Steve Featherkile said:
Rooster, narc is spelled with a “c.” Just thought you’d want to know. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
That’s not how Shawn spells it Fred, I mean Steve .
Korm Kormsen said:
water-based Acrylics, i suppose?
Hi Korm, Yes the paints are water based acrylics. There are some spray paints that will not attack foam and I will be looking in to finding them for the next steps of coloring the rocks.
Here is an interesting video on coloring foam rocks in a unique way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpko5rxM9pI
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpko5rxM9pI)
Doc Tom
While not as glamorous as painting scenery, electrical wiring for the mini layout continues at a steady pace.
In the center of the layout, terminal strips are installed and will send DCC power wires and accessory wires (lighting, sound effects etc.) to the electrical cabinet below.
The track wiring and leads to the accessories will connect to these terminal strips.
All the wiring will be hidden when the layout is fully assembled.
Thanks for looking. Doc Tom
thanks for showing the video. that was really interesting.
Korm Kormsen said:
thanks for showing the video. that was really interesting.
Glad to show it. I know you are interested in foam scenery for your indoor layout. It is neat stuff to work with. Tom
Doc, I so appreciate the pictures you are taking of your progress. Showing your tools, I am thinking of the dust and clean up before your pictures are taken. Do you get most of it cleaned up with a shop vac? I’ve found the foam to work so much easier than the plaster dust. I’m thinking your photo documentation is always taken right after the shop vac use. 
thanks, Ric.
your post reminded me, to unhook my shop vac from its charger…
Ric Golding said:
Doc, I so appreciate the pictures you are taking of your progress. Showing your tools, I am thinking of the dust and clean up before your pictures are taken. Do you get most of it cleaned up with a shop vac? I’ve found the foam to work so much easier than the plaster dust. I’m thinking your photo documentation is always taken right after the shop vac use.
Hi Ric,
Thanks for the thoughtful questions. Actually since my “rail road shed” contains my other mini layout, The Haiti Sugar Train, I do most of the sanding outside. I do this to prevent foam dust from settling on the Haitian landscape and fouling the little motors in the On30 Porters.
The work with the Dremel tool is done indoors and I have the shop vac fully cranked (gaddd it is loud) and removing foam dust as soon as it is created.
I have found that the foam work is less messy than plaster work. Also less time consuming. My patient new bride would have to wait for hours in the past while I put down newspapers, soaked plaster rolls, and covered cardboard lattice work. It was so messy that I had to commit to big chunks of time to get it done.
With the foam, work sessions can be 15-30 minutes and domestic tranquility is assured.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Doc Tom
you made me so curious, that i HAD to make a test.
so i pinned together some rests of the types of foam avayable here, and had a go.
using the two heads on the right - plus some practice - should work.
and i made a discovery… if i ever need a snowy landscape, i will use the two wirebrushes on the left upon a piece of foam helt above the layout.
Korm Kormsen said:
you made me so curious, that i HAD to make a test.
so i pinned together some rests of the types of foam avayable here, and had a go.
using the two heads on the right - plus some practice - should work.
and i made a discovery… if i ever need a snowy landscape, i will use the two wirebrushes on the left upon a piece of foam helt above the layout.
Hi Korm,
Congrats on your experiment. The grinding head on the far right looks exactly like what I have been using. I like the effect you are achieving. Your foam looks different…like compressed styrofoam beads. However it appears the heat of the grinding disc is fusing the beads into a solid surface. Another interesting discovery. Very good.
Doc Tom
you are right. all four types are some sort of styrofoam.
and again yes, the surface seems to be less “bubbly” after grinding.
I wonder how it would look if you passed a warm spatula over the foam … would it smooth it out?
That’s a great demonstration! Boy, if you turned that foam on a angle, instead of straight, it would really look like the strata you see through rock cuts. I know it would take a lot more effort, but the impact would be dramatic.
I took a 12 day break from construction on the mini layout as we had two very special house guests. Father Emery Menard and Father Andre Augustin from our “twinned” St Jules Parish and Clinic in Haiti.
Of course, we did have some fun running my other mini layout “Ti Neg La” an On30 sugar cane hauler set in 1920 Haiti.
Here is the site of the Haiti train if you are interested.
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22912
After a very enjoyable visit I had some time to venture back to the hills of Southern Kentucky and Northern Tennessee.
While I was itching to get in to more painting and scenery I went back to the mundane , but important task of wiring the layout.
Here on the inside of the lower electrical cabinet I wired a nice four pin connector to the leads that will bring power to the track and the juice for electrical accessories on the layout.
After splicing I had a cable and connector that would allow the layout to be removed from the electrical cabinet base and allow for portability.
Thanks again for looking. Doc Tom
Looking for more fun, Doc.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Ron Tremblay said:
Looking for more fun, Doc.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Thanks Ron. We aim to please.
D.T.
seems, that these two had their fun with your layout.
about the connectors…
i did the same for my small modular layout. and this year, thinking about making two more modules, i wanted to buy more plugs.
but the (in)famous Mr. Murphy had seen to the fact, that this type of plug is not sold anymore…
in the future i will use only Luster terminal strips.
Korm Kormsen said:
seems, that these two had their fun with your layout.
about the connectors…
i did the same for my small modular layout. and this year, thinking about making two more modules, i wanted to buy more plugs.
but the (in)famous Mr. Murphy had seen to the fact, that this type of plug is not sold anymore…
in the future i will use only Luster terminal strips.
Hi Korm,
It took a bit of browsing but I found the 4 pin connector on Evil Bay.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-money-mouth.gif)
Tom
Okay. Time for the fun stuff. Let’s do some rock painting.
But first, a disclaimer. This is the first time for me to use spray paint in coloring scenery.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the story I wanted to experiment with all new scenery
techniques on this mini layout. I learned about painting foam from this nice Internet video and thought I would give it a whirl.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpko5rxM9pI
As I learned, you have to use spray paint that is compatible with Styrofoam or so called “craft foam.”
So I went to Hobby Lobby to get craft spray paint. I did have an anal sphincter tightening
moment when the nice clerk at Hobby Lobby said, “you should never use spray paint on
Styrofoam”… Even though it said it could be used on the can.
So I use an old modeler’s trick and experimented on a piece of scrap foam first. As you can see in the lower part of the pictures. It did not devolve into a blue blob so I knew I could proceed.
The first step is to spray on Black pigment. I elected to use Woodland Scenics Black pigment.
I mixed it with a little water and dish washing detergent and sprayed it on in the areas of
the mini that were meant to represent rocks.
After letting it dry overnight it was time to get out the “craft foam safe” spray paint and
paint the rocks. Interestingly, a variety of colors, including yellow, were used to paint the
rocks. Some of the spray paint I used also had texture that gave the model a crumbling
rock appearance.
I am happy to report that the blue foam did not dissolve and I think I have a fair
representation of Sandstone and Limestone.
Let me know what you think. Doc Tom
Country: USA | Posts: 344
Looks purty darn good to me…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)