[GBMark]

Finally got my table built in the spare room. It is an odd sized 'L' shape but I am reckoning on getting around 55 feet of 2 lane track on it.

I have decided not to make a permanent layout so trees/scenery/accessories etc, etc will be fixed onto bases to allow them to be moved around.

The one thing I am undecided on is whether to paint the chipboard base with a green emulsion or use something like Heki's Scatter Mat to cover the surface. I had a look at them on GS, they are £7.50 but there is no information (that I could see) about how big the roll is. Total area of the base is approx 58 square feet.

As I already said, the layout will not be permanent so I will not be raising the base to the level of the track. I just want a surface that will look effective.

Any pointers you can share with me in helping to achieve my aim chaps ?

Happy Easter !

 

[The Muffin Man]

You could try mixing some sawdust in with the green emulsion to give a flock effect. If you then use a drybrush technique using a lighter green or yellow paint, this will highlight the raised sawdust bits, giving a more textured feel. A coat of thinned PVA painted/sprayed on top will help with making the surface more durable too.

You could then repeat this on the bases for all your scenic pieces and they should blend in quite nicely. (and it'll also be a lot cheaper than using scatter mats!)

 

[Doug]

QUOTE (GBMark @ 9 Apr 2004, 09:55)... but there is no information (that I could see) about how big the roll is. ...
The mats are 100 cm wide by about 60 to 70 high. They're great for grassy areas or covering sloping hills and landscape. I don't know about using them to cover a large flat area. Perhaps a bit dear for that.

 

[GBMark]

Nuro, glad you could confirm the mat dimensions, certainly would work out too expensive.

MM, thanks for the idea, sounds a good alternative to the mat and a better option than a basic flat emulsion finish. I remember John Sword (?) showing how to apply this technique on Short Circuits.

I think I will give it a try

 

[BEEJAY7]

Mark

Try the Model Railway stockists, they have a wide selection and at fairly decent prices.

Regards

Alan

 

[LMP]

I built a 1/64 raceway recently (pics soon y'all

) and applied two bags of gaugemaster scatter to the base using pva as an adhesive.

I'd cover the area sparesly in glue, then use a watery paint brush to spread the glue over a larger area. I poured the scatter into an old icing sugar dispenser and shook away. Any excess I flattened using a lolly stick and spread it to other areas.

Hope this has been helpful, it let me cover 5 2x4 sheets of MDF with just two bags of scatter and one bottle of glue. Thats under a fiver.

Hope this helps.

 

[GBMark]

Alan, Gary...appreciate the replies, thank you.

You have got me thinking so I have put my solution temporarily on hold until I have searched around a bit more to see if I can find cheaper materials.

One idea I now have in mind is to continue with the green emulsion base and then apply scatter to borders, scenery bases etc, etc.......like the "cool track borders" idea that JohnP posted a while back.

Thanks again.....hope you will be interested to see some pics sometime.

Regards to all.....Mark.