Hills and Terrain
I know that I haven't posted much recently, but I did not get to work on the layout much last week. I wasn't particularly busy, it being summer vacation, but I could not get any layout work done for various reasons. However, this morning I was able to make good progress on the layout.
I carved and shaped one side of a rise in the land of the third, countryside module and part of the corner module. This rise will eventually cover the entire countryside module except where the track passes through a shallow cut. One of my pet peeves about many layouts is that they are either far to flat or have exaggerated topographical features, like very steep slopes or deep ravines, when most land areas are dominated by rather gentle topography. I have been guilty of this many times- Most of my previous layout attempts were completely flat. In Maine, however, most of the land is rolling terrain with countless slight rises and depressions in the land, so I have attempted to simulate this on my layout.
Anyway, here are some pictures and a description of the work I did this morning and over the past week. The methods are nothing new or original but I think that they have so far achieved good results.
The picture above shows the area before I started carving and shaping it. I attached one inch thick foam board in the areas that I wanted to raise. The foam pieces were attached with a few screws.
This photo shows the foam (with the exception of the foam in the foreground) in the first stages of carving. I started by using a small kitchen knife to cut off long chunks of foam to achieve a general slope near the tracks.
This photo shows an area after carving was completed.
The photo above shows where I added a section of foam board on top of the regular 1 inch thick layer that I carved. I carved this small piece of foam from a scrap and attached it with wood glue, and temporary wire nails to keep it in place.
This photo shows one section of the cut after it was shaped. I used a rasp to shape the hillsides and to create drainage ditches by the track. The additional piece of foam was not shaped at this time.
The above photo shows another section of hillside after it was shaped with a rasp.
This shows another section of the hillside after being carved.
My cat, Tofu, supervised the entire project from the comfort of a chair.
This shows the joint between the raised hill and a relatively flat meadow after they were both shaped with a rasp. The joint between the two layers is rendered practically invisible after shaping.
The side of the Bird Brook stream bed after it had been shaped. One of my next projects is to construct the bridge for Bird Brook.
Looking down the track along where the hillside was carved and shaped. Even though it is all foamboard I think the scene looks quite promising.
An overall view of the terrain after carving and shaping.
Looking down a hillside and into a more level area on the corner module by Bird Brook. I shaped this area as well.
Looking at the more level area overall. The hill is in the left foreground and Bird Brook is to the right.
Looking along the track towards bird brook and Norway. I used the rasp to lower the land slightly around the track to create a roadbed of sorts. I decided to not use actual roadbed as all the pictures I have seen indicate that there was not much of any roadbed on the Norway branch.
This shows the extra foam layer after it had been shaped. My next project on the layout is to work on the terrain on the other side of the tracks on the corner module and the countryside module.
I carved and shaped one side of a rise in the land of the third, countryside module and part of the corner module. This rise will eventually cover the entire countryside module except where the track passes through a shallow cut. One of my pet peeves about many layouts is that they are either far to flat or have exaggerated topographical features, like very steep slopes or deep ravines, when most land areas are dominated by rather gentle topography. I have been guilty of this many times- Most of my previous layout attempts were completely flat. In Maine, however, most of the land is rolling terrain with countless slight rises and depressions in the land, so I have attempted to simulate this on my layout.
Anyway, here are some pictures and a description of the work I did this morning and over the past week. The methods are nothing new or original but I think that they have so far achieved good results.
The picture above shows the area before I started carving and shaping it. I attached one inch thick foam board in the areas that I wanted to raise. The foam pieces were attached with a few screws.
This photo shows the foam (with the exception of the foam in the foreground) in the first stages of carving. I started by using a small kitchen knife to cut off long chunks of foam to achieve a general slope near the tracks.
This photo shows an area after carving was completed.
This photo shows one section of the cut after it was shaped. I used a rasp to shape the hillsides and to create drainage ditches by the track. The additional piece of foam was not shaped at this time.
This shows another section of the hillside after being carved.
My cat, Tofu, supervised the entire project from the comfort of a chair.
The side of the Bird Brook stream bed after it had been shaped. One of my next projects is to construct the bridge for Bird Brook.
Looking down the track along where the hillside was carved and shaped. Even though it is all foamboard I think the scene looks quite promising.
An overall view of the terrain after carving and shaping.
Looking down a hillside and into a more level area on the corner module by Bird Brook. I shaped this area as well.
Looking at the more level area overall. The hill is in the left foreground and Bird Brook is to the right.
Looking along the track towards bird brook and Norway. I used the rasp to lower the land slightly around the track to create a roadbed of sorts. I decided to not use actual roadbed as all the pictures I have seen indicate that there was not much of any roadbed on the Norway branch.
This shows the extra foam layer after it had been shaped. My next project on the layout is to work on the terrain on the other side of the tracks on the corner module and the countryside module.
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