How to Make Easy Hills & Mountains for Model Train Layouts and Dioramas
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ต.ค. 2015
- jointlinetrains/
Simple and easy technique for making hills, mountains and land forms for model railroad layouts and dioramas. The paint used in this video is Cliff Rock by Behr. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Thanks for helping a mom who is NOT a craft person. :)
Thank you for sharing this!! I used the "snow mats" available around Christmas and glued them over my foam boards, but never thought of quilt batting as I DO have a lot of that!! Thank you SO much for sharing!!!
You're welcome. I'm glad you found the video useful. Cheers, Kevin
The fine painting you did with it really made it happen. I used to model Texas, back when I had an N-scale layout, for the specific reason of avoiding mountain building, lol. I had no faith in my ability to construct hills and mountain scenery.
I have not yet started my miniature train set, but i've been watching a lot of videos in the past month and i think, so far, you have the best way to do the terrain. The quilt material really does an amazing job to look like dirt once painted, it could almost be left naked and still look good.
I'm taking notes of this for when i start my own.
Thanks for the compliment. Hope you're able to use this technique on your layout sometime soon. Cheers, Kevin
Very realistic looking terrain,I like it,I'll have to try it when I start up another layout.
Thank you for the compliment on my terrain. Cheers, Kevin
Kevin,
Came back to report on poly fiber batting after many months of construction a museum grade N scale layout, depicting the Cuyahoga Valley and the Scenic Railway that runs for 26 miles thru it. I saw your video on poly fiber and decided to implement it in this project. It turned out amazing and nothing but compliments.
We began with terra forming with foam off cuts and slabs to depict the terrain and hills of this Nation Park that dates back to 1870 when the rails came in. We held to exacting standards with historic buildings scratch built and a actual Cuyahoga Alco Pa1 that pulls a California Zephyr consist. The terrain is so life like that I had to just stand there and take it all in. 3D mountains and hillsides are blenedd and painted into the backdrop and disappear into the scene and horizon with forced perspective. The depth of illusion is tremendous.
It will be automated to a push button pressed by visiting children to the museum. Seasoned modelers can not believe we did all this with poly foam low loft batting, a technique no one had ever heard of or used before.
Thanks for the great idea. I just had to come back and look you up to give you this report.
Bob Schworm- Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad volunteer - N scale Museum Project
Bob, thank you so much for the feedback. I'm really glad to hear my technique worked out for you. Cheers, Kevin
Just wanted to say thanks very much... I have tried this method and love it... Also wanted to share an idea I just combined with your batting technique that worked really good. on a Coal Mine module I am building this weekend, I decided to support the mountain with 1/4 inch metal screen, then sprayed the expanding foam on top of the screen and laid the Low Loft batting right into the wet expanding foam... Its really cool, because the foam doesn't come through the batting, but it definitely bonded to the screen wire and the low loft batting and was really easy to shape while it was expanding.... In less than 4 hours, it was ready for painting, grasses, earth, clump foliage etc.
CJ, thanks for the feedback on this technique. Sounds like its working out well for you. Neat idea on the screen wire and expanding foam. Cheers, Kevin
Hey, I was a bit skeptical, wondering what kind of texture it would lay down, but I love it. What a perfect base to add to. Thanks again.
I watched this video about a year ago. And I have found that this is the best way to do terrain. Thanks you help me make a master piece.
John, thanks for the feedback. I'm glad to hear my technique worked out for you. Cheers, Kevin.
That looks incredible. Such a simple idea, but with amazing results.
Thanks for the compliment. Cheers, Kevin
(I read these and the reasons they work on Jareks Hobby Club website )
Nice video. You may also want to checkout the review of Model Train Layouts on my blog at *noahreviews. com/model-train-layouts-review/* Thanks. Ddt Ferdinand.
hey ,if anyone else needs to find out about how to build a model railroad layout plans try Pycanta Model Railroaders Protocol (Have a quick look on google cant remember the place now ) ? Ive heard some super things about it and my brother in law got amazing results with it.
Excellent idea
and it looks great!
Thanks for sharing.
You have a gift and you helped me understand. I think I can get it right the first time. Thank you so much. I hope my grand daughter will be excited when see comes over and sees what grand pops train garden looks like this Christmas. Thanks again. Waiting for the batman train set to be delivered, should be a show stopper. Thanks again.
Don, thanks for the feedback and compliments on the video and technique. Glad to hear you're going to try this method out. Let me know how your mountain turns out. Cheers, Kevin
Hi, thanks so much for putting me on to this really neat technique. I’ve reserected my old train set from 40 years ago and for sure I’m going to try it.
Errol, glad to hear that. Hope you enjoy the train set. Cheers, Kevin.
Really cool, honestly after the touch up and paint, it looks like a real hillside / mountainside! thanks!
Great idea! I work for a couple of years in the upholstery business I use that on Christmas land forms but never would've thought of using it on my layout. It looks very realistic! The scene came out great. Thanks a lot for sharing. RT
+retrainrun RT, thanks for the nice feedback. Glad to hear you think the scene turned out nice. Cheers, Kevin
Thank you so much for sharing this neat video. I’m a beginner and I have been over thinking on a tight budget. I don’t have anybody that’s in this hobby so I’m flying sole on this adventure. I’m more into the landscaping but in all fairness my little people will need town to to live in.
I’m trying my first diorama and came across this. It’s perfect!
Excellent! Thank you for making & posting this! This is one of the best methods I think I've ever seen.
Thank you for the nice compliments. Cheers, Kevin
I tried this technique, and it turned out amazing! Thanks for all the great tips!!
Thanks for the feedback. Glad this technique worked out for you. Cheers, Kevin
This was awesome. My three year old is train crazy, and the idea of trying to make something like this for him was so overwhelming- but this looks much easier than I expected! Thank you kindly for sharing your tips!!!
Amanda, thank you for the feedback. I hope you and your 3-year old enjoy trying out this technique and playing with your trains. Cheers, Kevin.
holy crap Kevin! I did this for my Christmas layouts but used some foam and screen and put the batting down for snow. never thought it would come out looking that good. great work!
+model railer Sometimes it's not about finding new products, it's about using readily available products in a new way. Glad to hear you think it looks good. Look forward to seeing this on your layout sometime. Cheers, Kevin
Thank you so much for sharing this video. I was looking for a lightweight solution to create hills on our portable railroad layout. This must be THE solution I'm going to use. So easy, thank you!
Patrick, thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear you like this technique. Cheers, Kevin
What a great alternative to plaster covered Styrofoam. I am going to try this on my mountain! It's always great to see another take on how to do something.
+mrlionel1965 Thanks. Let me know how this turns out for you. Cheers, Kevin
I have been watching this video over and over along with the one showing the addition of the scenery following. I have been to Colorado many times as well as Wyoming, Southern Idaho, and Utah. In my home State of Nevada this terrain simulation of yours looks so much like the area around Reno and Virginia City areas. great job. We took a drive south just to compare and I have to admit it is just about a perfect vision of the High Desert type of plains areas... Grasses, sagebrush, etc are all the textures and colors shown on your video at this time of year! Awesome job thinking outside the box! Going to try it soon on a Diorama that I am making with my son and wife. This video inspired them to get involved and they will be creating their own Diorama's as a practice run before starting the new layout! thanks for the idea... :)
D, wow! Thanks for the great story of how this video and method is helping get your family involved. Also, thanks for the kind words on how my model scenery matches the actual scenery in the high plains. Quite a compliment from someone who lives there. Good luck with the dioramas. Let me know how they turn out. Cheers, Kevin
Great tip! Thanks, I really like that it will help hide the seam between the layers of foam.
Now, on to your next video
+MWRR R You're welcome. Glad you liked this method. Cheers, Kevin
I've never seen a better idea than this, it's totally brilliant!
+David Moody Dave, thanks for the nice compliment. Hope this technique works out for you. Cheers, Kevin
Love this technique!! I'm working on a "tin scale" O gauge layout in my basement, and need a fast, cheap way to rough out a few hills. A lot of other methods are just too involved and tedious for the kind of toy-like prewar stuff I run. This way looks easy, fast, and could easily go either photo-realistic, or old school with sawdust and stuff. For reference, my track design is based on the mid 50s D-190 Lionel display, but with a mountain for the grade instead of trestles.
Glad to hear you liked this technique. You're layout plan sounds pretty cool. Cheers, Kevin.
Awesome idea of using the batting, never thought of that and my mother used to have it everywhere as she was making quilts. I'm going to give that a try as I love your results on your layout. Thanks for sharing it with us!
+David Durbin David, you're welcome. Glad to hear you're going to give this technique a try. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks for the compliments on my layout too. Cheers, Kevin
This looks like a really good way to cover a lot of terrain in a quick amount of time. Definitely going to try it. Thanks
+David Cullinane David, you're welcome. Completely agree that you can cover a lot of area very quickly and inexpensively. Let me know how yours turns out. Cheers, Kevin
Great idea! Looks great. I like the idea of it not being messy like plaster can be. Also the texture looks great. Thanks for sharing this with us! I will be giving this a try on my N scale layout.
Randy
+Randy Piasecki Randy, thanks. I like the fact that it isn't as messy as plaster as well. Glad to hear you'll be trying out this technique on your N scale layout. Let me know how it turns out. Cheers, Kevin
Excellent technique. The best I have seen! Just starting out so this is the way I will go. Thanks so much!!
David, thank you for the nice compliment. Hopefully this will help you out some. Cheers, Kevin
Wow, the texture of the batting as soon as it’s painted, is excellent. Much more realistic than plaster.
Thank you for the nice compliment. Cheers, Kevin
Neat, I like it. I'm near to building a tunnel section and wasn't really looking forward to using plaster. I'll certainly give it a try. As a side issue have a look at Bolder Creek Railroad, the stuff that this guy puts out is unbelievable and he makes it look so simple, rest assured, it ain't I've tried.
Thank you. Great techniques, super narration. Quick, practical and easy to follow.
Mike, thanks for the nice compliments. Cheers, Kevin
Love the ingenuity of your method. Looking great.
Thanks for sharing. Pretty sweet idea using that batting versus plaster of paris, which is I totally agree is extremely messy. Yuk, Awesomeness
David, thanks for the nice compliments on this technique. Cheers, Kevin
sweet. I have been in search for something light in my diorama ... Thanks for the tip
+Brad Chism Brad, you're welcome. Hope this works out well for your diorama. Cheers, Kevin
i'm defiantly gonna try that on my layout great tip looks good too thanks mate.
This is an AWESOME idea! I'm using it! THANK YOU FOR SHARING. Love learning something new. :)
+john badger John, glad you found this technique useful. Cheers, Kevin
Kevin great how to. Love the outcome. Great idea for fast land forms.
+Peter CPRail8748 Peter, thanks again. I find this to produce the best basic land forms of all the techniques I've tried over the years. While you'll still need to employ some other techniques for specific scenery features, like rock outcroppings, this should give you a great base to start from. Cheers, Kevin
I remember seeing this video a while back. I may recommend this for our layout. Thanks!
Let me know how it works out for you. Cheers, Kevin.
Many thanks, that was really great.
+jjab99 You're welcome again. Glad you liked the video. Cheers, Kevin
This is a great technique Kevin! I will have to give this a try for sure. Thanks so much for sharing,
Ethan
+efitter7 Ethan, thanks for the compliment. Hope you get a chance to try it out on your layout. If you do, let me know how it turns. Cheers, Kevin
Will do! Cheers
Great work Kevin - that's a really different approach to scenery.
+Phillip Clift Phillip, thanks. Hopefully some folks find this useful and can try it out on their own layouts. Cheers, Kevin
10/10, loved it thanks,
Jon.
+Jon Blakeney You're welcome. Thanks for the great compliment. Cheers, Kevin
Great ideas and well executed in the video. Thanks!!
Great technique , we will have to try this. Thank you Mr. Smith.
+Joe Saurina Joe, thanks. Let me know how it works out for you. Cheers, Kevin
Looks pretty good, I will have to try this for my first piece of scenery.
Really like the look and texture of this!! Thanks for sharing.
You're welcome. Cheers, Kevin
Great technique...I like it. Getting ready to start my scenery and this is the method I will use. I hate plaster...used that in the 70's for my first layout and it was a mess ...used metal screen and plaster and it looked good when done but added a ton of weight to the layout required a lot more work to make it look natural like this technique does with a lot less work. Thank you for sharing!
You're welcome. Glad to hear you liked this technique. Hope it works out for you as well. Cheers, Kevin
wow that's beautiful. I really like the texture of the cloth it looks real.
Paul, thanks for the nice compliment. Cheers, Kevin
Great idea! Thank you.
Great idea. Sure does save time and mess. Looks goo too.Scott
+Scott Downey Scott, thanks. Agree completely on saving time and mess. I used plaster for years and then for about the past 15 I was using plaster cloth over foam for the top surface of my layout. Stiff a bit messy and I found i didn't need the strength of the plaster because the foam supported everything. So I went looking for a new technique and developed this one after trying a few different cloth alternatives. Cheers, Kevin
excellent ideas. we were going to use drywall mud and now were going to copy these ideas
Damn! Very, very clever with a terrific outcome.
David, thanks. Glad you liked how this technique turned out. Cheers, Kevin
Thank You, I have been using paper towels the same way, I like this!!!!
+Scott Masterson Scott, you're welcome and thanks for the feedback. Hope this technique works out for you. Cheers, Kevin
Great video! Wish I'd found it before I built my last layout (was satisfied with it but I used WAY too much plaster and plaster cloth). Definitely using this approach next time.
Liked and subbed!
Just found your video. Looks great! Can't wait to try it.
A couple questions: Does the painted batting dry firm enough to place scenery on it without it sagging? Could you add plaster (like split rock faces) to add different textures, or would you have to build those separately and glue the batting around them?
Awesome! Innovative and inexpensive! I will definitely be using this when I build my final O Scale Joint line layout! Thank you very much for doing this video and explaining the process. Rick Trinkle, Trinkle-Trains.
+Rick Trinkle Thanks Rick. Glad you liked the video. Cheers, Kevin
Incredible results!!! Great idea
Thanks. Glad you like this idea. Cheers, Kevin
amazing that looks fantastic way better than than Messy paper mache from years ago what a good upgrade. I love how marlar's upgrade things all the time too realistic looks,without the Big Damn mess. thanks for the great video
Bob, you're welcome and thanks for the nice compliments. Cheers, Kevin.
Fantastic, thank you for making these videos!
You're welcome. Glad to hear you found the video useful. Cheers, Kevin
Great video. Thank you!
Nice job with the batting. I'm going to try this on some low hill areas of a layout I just started. Thanks for the idea.
You're welcome and thanks for the feedback. Let me know how your hills turn out. Cheers, Kevin
Good technique.. I use the used dryer sheets ( bounce or whatever brand ) for the smaller areas that don't need a whole lot of attention and mostly on the river banks or cut areas of a creek. They work well and its a good way to recycle I guess. Two birds with one stone. Keep the videos coming. Good Stuff.
+J “jwcomair297” White Thanks for the feedback on the technique. Cheers, Kevin
Nicely done. I just started adding scenery to my layout, a 12x20 HO layout (using the Central Midland layout) and I'm using this great technique. I did use darker paint, as I live in Michigan and the earth color is a little darker than out in Colorado. One question I have is how did you get the batting to nicely lay down at the edges by the track? I am using your techniques and the edges look "scruffy" next to the track or other parts of the layout. Thanks for your great videos!
Glad to hear you're trying out this technique. I didn't do anything different to get the batting to lay down at the tracks edge. Maybe I used a bit more glue to ensure it stuck to the foam base. Cheers, Kevin
What a great video I'm going to be starting scenery on my layout.Was their a name of the paint you used? Or would any shade of brown paint work. Thank you for the great video.
Really turn out great well done and thanks for the tip cheers Robert
+csxmad Robert, thanks for the nice compliment. Stay tuned for my next video on taking the painted hills to a fully sceniced scene. Cheers, Kevin
Loved the way you did the mountains with the bedding batting and thought I would try taking it a step further and dye the batting brown first so you didn't need to go too crazy applying paing. Just thought I'd relay the results to you and your subscribers whom may have thought about this but have not tried it. I doesn't work because the batting does not absorb the dye. Keep up the great work!
Damian, thanks for the feedback. Cheers, Kevin
Very good video. I quite like the texture of the terrain when you've used that quilt material, very, very effective. The finished product looks great. This has given me another idea for my next layout's terrain. Great work and thanks for sharing. Oh and I've subscribed too.
+Caleb's Rail Films Thank you for the nice feedback and compliments. Glad to hear this has given you some ideas for your own layout. Cheers, Kevin
Wow, I need to try that method - looks fantastic..!!
Chris, thanks for the compliment. Yes, you should try it out too. Cheers, Kevin
amazing.
.....i am indian and nice to see ur this beautiful technique
Thanks for the nice compliment. Cheers, Kevin
Hi.. amazing job you did..i recently started to build a display platform for a castle i have... i glued the foam boards together and went with the shape i want.. then i applied white glue between my foam board and foam roll paper ... but after a few hours , i feel like the white glue is still very wet .. any tips on what should i do ? Does the glue take more than a day or 2 to dry ? Thank you
This is great. Thank you! Would this work with a sand color for sand dunes, or would you recommend a different technique?
Wow, looks great, thank you.
Great demo.. .. im just starting a new layout in my new home so all the Tips i can get are going to be used :D
+Fred Fadungy Fred, congrats on starting a new layout. I think starting a new layout is one of the most exciting points in the hobby. Glad you think this tips will help you out. I've got several other videos you might like too. Also in my "Layout Updates" series of videos I pass on some thoughts on what has either worked or not worked for me that you might find useful. Cheers, Kevin
Fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing. Cheers, Dan
+TheMisterdan01 Thanks. Hopefully this technique will work out well for you too. Cheers, Kevin
Great idea! Thanks for sharing. You mention that the paint takes quite a long time to dry... can you give a ballpark? 24- 48 hrs? Longer?
Barbara, if I remember correctly it took mine 1-2 days to completely dry. But I imagine it is somewhat dependent on humidity. However, you do want somewhat of a longer drying time to give you plenty of time to add the first layer of ground foam on top of the wet paint. Cheers, Kevin
Excellent! Thank you sir for the video!
Wow, thank you. You make it look so easy! If mine turns out half as good as yours I will be thrilled. I just bought the stuff to try this out on my layout. I was wondering how I was going to make my carved foam look good.
Jeff, thanks for the nice compliment. I'm sure you can make yours look just as good as mine--if not better. Cheers, Kevin.
Excellent video... took a bunch of screen shots because I plan on using this method now for my terrain.
Gio, glad to hear you found this video useful. Cheers, Kevin.
this sounds like an awesome idea, I will give it a shot on my layout and my 2 kids layouts too, and if you need a rock outcropping then you can use plaster to carve it, Im just loving the lightness of it though :)
+Jason Maxwell Jason, thanks for the feedback. Cheers, Kevin
Awesome. I've been using plaster cloth, but your technique seems so much easier and effective. I am going to get some batting and try it out. Thank you for sharing.
Ismail, glad to hear you'll be trying this technique. Plaster cloth was my primary scenery method before switching to this. Let me know how it works out for you. Cheers, Kevin
Scale Model Trains & Colorado's Joint Line You bet I will. I had been trying out N Scale trains but when it came to scratch building, my eyes had difficulty adjusting. Now I think I have found my niche. Currently working on slot cars, HO scale, but I love working and experimenting on sceneries.
wow! man so very glad I found this before I tried plaster!
Brandon, thank you for the feedback. Cheers, Kevin.
I think this is great, one idea would be to try Super 77 spray glue ( made by 3M), let it sit a couple minutes and apply the bat and smooth it down. I use it for my scrollsaw patterns attaching to wood. No mess and it holds well
Gracias por traducir al español. Esta muy interesante y ayuda mucho a los modelistas ferroviarios
That is incredible has given me many ideas..thanks for posting
David, thank you for the nice compliment. I'm glad to hear you found the video useful. Cheers, Kevin
just found this video - great idea and thanks for sharing - a question - does the batting become very stable and hard when dry, like a shell, or does it always have some "give"? thank you!
Thank you for the nice compliment. The painted batting doesn't harden like plaster. It will still have some give to it and will need something supporting it so it can hold its shape. Cheers, Kevin
Very nice info Kevin. Like that stuff, looks great. Mike
+KU4PC Mike, thanks for the compliment. Cheers, Kevin
Wow-very nice method,looks great!
+dismaldog Thanks. Glad to hear you think it looks good. The follow up video on scenery techniques should be posted in a couple days. Cheers, Kevin
I was wondering why you said plaster added weight to the set, it drys very light weight, but I did find your idea to work well over bead board ( or Styrofoam)but over dow board I found to carve it works better, am I wrong here?
Thats great i love the idea
wow that came out really good. I build 1:24, 25 scale car dioramas, im gonna give that a try. it really looks like grass. would a snow blanket for a nativity scene work?
great.
Fantastic!
Thanks Tim. Cheers, Kevin.
Nice technique! Have you tried to use it as a snow with a white paint? Thought that might be a nice look for a winter scene. Cheers
Very nice...I have been using the filter material out of furnace filters it's like the batting you are using but has that light gauge wire in it to help really hold a shape if you need it.
+Brad Beining Thanks for the feedback and compliment. Cheers, Kevin
Great job!
Thanks. Cheers, Kevin.
Great stuff spray foam has worked well for me
How did you apply that onto the model railroad..?
WOW...great looking rocks.
Thanks. Cheers, Kevin
Nice stuff, great work!!
Thanks. Cheers, Kevin