am determined to try it at some point.  You can check out his tutorials on building mountains at:  eric@ericstrains.com

 

You can visit my website Bo's Trains at http://www.bostrains.com

Hi Jim all of my mountains are made out of cardboard strips and rolled up newspaper

covered by plaster cloth. Then painted. This method is kind of messy. I would do what Ben and wild mary said.I think it's a lot easier.

 

We need Jim Policastro I know he has a magic Knife that he shapes his foam with

 

 

Thanks, Alex

I'll fourth the plaster cloth, I avoid any wire screen to eliminate the risk of it "screwing" with my legacy signal. Instead I hot glued some sturdy boxes to the layout and used cardboard strips and newspaper wads to add the contours. Actually my wife constructed my mountain, and while the plaster cloth is a bit messy, not terribly so, and  it makes mountains fast!

Plaster cloth isn't all that messy.  Let the excess water drain before you drape it on your cardboard webbing & you just wind up with a little puddle at the base of your mountain.

 

I found it much more tedious to clean up all the little bits of foam produced by cutting it.  The electric wire can be cleaner but is slow for bulk work.

 

...and here it is!   The hot wire tools are nice but too slow for general scenery work. They are better for stone retaining walls, bridge abutments and other situations where control and precision is needed.

 

 

 

No reason why you can't use both methods. The styrofoam is best for vertical cliffs while the cardboard web is better for rolling hills and more gentle slopes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and you can't beat plaster rock castings for realism.

 

 

I would suggest doing some searches for previous scenery threads, and get the Dave Frary scenery book from Kalmbach.

 

Jim

I'm a fan of the stacked foam for a base.  You can put whatever you want on top of that.  It doesn't have to be solid either.  My mountain is going to be well supported but there is going to be a lot of hollow space.

My layout has mountains made from two methods. 1 Paster wire lath over foam supports, then a cover of newpaper strips in plaster, or 2. foamboard forms supporting a weave of cardboard strips covered by plaster cloth. Rock molded pieces are imbedded in both.  Having used both old and new techniques my preferred way of mountain building is now foamboard supports, a cardboard strip frame over that, then plaster cloth as the outer covering.

Ceiling tiles - inexpensive, mold to whatever you want, easy to do.

A geez, someone else does it like me!

 

I build profiles of the mountain out of 1/2 plywood, spaced about every -five six inches, standing up, basically at this point, I have a set of parallel crossections of the mountain I want, .

 

I then glue small sticks - think Popsicle sticks but I use wood strips bought from model expo or scrapes, often, at 90 deg angles, one tip on one profile, the other on another, across and between the tops of the crossections, connecting them.  I space these popsicle sticks about every 1/2 inch.  When I finish, the mountain's rough crossection is outlined in "Popsicle sticks."

 

I let the glue dry a day.  Then cover the whole thing with several layers of grocery paper bag (just thick brown paper will do).  I cut it into strips ten inches long by one and one half wide, and I soak each piece briefly in a 15% wood glue/85% water mixture and stretch the pieces out over everything, covering the entire "mountain" in several layers, fully..  

 

I let that dry and then smear spackling paste over the whole thing, using a folded wet paper towel to smooth the surface or add some rough details, maybe scratching in lines for strata on rock faces, etc. 

 

it dries overnight.  I prime and paint it, then do the scenery grass and brush and trees, etc.

My method is to get someone else to do it for me for a case a beer.

Hydrocal and acrylic tube paints

Because of some back problems, I like to build on my work bench and then place on the layout. I used the foam method with sculptamold over it. The first picture is the mountain area followed by the mountain side and bridge. The foam method is very light to move and work with (until you add the real rocks!).

I'm a fan of stacking blue foam with 3M spray contact cement. Carving with the Hot Wire Foam Factory tools.   Then adding plaster castings, Tru scene fiber, latex paint and then textures. I use narrow strips of foam so the mountain is hollow. I make the first two layers of base on the layout then haul it outside and build. Kinda like a topographical map.

I don't like the mess of plaster. The base color gets put on outdoors.

P.S.       I don't think I will ever be as good as Jim

 

Clem K

Card board strip, plaster cloth and true screne fiber

You might get the Black Diamond DVD and watch Rich do it. Very educational.

 

To date, we have used plaster cloth over cardboard strips we buy from MicroMart. 

I think RickO makes a good point about the use of wire screen.  While I have used it extensively and am not aware of it having caused any problems with the TMCC command control signal it still might be a good idea to avoid its use.  Since I like the method (plaster cloth) I use for future projects I will probably switch over from using wire screen to the newer fiber screen material that is now available.  Using the plaster cloth over cardboard strips also seems like a very workable method for constructing mountains.

 

Hopefully, when I switch over from TMCC to Legacy the existing wire screen won't become a problem.   Bo 

 

You can visit my website Bo's Trains at http://www.bostrains.com

 

 

SJC, I didn't see any contact information in profile, so email me with phone # and we will help to examine issue with respect to using product or make certain you receive proper redress

The signal propagation is the same for TMCC or Legacy, so if you have problems with TMCC, you'll most likely have problems with Legacy.  Same frequencies, same antenna.

Turtle: I like how you did the cross sections for that valley.  I have been building "UP" but not horizontally.  That helps.  Thanks!

 

I'm also building my mountain in sections and away from the layout.  I'll be doing a lot of "fitting" but I think it will be more comfortable for me if I do the bulk of the work sitting at my bench.

What is window screen foam?

As you can see there is a million different ways to make a mountain.  We probably have all of these in use on the club layout as we had a million different guys build them.  Just an FYI on the wirescreen and Legacy   If you ground the wire screen it isn't a problem

I will be doing the same as you Eric, building everything off the layout and on the bench.  There will be some I will have to do on the layout though.  

I just made a basic structure out of cardboard strips and a few pieces of wood where needed for support and attaching points. The cardboard can be found for free as well as wood scraps. Once you have the basic outline down, I used woodland scenic's plaster cloth, the greatest invention since sliced bread. Quick, easy, inexpensive, and not sloppy at all. Once that hardens then you can attach what ever finishing touches you need to get the desired affect.

 

Gandy

"What is window screen foam?"

 

Choo152, I apologize for not being very clear.  Bragdon Enterprises offers products to make lightweight hardshell scenery using polyurethane foam.  They have a specific process which involves covering fiberglass window screen fabric with a resin mixture that creates a foam like substance.  After a short time the resin begins to cure and will eventually harden.  Before it hardens the material in the form of flat sheets can be made to conform to just about any contour.  Actually, even once it is hardened it can be softened again by heating and worked into the desired contour before the material cools down.  It is this lightweight foam saturated fiberglass window screen materal that I described as "window screen foam".  I learned about this process by watching a video on Eric Siegel's website. 

 

Most of my moutain like scenery was completed using plaster cloth, but I've purchased the products from Bragdon to make tunnel liners at the entrance of a couple of my tunnels.  Right now when you look into my tunnels you simply see a black hole.  Using Bragdon's products I plan to create liners that will be about 10 to 12 inches long inside each tunnel and hopefully give the appearance that the tunnels were made by blasting through rock.  I've seen videos that make me think this technique for making hardshell scenery and my tunnel liners would be worth trying.   

 

Will hopefully get to this in the next two or three weeks. Once I've made the effort to create the liners I will share the results here.  Bo   

 

You can visit my website Bo's Trains at http://www.bostrains.com

    

Gunrunnerjohn, thanks for the comment about TMCC/Legacy signals.  The use of screen wire covered with plaster cloth has not caused me any problems to date but in thinking about it, there are other things I can use besides screen wire.  It was suggested that there might be a risk to using screen wire as it might cause problems with the command control signals.  Based on your comment, it would appear that what is currently in place on my layout should not cause me a problem when I switch over to Legacy. 

Thanks again!

 

You can visit my website Bo's Trains at http://www.bostrains.com

My method for sculpting pink or blue sterifoam is to use a battery powered variable speed drill with a 4" heavy and then finer  wire brush on it. I then get an old sheet and tuck it in around my neck or wast.  Then sit with legs spread and work on the the mountain  about wast to chest high. The secret is to run the drill in reverse at a very low speed so it throws the foam taken off down into my lap and onto the sheet. By varying the speed of the drill I can keep the foam falling between my legs and there is practically no dust created!  When I want to stop, I fold the sheet over the foam between my legs and carry it to the garbage can! It allows sculpting in ways that cannot be done with a knife or wire such a recesses and it produces smooth finish if wanted. I then use molds to create rocks and bluffs. Meadows with streams and gullies and other irregularities can be easily made and grass applied directly to them. I always use a mask. 

stan

I've tried just about all of the methods.

While the stacked/glued/carved sheet foam seemed like it would be the best, I found it to be somewhat tedious, expensive and messy.

The biggest benefit, to me, is that it's not hollow, accepts scale trees well and can withstand someone pressing down on it without damage.

 

The webbing method worked pretty well overall but is hollow.

 

I've also stacked softball sized wads of crumpled newsprint. Taped webbing over them here and there with long strips of masking tape to maintain the basic landform. Then used plaster cloth. After, I would reach through the tunnels and remove any of the obstructing wads of paper.

I'm curious how much, if any, difference there might be in the sounds heard emanating from the mountains if they have tunnels and trains traveling through the mountains?

 

Is there a difference in sound between a hollow mountain and a fairly solid stacked foam mountain?

 

I guess a third option would be to lay the track, build a tunnel around the track, and then build a hollow mountain around the tunnel.

 

I'm thinking it would be more advantageous to have trains going through mountains be not only out of sight, but out of hearing as well.

The thing I like about the foam mountains is you can take them off the layout for work, then just set them in place.  Some of the other methods are a little more fragile off the layout.

 

I agree, carving the foam is very messy, I keep a shop vac around for the cleanup.

 I use two types of foam on my layout. I use the blue or pink for rocks and cliffs but for mountains I started using the green florist foam. It is so much easier to use. The benefit of using the green is that its not statically charged and won't get all over the place like other foam. John Cafalone produced a video series on how he built his Allagash central railroad. He used the green foam to really capture the look of mountains. That's is where I learned to use it. Check out Model Railroad Hobbyist free online September issue. There is a segement with him adding on to his railroad. I know it is H.O but the techniques still apply.

 

George

I'm a real novice when it comes to scenery, and being my first attempts at mountain building, I researched the various methods, and finally decided to give the "Stacked" foam method a try. I had, what to me was a rather intricate double tunnel section I needed to build. It seemed to me that it would be a lot easier to build the piece off site and be able to do the finishing in my work area where I didn't have to worry that much about the mess. In the end, it was easy to clean up the styrofoam debris with a small shop vac.

 

As i said, I'm real beginner when it comes to this scenery stuff, but thanks to some helpful advice from Jim Policastro, I gave it a shot, and to be honest, I was really surprised by the end result. It's really amazing once you add the paint washes to the rocks and add the ground cover, it just all of a sudden seems to pop out, and shazam, you have a mountain.

 

REV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REV, that's one fine looking job, you'd never know you were a novice!

Great idea, I like the fact that it won't cling to everything, that's interesting.  Never thought of that stuff.

 

What does it cost?  Is it competitive with other types?

John , the green foam could be found at any michael's crafts , hobby lobby etc. I found it in 1" and 2" thick panels. I thought it was a little expensive but it a goes long way especially if you build up terrain using blue foam and then top it with the green. I have some more mountains I plan on doing but before I head to the craft store to buy it , I am going to ask a local florist if they have any scrap pieces.

Well, the point of the green foam was so you didn't make the mess cutting the blue foam!   I have a source for some free blue foam, so cost isn't an issue going that way.

 

The scrap pieces sounds like a plan.