HOW A SCENE COMES TOGETHER by MAYNARD “MITCH” MITCHELL

© Rear Platform - Model Railroad Planning 2023

I thought MRP readers might enjoy seeing how a scene comes together and getting a sense of the planning that goes into it.

The first image is close to how the scene looked when it was mostly plaster. I made the mould used to cast the stone. There would be lots of detail added to the old abandoned mill, and the driveway will be overgrown because the mill is no longer in use. The HO layout is supposed to represent northern Wisconsin, but I scratch built the pond gates from a mill that is about an hour and a half away from our Michigan home.

The second view represents a progress report, but the scene is still incomplete. Lowering the area behind the mill allowed me to have a stream from the overflow of the millpond and also an area where I could install mature trees and not have them block the scene behind them. When viewing the mill close up, the trees block most of the background, allowing the mill to be photographed and viewed individually, creating a separate scene. The back side of the mill is also detailed, with an open foundation (the footings in the first photo show that I planned ahead) and water wheel, plus the normal clutter that would be found behind a mill.

There’s still more detail to be added, such as boys with their bicycles by the pond. The ballast will also be coloured to show use. More weeds and brush will be installed along the shore of the pond. But the scene is sufficiently developed to confirm that careful planning paid off.

A faster and neater approach to this time tested technique.

© Brooks Stover

Featured in Great Model Railroads

2011, my S scale Buffalo Creek & Gauley (BC&G) model railroad was started 20 years ago using triedand-true techniques.

As the BC&G was set in West Virginia, the 25 x 44-foot layout had a lot of tree covered mountains. These were built on a scenery base of plaster-impregnated gauze applied over a lattice of cardboard strips or a layer of Kraft paper, followed by a layer of Sculptamold.

In 2017, a move to a new home required that I dismantle the BC&G. At age 70, I found myself starting a new layout. I’d planned to build this new version of the BC&G with the same familiar methods. However, it soon became clear that it was time for this old dog to learn some new tricks.

The layout room in my brand-new house was already finished, including a carpeted floor. Consequently, I began looking for plaster. Another consideration was that my workshop was now located at the end of the house opposite the train room. I wanted to find techniques that didn’t involve numerous trips back and forth to use the shop’s table saw or utility sink.

After spending some time exploring ideas in recent hobby publications and consulting several model railroading friends, I came up with the following method for building a sturdy hardshell scenery base with less mess and in less time.

Establishing hillside contours

To capture the look of the prototype, I modelled steep, tree-covered hillsides along the back of the layout. These hills extended to the blue sky painted on the train room walls and also served as the layout’s backdrop. In some locations the hillsides are only 6" deep but rise up to a 24" height. As shown in ❶ on the next page, I used 1 ⁄8" plywood profiles to define the hilltops. To protect the drywall, I mounted the profiles on 1 x 2 strips.

I used the profiles from my old layout room, so I only had to cut them to length. To define the hillside contours, I cut vertical profiles from 1 ⁄2" extruded-foam insulation board. With its long, slender blade, a snap-off utility knife made it easy to achieve curved cuts. If the plywood profiles hadn’t been available, I would’ve used foam for the hilltops. I placed the vertical profiles about 8" apart, somewhat closer in corners (see ❷). The profiles are held in place by low temperature hot glue. Unlike adhesive caulk, the hot glue sets up in seconds. At this point it’s easy to visualize the contour of the terrain and make changes before moving on to the next step.

Creating the terrain surface

Keeping with my quick-and-clean theme, I searched for a way to create the hillside surface in as few steps as possible. After some experimenting, I found a plastic screen material called ADFORS Sun Guard. Because it’s meant to block sunlight, this material features smaller openings than window screen. These smaller holes make it easy to cover the surface with my hardshell material in only one coat. I purchased the plastic screen in 48" rolls from my local home improvement centre. The material is flexible, easy to cut with scissors or a sharp knife, and takes hot glue well. Most importantly, the plastic won’t cut or scratch my skin, which can happen with aluminium screen. After cutting the plastic screen to fit, I used hot glue to attach the screen to the hill profiles ❸. A piece of scrap wood worked well to press the screen into the glue. Larger sections of screen are preferable, as they reduce the number of seams. However, smaller pieces are easier to work with in areas with tighter radii, such as corners. I also used smaller sections to help blend in splices. The finished screen and foam profile assembly felt a bit springy. However, the surface proved sturdy and didn’t sag.

Homax hardshell

The biggest challenge for this project was finding an alternative to plaster for the hardshell. My good friend and fellow S scale modeller Bob Stelmach had the answer. He introduced me to a product called Homax Roll-On Texture, available at most home centres. A thick, latex paint product, Homax is intended for adding orange-peel or other texture to walls and ceilings. Homax comes only in white and isn’t intended to be mixed with other colours. [The material is usually painted after drying. – MR Ed.]

However, the helpful paint department clerk at my local home centre tinted a couple batches for me, using earth-tone and green colours. A green tinted batch is shown in 4.

I applied the Homax with a paintbrush. According to the product’s instructions, it can be applied in coats up to 1 ⁄8" thick. With a little care, I could cover a section of screen with one coat. Because of the thick viscosity of the Homax and the fine mesh of the screen, none of the material leaked through. The Homax takes about 24 hours to cure. Once dry, the surface is durable and ready for scenicking. A second coat was required in a few areas to conceal seams that wouldn’t be fully covered by scenery.

Final scenicking

Adding scenery to the Homax hardshell was the same as with plaster, as shown in 5.

The Homax/screen surface backed by foam profiles is strong enough to support plaster rock castings. I had some left over from my old layout that attached to the new hardshell with hot glue. Then I filled the gaps with Sculptamold. Plaster rocks could also be cast directly onto the Homax hardshell. I completed the hillsides using scenicking techniques that I explained in “How to make tree covered hills” in the Nov. 2012 Model Railroader.

As I worked on this article I made another time saving discovery. In areas where I applied poly fire trees, I could eliminate the hardshell step completely. Using 3M Super 77 spray adhesive, I attached puffball trees and clump foliage directly to the plastic screen. Some layout areas awaiting trees are shown in 5. I also found Homax could be used to fill gaps between layers of foam or make textured surfaces for dirt roads or paths. It’s like ready-made “ground goo”. #1. Hilltops

Brooks used 1 ⁄8" plywood profiles mounted on 1 x 2 spacers attached to the wall which was painted sky blue with clouds prior to layout construction. The Homasote tunnel liners will eventually be covered by mountainous terrain.

#2 Foam profiles

Using a snap-off utility knife, Brooks cut vertical hill profiles from 1 ⁄2" extruded-foam insulation board. He attached the foam profiles to the plywood hilltops and other points on the layout base with hot glue.

#3 Plastic sun-block screen

The ADFORS Sun Guard plastic screen can be easily cut with scissors or a sharp knife. Brooks typically used 12” x 24” sections of screen for large areas and attached the screen to the foam and plywood profile with hot glue.

#4 HOMAX hard shell

Using a brush, Brooks applied tinted Homax rollon texture over the plastic screen to create the hardshell. Although it’s a latex paint product, Homax is the consistency of plaster and usually covered the screen with a single coat.

#5 Trees and scenery

Once dry, the Homax surface can be scenicked like traditional hardshell. Brooks doesn’t other applying Homax to any area that will be covered by trees. Instead he attaches the polyfibre clumps to the screen with spray ahesive.

The last train to cross the Kraai River Bridge on 10 Oct. 2001.

The unique feature of the Barkly East branch line was the use of 8 reverses or switch backs where the train literally zig-zags forwards and backwards in order to cross mountains and valleys at manageable gradients.

Construction of the line in Cape Gauge (3’ 6” or1065mm) commenced in 1904. The first section between Aliwal North and Lady Grey ran over relatively flat country and construction was easy, requiring only a bridge over the Kraai River. At Lady Grey the first mountains were encountered and the line rose sharply as far as Melk siding. To cross this tributary of the Kraai River, taking cognisance of the topography of the area, it would have been necessary to bridge the valley of the Karringmelk Spruit 90m above the river bed and to enter a tunnel 23m long on the other side. The entire permanent way was constructed and the tunnel completed in 1911, but the bridge never became a reality. Over the years the absence of the bridge gave rise to many theories, adding to the most interesting folklore around this line. Some believed the ridge was on a ship sunk in the First World War by a German Uboat, while others thought the iron was used for war material. However, the most accepted reason was that owing to the high cost of the bridge, it was never ordered until traffic levels would justify it! That never happened and the reverses remained and offered a fascinating railway journey for nearly 90 years. The Barkly East branch line runs in the Witteberg Range of the Drakensberg. Construction took 25 years to complete. At first there were 5 reverses, but the 6th was added at Melk because, with an uneven number, the locomotives would have ended up facing the wrong way after they had completed the reverses.

© David Benn Tierkranz River Bridge 11 July 1999

A SAR Class 19D (4-8-2) No 3323 with mixed goods and passenger train crosses the Kraai River Bridge on the last leg of the journey to Barclay East. Sadly, three years after this picture was taken the line was closed permanently

© David Benn 25 July 1998. Class 24s (#3635) were not the usual motive power during steam days. The class would have been very suitable for this lightly laid and long branch line with its 8 reverses. The waters of the Kraai (Crow) River are laden with trout, introduced into the area more than a century ago.

On 3 May 2023 another milestone achievement will be opened to the public, Patagonia, the far south of South America, complete with glaciers where daily, some pieces will break off as happens for real! Their Argentinian partners have also developed a machine that together with clever lighting design, will simulate the tremendous seas in the Drake Passage around the horn of South America.

“Since the opening of Rio de Janeiro, we have been working on the construction of the next part of the South America section. In contrast to the Brazilian Mega metropolis, the viewer will be taken to the fascinating landscapes of Patagonia at the end of the world. Wide steppes, the Andean Mountains, which culminates in the famous Fitz Roy, and the Perito-Moreno glacier define this part of the section. This is followed by the notorious Drake Passage, in which a ship during the ‘night’ through various techniques, will attempt to sail through a thunderous storm. The icy world of the Antarctic then finally forms the end of the newest section.

The largest glacier area in Patagonia is located in the South American Andes. One of the most famous glaciers is the Perito-Moreno. This glacier is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Argentina and is the most visited place in the UNESCO World Heritage classified Los Glaciares National Park. We felt it was particularly important to depict the breakup of the glacier. To do this, we conducted various tests with real water and real ice, but in the end we decided to use a mechanical system because of the inertia of the ice. When the glacier ice breaks off, there is still a lot of air trapped in the water, which rises out of the water when it resurfaces” – Gerrit Braun.

Visitors to Miwula are encouraged to get their tickets before arrival

“We are actually always fully booked during school holidays and on many weekends. If you are planning a Wonderland visit in these times, it is absolutely necessary to book a ticket online as early as possible, because on site the waiting time for spontaneous visitors can often be six hours and more. We are actually always fully booked during school holidays and on many weekends. If you are planning a Wonderland visit in these times, it is absolutely necessary to book a ticket online as early as possible, because on site the waiting time for spontaneous visitors can often be six hours and more. If there are no more tickets for your desired day, there are still a few alternative ways, which are often available on the remaining contingents of tickets. Together with Hamburg Tourism, we offer, for example, complete travel packages in every price range where the Wunderland ticket is already included without a waiting time:”