I finally started work on a new micro layout, The Canyon.
I talked about the concept in an earlier post, but basically, this one will have a canyon cutting diagonally across it, with two bridges. The scenery will be reminiscent of the High Sierras or the Rockies, with lots of big conifers.
Today I built a simple box frame from 1x2s. In the photo below, the larger section is so filled with a roughly 2x2 foot slab of pink foam. The plywood panel in the lower corner is where I'll mount a DCC-EX circuit that will power the layout.
I started rough cutting layers of foam. I'm using three different thicknesses -- 1", 1.5", and 2" -- so the layers are varied. The next picture shows what I've cut so far. I plan to add another layer or two.
The canyon will get wider when I start carving detail into the foam.
The Campbell truss bridge I build a couple of months ago will span the narrower end of the canyon, farthest away in this photo. The near end will have a curved trestle.
Later: I laid out the oval and marked the location of the truss bridge on a sheet of 1 inch foam. It quickly became apparent that I seriously underestimated how wide the canyon needs to be to accommodate the bridge. I'll have to carve back the foam a few inches.
I left a temporary bridge section in place in the foreground for alignment; I'll cut it away once the foam is glued in place.
9/20/24: I did some more carving. This is my process: Carve a little, let it sit overnight, carve some more. When I say carve, it's really more of a chipping action -- insert a knife, then twist to break away foam in irregular chunks. Anyway, here's today's progress:
9/30/24: Slow progress, but it's still progress.
I decided to have the river on two levels, with a small waterfall in the middle, so I filled in one end of the streambed (at the far end in this picture) with scrap foam and Sculptamold.
10/2/24: I started playing with layers above track level. Looking at the low angle photo, I think I need another four inches or so, but before I do that I need to measure my RAV 4 to make sure it will fit. I may need to leave the top removable for portability.
(Later: The cargo compartment is 30 inches high, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.)
The truss bridge is awfully close to the front edge of the layout -- only about a half inch back. I've already dropped the bridge and broken it once -- it is currently on my workbench for repair -- and since this is intended to be a portable layout, I am nervous about the potential for damage, especially during transit. I'm thinking I might add a half inch or an inch of foam on this side.
10/9/24: I know, I know -- this is taking forever. Work, family stuff, life in general, what can I tell you?
10/9/24: I know, I know -- this is taking forever. Work, family stuff, life in general, what can I tell you?
I was not excited by the way the canyon walls were looking, and I couldn't figure out why. Then last night, I went back and looked at some work-in-progress pictures from the Christmas mini. I went through the same thing there -- at a similar stage in the carving, I felt the cliff sides were dull and featureless. I went back and did some aggressive carving, adding deep vertical fissures and varying the depth of the rock wall, and it made a world of difference.
This morning, I dove in and did the same thing with the canyon, and while more work is needed, it's definitely moving in the right direction.
10/12/24
Adding lightweight spackle obscures the "wedding cake" effect of the foam layers. The raw foam blocks on the top will probably be the highest level, bringing the total height to 16-1/2 inches. The rock faces from track level up still need some work, but it's getting there. The back side is another story, since I've barely worked on it at all. Still, I'm hoping that by next weekend it will be ready for a base coat of paint.
After a little more work, here's the back side:
I'm not happy with the shape of the top layer. Maybe I can correct it with some carving, or maybe I need to replace some of it. We'll see.
I'm thinking of putting a small water tank on this side. The canister is about the size of a Banta Short Line Water Tank. I may put a small supply shed next to it.
The flat corner in the foreground will probably be be cut away a bit to fall below track level.
Here's the Banta tank:
At the risk of setting myself up to fail, I'm going to say I hope to finish with the carving by the end of this week (it's Monday); install the fascia over the weekend, then paint next week. I'll build the trestle, install the truss bridge, and lay track starting the week after that. Even with some slippage, there's a reasonably good chance I'll have the track complete and be able to run a train by Thanksgiving. Then I can build the water tank, make pine trees, and do other finish work over my winter break. The goal is to have it ready to show in time for Gary Beatty's Mini-Festa in late May or early June.
10/16/24:
Getting close. The fact is, I could pick away at this forever, but at some point I need to call it "good enough" and move on. I think I'm getting close to that point.
I need to work on footings for the bridges on both sides, and it needs a little more work around the tunnel portals.
It's not apparent in the photos, but I glued the last bit that's going to be glued, at least for now. There are now four main subassemblies: the frame and the first inch of foam above it; the two sections up to track level (and actually an inch above track level; and the hill above track level. There's a pretty apparent dividing line an inch above track level on the one side. I'll glue down the two big sections before I lay track. The upper one will need to stay removable at least until I let track laid through the tunnel.
10/18/24: I cut and installed the 1/8" hardboard fascia. It frames the scenery nicely, and will look even better when it's painted. I want to add an L molding on the corners to hide some slight irregularities.
In his videos on building foam scenery, Dave Meek recommends running a heat gun over the foam after carving. I didn't do that when I built my last micro, but yesterday I bought Home Depot's least expensive heat gun, and this evening I gave The Canyon the heat gun treatment. I like the results. It doesn't really show up in photos, but the heat melts fuzz and other irregularities, smooths things out, and I think makes the rocks look more realistic.
It's a little premature, but I may throw on a base coat of gray paint tomorrow.
10/19/24: Looking at it, I decided the fascia on the tunnel end was a bit too boxy, so I cut it down an inch, then did some more carving on the edges of the foam. I also got the barrel socket I needed for the power supply, and mounted that on the fascia.
I worked a bit on fixing the Campbell truss bridge but I'm getting increasingly frustrated with it. I found a Central Valley girder bridge online that's the same length as the Campbell truss and ordered it. That means it could possibly use the same piers or at least the same footings. I could put the Central Valley bridge in temporarily, then swap in the Campbell bridge later; or use the Campbell when the layout is safely at home and switch to the other when I take it someplace.
Or I might just use the shorter Micro Engineering bridge.
10/25/24: I completed several small tasks today. Though small individually, they were major milestones in the project.
First -- last night, actually -- I carved and installed abutments for the straight bridge. I had built some timber abutments, but they were too wide to use here. I might try them on the curved trestle.
Today, I added some corner molding to complete the fascia. This will all be painted a dark color eventually.
I installed my DCC EX board on the bottom of the layout. I'll do a separate post on that.
With that done, I glued the two main foam assemblies in place. When the glue dries, probably tomorrow, I'll fill around the edges with SculptaMold. Then I can start painting and put down ties.
Finally, I stained a mess of stripwood -- 1/8 square for ties, and several other sizes for building the straight bridge, the curved trestle, and the tunnel portals.
10/26/24: I filled in around the edges of the foam with SculptaMold today, which makes thus phase of construction pretty much complete. I need to figure out abutments fir the trestle, and footings for both bridges, and maybe some minor touchups here and there.
After the SculptaMold dries, probably in a couple of days, I'll put on a base coat of paint.
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