LO#13 - Covering the Cardboard Strips

My last post, LO#12, consisted of a lot of pictures of hills and cuts formed from corrugated cardboard strips interlaced and secured with dabs of hot glue.  Both strips and hot glue are new to me as I have lived with yellow carpenters glue and foam-core board for the last several years. Today (Tuesday 9-11-12) I covered those cardboard strips with the first layer of plaster cloth.  I failed to get any shots of how I use the strips so I will delay the details until later.

Here are some 'Before' and 'After' shots to compare todays progress.

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This is the upper track (as it leaves the 3 section bridge) passing through the cut just above the creek.

Here is a better shot of "Two Tired Creek" from the 'other' end located on the 'other' long side opposite all the other pictures.  Marvin has done a really great job with the coloring and texture, using many of the artistic skills he uses on his original PRR railroad paintings.

Now, just a couple thoughts on the past couple days work.  Corrugated cardboard strips can be cut in two ways; LENGTHWISE, along with the corrugations and CROSSWISE, across the corrugations.  Lengthwise produces a stronger strip that I prefer for the vertical supports.  Crosswise produces a weaker, but more flexible strip that I like to use in a more or less horizontal position to interweave between the vertical strips.  To increase the flexibility I pull the strips over the edge of the table from both sides.  I also do it with my fingers, but watch out for paper cuts.

This will be the road passing under the track to connect the upper level (maybe I will call it 'Overton' or 'Highland') to the future 2'x8' extension with yard, engine facilities and maybe some industries and staging.

This time I tinted the water that I wet the plaster cloth with.  I mixed several colors to get something of a ground color.  It is not as dark as I would like but will prevent the white spots if chipped or scrapped.  If you work the plaster cloth with your wet fingers or foam brush it will begin to blend and cover the course 'cloth' weave.  Saturday I will add the second coat of cloth and the following Tuesday begin a couple coats of Light Weight Spackle.  I color and dilute the spackle with water to make a thick, soupy consistency and apply with a 2' foam brush and try to hide cloth details.  To help hide the weave and edges I have been 'stippling' the spackle coat using the side of a 2" foam brush to quickly tap the still wet surface, drawing little beads or pimples of spackle.  I am still not really happy with the results, but does do away with the dull smoothness of just brushed spackle.

Hopefully more-useful info for the next post.

Armchair

LO#12 - Creating Hills

How high are the hills?  How deep the cuts?  Last week I got the hot glue gun going, cut a lot of cardboard strips and spent 5 hours putting it all together along the 10 foot side of the layout.

Tunnels need BIG hills to look real.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that is a HILL!

And this is a deep cut revealing Marvins head.

After a week to think about it, the skinny cross section of the hill needed to be dealt with by lowering the height of the front face and the depth of the cut.  Out came the scissors and several inches removed from the hill.  Here are the results to compare.

The hill is still big enough to look real.

The cut looks better, even without Marvins head.  And the branch has a nice cut also.  I like cuts!

While I was working on the long side of the layout, Marvin was working on our creek, a small but wonderful view site.

Marvin has turned my quiet, clean, mountain stream into a littered backwater he calls "Too Tired Creek" in reference to the two old tires half way up and my often expressed condition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday I will be laying out a lot of plaster cloth to give a basic ground level for all the cardboard strips.  I will also be covering the front edge to the lower track.  This will be finished with a fascia board when scenery is finished.

Until Tuesday,

Armchair