Scenery

6 Ways to Improve Your

618122 A supplement to Classic Toy Trains magazine

Toy Train

classictoytrains.com 3

One of the great things abouttoy train layouts is the ability toadd scenery and details to your

satisfaction without fear of some invisi-ble panel of experts judging your workas “unworthy.” In the world of toy trains,you can make your railroad as realistic –or as abstract – as you wish. Like thefamous fast-food chain slogan, you canhave it your way.

The Classic Toy Trains staff hasidentified three broad categories of toytrain layouts, based largely on sceneryand details.

The first layout style we call “ToyTrain.” The surface of these basic lay-outs can be painted wood, paper grasssheets, or various types of carpet repre-senting lawns, fields, or bare earth. Toytrain-style layouts are the realm of time-honored tubular Lionel track and pre-and postwar-style accessories, which areoften alive with motion and vibrant col-ors but may have no known prototype

or may be grossly oversized or under-sized compared to the trains on the lay-out. Trains and accessories are run fortheir own sake and are not keyed to thereal world. There is no higher purposeto the layout other than to have fun.

The second style we call “Tradi-tional.” Here a layout builder is tryingfor a more realistic approach, but with-out abandoning all of the toy train-styleelements of model railroading’s past.Layouts may use tubular track, or theymay use more realistic track producedby GarGraves or MTH. There is anattempt to include Lionel’s more realis-tic postwar structures and accessories, aswell as authentic modern accessoriesmade by MTH, K-Line, and other man-ufacturers. Still, you may find a discreetoversized Lionel gateman popping outof a shed as a train passes, or spot amodern Lionel “disco ball” nuclearreactor glowing ominously on the hori-zon. But traditional-style layouts have

textured scenery, including hills and val-leys populated by realistic looking treesand vegetation made from dyed groundfoam. And all of the trains and acces-sories on the layout have plausible rea-sons for being there.

The third style we called “Hi-rail.”The generally accepted parameters of ahi-rail layout include a track plan with asense of purpose and destination, realis-tic track, and accurately proportionedscenery that models a specific spot onthe map. Trains are scale-sized modelsrather than approximations of O or Sgauge, and locomotives, rolling stock,and structures all – without exception –reflect those of a specific railroad and aclearly defined place and time.

Regardless of which style you favor,the scenery projects on the followingpages are easy to understand and build,and will inspire you to make your rail-road, whatever its style, all that you wantit to be! – Bob Keller

© 2005, Kalmbach Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced in part or in whole without written permission from the publisher, except in the case ofbrief quotations used in reviews. Published by Kalmbach Publishing Co., 21027 Crossroads Cir., P.O.Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612. Printed in U.S.A.

Introduction

PAUL DOLKOS

4 Classic Toy Trains

Add a gorge

NO MATTER WHAT size or scale lay-out you have, including a gorgeor creek bed will attract the atten-

tion of visitors. Even if your S, O, or Stan-dard gauge railroad already has track andscenery, you can build a gorge.

Cookie-cutting a foundationThe first step in adding a gorge

involves cutting into the tabletop toaccommodate an open area. Begin bymarking an outline on the tabletop whereyour gorge will be. When determining itswidth, keep in mind that the typical Ogauge trestle bridge is 24 inches long.

This gorge has a 22-inch opening,which leaves an inch on each end tosupport the trestle bridge. Farther infrom the front edge of my layout, thegorge narrows and is crossed by a sec-ond track. A plate girder bridge is usedfor the second crossing.

Once you’ve checked your gorge’s loca-tion, use a saber saw to cut an opening inthe plywood tabletop. You may also haveto cut through some bracing beneath thetabletop. (fig. 1).

If necessary, add a new brace farther infrom the edge of the layout or closer to

the floor to make up for the brace you cut.Next, you need to decide how deep

your gorge will be. If you really want to gowild, building a deep gorge down to thefloor level may be in the cards,although a dramatically deep gorgemay look out of place if the rest of yourlayout’s terrain is relatively flat.

This layout uses a shallower basinabout 4 inches deep. Use a 1-by-4 pieceof lumber to frame the sides of thegorge and a sheet of plywood to serveas the bed of the gorge.

Cut three equal pieces of the 1-by-4 toserve as the walls of the gorge. If yourgorge is deeper or shallower, use a differ-ent width of wood accordingly. Using car-penter’s glue and 11⁄4-inch-long drywallscrews, secure two of these “walls” to theleft and right undersides of the cutoutarea so they’re perpendicular to the edgeof the layout. Then secure the third pieceto the rear of the opening (fig. 2).

Take the sheet of plywood and cut offa section that’s about the size of youropening (my opening measures approx-imately 22 by 30 inches).

This piece serves as the bed of thegorge. Again, use wood glue and drywallscrews to secure this piece to the three 1-by-4 supports. When finished, youshould have a three-sided “compart-ment” to scenick.

You can add this neat gorge to your own lay-out. Follow these directions and you’ll see howeasy it is to add this scenic feature to your railroad.

Fig. 1: Start by cutting out the shape of the gorgeand any underlying braces. The width of the cut inthe tabletop is a couple of inches less than thebridge that spans it.

Fig. 2: Next frame the gorge with 1-by-4 sidesand a base made of plywood. Be sure that thepieces of wood fit flush to the front edge of thelayout.

Stan Trzoniec creates a scenery feature that looks

great on an O or S gauge railroad

to your layout

classictoytrains.com 5

Scenery baseReady for the real fun? I’m referring

to making the scenery surrounding thegorge. First, though, I decided that, foradded realism, I wanted concrete abut-ments to support the center and ends ofthe trestle bridge and the ends of thegirder bridge. I bought my abutmentsfrom Scenic Express, a model railroadscenery supplier.

After checking that the abutmentswere the right height and making adjust-ments, I weathered them with a wash ofrubbing alcohol and black India ink. I letthe weathering dry overnight. Then Isecured the abutments in place with dabsof Liquid Nails on their bases.

Whether you include abutments ornot, the next step is to cut strips of corru-gated cardboard and staple them from theedge of the tabletop down to the plywoodbed of your gorge. Using the strips and abit of artistic license, contour the sceneryso it flows down into the gorge (fig. 3).

Since the gorge on my layout is rathershallow, I decided to combine a dry washwith a small creek that is low at this time ofthe year because of the lack of rain. Otheralternatives would be to make the gorgefull of water as if it were a rain-swollenstream or river. Again, it’s your choice.

I made banks for my creek with amaterial called PlasterWrap, which Irolled up to form the basic contour of thewater flow. This also let me form a “dam”

to confine the Enviro-Tex two-part clearepoxy that I use to model water. BothPlasterWrap and Enviro-Tex are availablefrom model railroad scenery companiessuch as Woodland Scenics and ScenicExpress, which advertise in CTT.

PlasterWrap is just what it sounds like –a mesh wrapping material impregnatedwith dry plaster. It was originally developedas a convenient way for physicians to putbroken bones into casts. Be aware thatthis material can be messy. If your lay-out is sitting on a nice carpet, you oughtto put a tarp under it to spare the rug.

Use an old pan or tray for preparingthe PlasterWrap. Disposable paint-rollertrays are another alternative. Fill yourtray about a third of the way with luke-warm water. Cut the PlasterWrap instrips 6 to 8 inches long.

Dip the strips in the water; you shouldbe able to work with three or four at atime. Lift them out and let the excesswater drain off. Then drape the wet stripsover your cardboard latticework. Let thestrips overlap for added strength (fig. 4).

Don’t worry about getting a star forneatness. Have fun and let everythingdry for a day or two, depending onroom and humidity conditions. Thenget ready to finish the rough scenerywith Gypsolite, another material.

Gypsolite is a lightweight gypsumbase-coat plaster. Look for it at homeimprovement centers. I’ve found that a

mix of 3 parts Gypsolite to 1 part waterworks best. It creates a consistency thatlets you brush on this mix with relativeease while still being able to take timeto work it the way you want.

Place the 3 parts of Gypsolite into awashable container and add half of thewater to start the mix. Then pour morewater into the mix and keep turning ituntil you get something like wet con-crete. You can then begin to lay theGypsolite onto the walls of your gorgewith an old brush (fig. 5).

Allow for natural flows in the terrain.If you have an area where you thinkwater will spill into the gorge, shape theGypsolite with your brush to suggest ero-sion from the water. Later add detailslike talus (small rocks) and debris toshow the direction of the water as itreaches the bottom of the gorge.

Paint and detailsAfter the Gypsolite has dried, you

can paint and detail it right down tothe water line (fig. 6).

You can add earth to the base of thecreek, followed by some coloring for thewater. Start with a darker color in the mid-dle of the creek for depth, and let itbecome lighter as it gets to the shallowshore. Since I had plenty of greens andbrowns on my layout already, I took a bitof artistic license and used hues of blue.

The finale is pouring the Enviro-Texepoxy to model the water in the creek. Ifashioned a temporary dam from a 1-by-4at the front edge of the benchwork tokeep the mixture from spilling out ontothe floor of my train room (fig. 7).

Be sure to pull the dam out just afterthe epoxy sets solid. Otherwise, your tem-porary dam will bond to the benchwork.

I mixed up the Enviro-Tex followingthe manufacturer’s instructions. Then Ipoured in the mixture until I had filledabout 1 inch of the gorge. I let every-thing set overnight.

That’s all there is to it! A few hoursof work yielded a gorgeous gorge thatearns compliments from visitors.

6 Classic Toy Trains

Fig. 3: Once the abutments are in place, you cancut cardboard strips shaped to the rough outlineof the walls of the gorge and staple them in place.

Fig. 4: Now you’re ready to place overlappingpieces of PlasterWrap on top of the cardboardstrips and let them dry for a day or two.

Fig. 5: After covering the PlasterWrap with a coatof Gypsolite, you can start painting and texturingthe gorge to match your scenery.

Fig. 6: Details include grass on the banks, talus,ground cover, and lichen. Once you’ve painted thebottom of the streambed, you can add “water” tofinish this “gorge-ous” scene.

Fig. 7: Before pouring Enviro-Tex into the creekbed, place a tarp on the floor and a 1-by-4 at theedge to act as a dam. Remove the board as theEnviro-Tex sets but before it bonds to the material.

classictoytrains.com 7

FOR ME, RUNNING TRAINS is just oneaspect of our hobby. Creatinginteresting scenes around moving

trains is another.A while ago, I found myself

intrigued by a miniature welding scenewith a flickering arc-welding light. Iknew I had to make my own.

An old plastic bus with a brokenwheel seemed like a natural for awelder’s “repair job.” I figured a LionelBarrel Shed, which is about the rightsize for a mechanic’s workshop, couldhide the electronic board that drivesthe flickering light.

I wanted the whole scene removable.It’s easier to build that way, and if I everneed to make changes, sitting down atmy workbench is a better repair pos-ture than standing and leaning into mylayout. Given the footprint of the shedand size of the bus, I determined Ineeded a 3⁄32-inch-thick, 4 by 5-inch baseboard, so I cut some basswood andsanded its edges.

Next, I assembled and painted theshed from the Lionel kit, but left theroof unglued. I positioned the shed onmy layout, marked holes in the base forthe wires, and then glued the finishedshed to base. Once it was dry, I set awelder electronic board inside the shedand ran wires out of the holes.

Elsewhere on the basswood base, Iglued the bus in place (leaving onewheel off) and then glued the smallflickering light bulb onto the welderfigure’s hands, running the wiresbeneath the board inside the shed.

After hooking up the wires, I testedthe flickering welder light with a 12-voltAC power source.

I finished assembling and paintingthe variety of castings and kits I choseto enhance the scene and then gluedthe welder, the junk pile, and theseassorted pieces to the base. I topped offthe scene with a little landscaping.

After drilling a hole for wiring andpositioning the mini-scene on my lay-out, I installed a pushbutton on my

control panel (you could also place itnear the mini-scene). I ran wires fromthe scene to the pushbutton and to a12-volt AC power source.

Little details such as these make lay-outs come alive, and help bond visitors’attention to our hobby.

Welder-doneDon Woodwell’s easy-to-build scene will give your layout sparkle

This Circuitron arc welder circuit is similar to theBusch unit I used, but it has larger bulbs tosimulate a welder working inside a building.

Parts list

• Welder Light Kit – Busch• Barrel Shed with barrels and ladder – Lionel• Vehicle – your choice• Welder figure – Arttista• Momentary contact pushbutton –

Radio Shack• 30-gauge hookup wire – Miniatronics• Miscellaneous castings (tire jack, axle,

muffler/pipe, oil pumps, engine block –Oakridge Hobbies

• Gas welding set and auto junk pile – ValleyModel Trains

• Miscellaneous supplies (basswood,landscaping materials, and other welderbulbs and kits) – Your local hobby store

classictoytrains.com 9

CLIMB TO THE top of the roof ofyour house. Now take a lookaround. The farther away the

homes are in your neighborhood, thesmaller they appear. Conversely, thesmaller they appear, the farther awaythey must be. That’s the trick behindwhat modelers call “forced perspective.”

Careful use of forced perspectivecan make your layout look larger andyour trains appear to be traveling far-ther. By artfully using structures andother objects smaller than the scale youmodel, you “force” the perspective andcreate the illusion of greater distanceon your layout.

The key to successful forced per-spective is to group similarly scaledobjects together while separating thosegroups with relatively “scale-less”objects, particularly trees, rocks, andhills. Groups of large or tall objects,such as a Lionel no. 153 signal and ano. 445 signal tower, go in the fore-ground. Smaller objects, such as prewarLionel villas and bungalows, go far, farin the background.

But beware: if you mix the large andthe small or place the two groups soclose to one other that they becomepart of the same scene, you spoil theillusion.

To make the most of forced perspec-tive, follow three guidelines:1) Step down one scale for structuresand other objects placed an arm’slength or more from the outer edges of

your layout. For example, on an Ogauge layout, these structures would beS scale. On an S gauge layout, thesestructures would be HO scale.

Depending upon your layout, youmay be able to jump twice: full-scalestructures in the foreground, one-step-down structures two or three feet fromthe edge of your layout, and a thirdstep down along a far back wall.2) Use nondescript scenery to keep thestructures far enough apart visually(actual distance doesn’t matter asmuch) so someone looking at your lay-out doesn’t see two different scaledstructures in the same scene.

Keep in mind that although thescenery separating the “layers” is non-descript, it also should gradually shrinkin scale as it recedes. If you plant Ogauge trees on the outer edge of yourlayout, then place HO scale trees far-ther away to create a forced perspec-tive.3) Gradually elevate the structures asthey’re placed farther and farther fromthe outer edges of your layout. Again,think about your home’s rooftop. Youmay live in pancake-flat Florida, but ifyou look at a photo taken from the topof your roof, you’ll think the houses inthe distance are on slightly higherground.

Forced perspective is subtle, but itreally works. Use it and you’ll find yourlayout can look larger than it really is,and who’d complain about that?

Neil Besougloff shares tips for adding depth to your layout

Forced perspective

OPPOSITE PAGE: The overgrown haunted house ona bluff looks just right as an Ace 4-4-4 locomotivesteams past. Although tinplate, the Britishsteamer is sized right for O scale.

ABOVE: In reality, the house – posed with wirecutters for size comparison – is HO scale.

10 Classic Toy Trains

W hen my layout was featuredin CTT’s February 2002 issue,some readers took special

note of my custom-built elevatedbridges, which have varying elevationsand a realistic yet colorful appearance.

The drawings on page 11 show theparts and dimensions. I’ll explain howthey fit together. If I were to build themagain, I’d assemble them in my work-shop and install them on the layoutusing these steps.

Track supportThe track sub-roadbed is 1⁄2-inch ply-

wood. Because I didn’t have the neces-sary track on hand when I began con-struction, I used engineering tools todraw the curves on a sheet of plywoodand then cut it with a saber saw. (If youhave the track, use it to draw the lines

on the wood.) For roadbed under thetrack, I used extruded polystyrene foam(“blue board” house insulation) on topof the plywood.

For bridge sides, I used plywood wallpaneling, cutting 2-inch strips with atable saw and a fine tooth blade. This 1⁄8-inch thin wood may splinter a little asyou cut it. To reduce splintering, laymasking tape along the cutting line. Toallow me to bend the plywood aroundthe curves, I scored the finished side,which faces inward.

To create the appearance of steel-fabricated bridge sides, complete withseams and supports, I cut and gluedtwo different sizes of balsa wood to theunfinished side of the plywood. Then Ipainted the assembled sides with a 2-inch roller and latex house paint. Theinside does not need to be painted.

Concrete columnsI made the concrete column

anchors with 11⁄2-inch square ash (whichmachines well), cutting the ends roundwith a band saw and drilling holes forthe columns. I also sanded the edges togive it a finished appearance.

The column tops are also fabricatedfrom ash in the same manner, except Iused 11⁄2-inch by 1⁄2-inch wood cut aninch shorter than the anchors.

The concrete columns are wooddowel cut to varying lengths. (Don’t cutthe dowel until you’re confident of theexact length.)

Before cutting the dowels, I cutsome temporary supports that wereroughly the same length that I thoughtthe dowels would be. I laid the sub-roadbed on these temporary supports,shimming and shaving the supports in

Making an elevated lineDick Teal shows an easy way to construct a customized elevated bridge

classictoytrains.com 11

places until I was satisfied. Then I setthese supports aside to use as a guidefor cutting the dowels.

Putting it all togetherOnce I was done creating the parts

and bridge subassemblies, I erected thebridges in earnest, working from thebottom up.

First, I cut the dowels to the variouslengths I needed. Then I inserted eachdowel all the way through an anchorand a top piece, using carpenters gluefor long-lasting wood bonds. I paintedthe finished column assemblies withgray craft paint.

Before permanently installing them,I positioned the columns onto my lay-out, loosely laying the roadbed atop thesupports. I marked their position bypenciling in an outline around eachoval base, then removed the bases sothat I could drill holes for the flatheadwood screws through the table. Then Iput the bases back in position andscrewed them in place directly to thewood table, not to any foam board orother softer surface such as Homasote,to give it a firm footing.

Likewise, I then drilled holesthrough the roadbed and screwed thesub-roadbed to the columns from thetop down.

At this point, I glued and screwed onthe side pieces, this time using panhead

screws. Clamps held the sides in placetemporarily as the glue dried. If anybalsa pieces came loose as I was bend-ing the sides, I re-glued and clampedthe pieces in place. (If you’re consider-ing using curves that are tighter than54 inches, you might want to experi-ment first.) I painted the screw headsand touched up other areas.

Finally, I glued the blue foam board

to the sub-roadbed and screwed thetrack through the foam board into thesub-roadbed.

My completed structure has goodeye appeal and has proven to be quitestrong. Because I designed specificallyfor my needs, the elevation is just rightin all places around the layout. It’sworth a try for anyone who has similarbridgework in mind.

3"

4"

1" 1"

1 ⁄ "

Column anchor

Column top

2 1 ⁄ "-square ash

Templates shown actual size

12

1

12

1 ⁄ "12

12 Drill through, ⁄ " diameter, three places

12 Drill through, ⁄ " diameter, three places

⁄ "-thick ash

3 4

18

14

No. 4 x ⁄ " panhead screw

No. 4 x 1" flathead screws

48" lengths of ⁄ " paneling, cut 2" high

Finished side to outside; scribe on inside foreasier bending

No. 4 x 1 ⁄ " track screws; through track pieces and foam board into plywood

EXPLODED VIEW

Column top

1 2

1 2

Real Traxor other track

⁄ " foam board

⁄ " plywood

ew

d

12 ⁄ " diameter

dowel3

323

32 ⁄ " x ⁄ " balsa

18

18 ⁄ " x ⁄ " balsa

Note: pre-drill all screw holes

Column anchor

Foam board

Layout surface

12

12

No. 4 x 1" flathead screw

⁄ " plywood table top

⁄ " diameterdowel

Balsa strips

Panheadscrew

SECTIONVIEW

Panel strip

No scale

Column top

Foam board

5 16

PlywoodTrack

⁄ "

Illustrations by Robert Wegner

12 Classic Toy Trains

IN ITS LONG HISTORY, tubular track hasoften been the focus of a grandcoverup. Even Lionel, whether

through images of beautifully ballastedmain lines in 1950s catalogs or in mod-eling efforts put into showroom layouts,joined the conspiracy by trying to hidethe toy-like nature of its three-tie, three-rail track.

When I started building my originalSanta Fe Southern layout nearly 30years ago, I was determined to achievethat realistic “catalog look” with my Ogauge tubular track.

I added ties and plywood insertsbetween the existing metal ties. Butthose time-consuming efforts didn’t sat-isfy my sense of esthetics.

Then I tried a new technique usingmasking tape placed over the ties andcovered with ballast. My novelapproach, which also limited the

amount of ballast I needed to buy,turned out to be quick and easy, and iteffectively covers up tubular track’smost obvious toy-like flaws.

View from the groundThe high profile of the ties on

Lionel O gauge track can form a natu-ral roadbed for your main line.

Because with my technique the bal-last completely covers the ties, youmight be afraid the result isn’t veryrealistic. But take a close look at thewell-maintained main lines on today’srailroads. From the side, you can’t evensee the ties, which are almost entirelysubmerged into the ballasted roadbed.

This side view is important to con-sider on your own layout, and may helpyou avoid the extra work of ballastingtrack that no one would ordinarily see.

My rule of thumb is this: For track

that runs at an angle or perpendicularto the edge of a layout, ballast thetrack’s center and both sides. For trackthat runs parallel to one edge of a lay-out and is more than two feet away, bal-last only what you can see. There’s noneed to ballast the far side of a sectionof track when you can’t see it.

The steps in my technique aredescribed below, and the materials andtools you will need are listed in theaccompanying table.

Painting the trackActually, the first step in the process

isn’t about masking tape or ballast, andit applies to any track you want to lookmore realistic. I simply painted the railsto eliminate the all-shiny look that isnon-existent on real-world track.

Your choice of color will depend onthe type of track you are modeling.

Ray Stuber uses tape, paint, and ballast to add realism to tubular track

Better ballasting

classictoytrains.com 13

Yard tracks, or seldom-used sidings,may have a rusty appearance, whilemainline rails will be cleaner.

For most of my track I used FloquilRail Brown, which I brushed on undi-luted straight from the jar. To achieve amore oil-stained look, you may want toadd a little flat black in places.

Paint three or four track sections ata time, using a rag soaked in paint thin-ner or paint remover to wipe off anypaint on the top of the rails. Be carefulnot to paint the connecting pins. Neat-ness isn’t particularly important, sincethe ties will be covered anyway.

Once the paint is dry, go over thetops of the rails with an abrasive block,such as a Walthers Bright Boy trackcleaner, to ensure good electrical con-tact as well as a realistically shiny top.

You can paint all the sides of yourrails in this manner or only those thatare visible. It’s up to you.

Masking-tape roadbedIf you haven’t already secured your

track to your layout, do so now. Thenit’s time to apply the masking tape.

Find some 1-inch-wide masking tape,commonly sold in paint and hardwarestores. (The typical roll of masking tapefound elsewhere is narrower.)

Apply the tape to the outside ofedge of the track, stretching it so thetape doesn’t sag between the ties. Makesure you don’t have any ground covertoo close to the track; you’ll want a rel-atively smooth surface for the tape.

Place the inner edge of the tape onthe outside rail flange and run your fin-gernail along the tape to secure it.Drape the masking tape over the tiesand adhere the outer edge (about 1⁄8inch) to the tabletop. Again, use yourfingernail to secure the tape.

To ballast the center of the track,apply parallel strips of 1⁄2-inch-wide

masking tape between the rails. Centerit as close as possible so that no gapsare left for the ballast to slip betweenthe rails and the edge of the tape.

Applying the tape on straight sec-tions is relatively easy, but the curvestake a little practice, especially if youuse 31-inch curved track.

Adding ballastWith several ballast suppliers and

even a greater number of color choicesavailable, you should have no troublefinding a product that suits your tastesand needs.

I used Woodland Scenics brandcoarse light-gray ballast, which is read-ily available in most hobby shops, and itmatches the limestone ballast used onmany eastern railroads.

Apply the ballast using a paper cup.Bend the lip of the cup slightly into a“V” shape, then tap the cup lightly withyour finger to spread the ballast overthe tape. Use a suitable brush tosmooth out the ballast evenly over thetape and along the sides of the track.

Once you are happy with yourefforts, spray the ballast lightly with“wet water” (a spray bottle full of waterwith two or three drops of dishwashingdetergent added to it). This will helpthe glue flow evenly into the ballast.Don’t worry if you spray the rails withwater; as long as you lightly wipe off thetops with a clean cloth, you won’t causethe rails to rust.

I used Woodland Scenics ScenicCement, but you can use matte medium(sold in art supply stores) as long as it’sthinned 50 percent with water. Evenmore commonly available white glue,diluted 50 percent, can be used.

Pour the glue into a jar with a rela-tively wide mouth. Using a turkey basterwith a 1⁄8-inch opening or a similardevice, such as an empty white-glue

container, flow the glue over the ballastbefore the “wet water” has had achance to dry. Have a rag or somepaper towels handy to soak up theexcess. Because of the wet water, theglue should sink down into the ballast,instead of balling up on its surface.

If you are applying ballast to the cen-ter and both sides of the track, workover a two-foot area at a time. If you aredoing only one side, work over fourfeet. The matte medium should dryovernight. Don’t fret if some of the bal-last runs off, leaving the tape exposed –you can touch it up the next day. Besure to rinse your turkey baster in cleanwater, or it too will be glued togetherby the next morning.

When you’re finished, your handi-work should result in some nice-look-ing Lionel track that would have madecatalog artists and display layoutbuilders proud.

1. Before laying track, I painted the sides of therails using Floquil Rail Brown to create a moreprototypical appearance.

2. Masking tape is put between and around therails before adding ballast. Note how the tape issecured to the lip on the outer edge of the bottomof the rails.

3. The final step in the process is to apply theballast over the tape. I use an artist’s paintbrushto smooth out the ballast before applying glue.

Materials

• Floquil brand Rail Brown or similar paint• Paint thinner or remover• 1-inch masking tape• 1⁄2 inch masking tape• Ballast• Dishwashing detergent• Matte medium or similar glue

Tools

• Paint brush• Bright Boy• Paper cups• Wide-bristle brush• Spray bottle• Wide-mouth bottle• Turkey baster• Paper towels• Rags

14 Classic Toy Trains

FEEL LIKE YOU’VE BEEN foiled in yourefforts to find realistic, inexpen-sive scenery details? Well, junk

autos – thoroughly dinged, dented,rusted, and stripped – can be yours forthe low, low price of a roll of aluminumfoil. Of course, you’ll have to junk ’emyourself, but this easy project won’tstrain your how-to skills in effectivelydetailing your layout.

This simple method uses householdaluminum foil placed over an existingtoy or model car, which creates a shellthat you can transform into a junkyardmodel. You will need heavy-duty alu-minum foil, gloss black paint, yourchoice of flat colors, a hobby knife, asmall, dull slot-head screwdriver, a pairof small scissors, and your choice ofmodel cars for use as “masters.”

To get started, cut a sheet of foilapproximately 7 by 9 inches and lay iton the table dull side up. (The shinierside on the exterior will represent

chrome parts once you’re done.) Selectthe model car you want to reproduceand place it roof-down on the foil.

Next, pick up the foil and car andbegin wrapping, continually holdingthe shaped foil in place. Wrap the carfrom top to bottom as tightly as you canwithout tearing the foil. Then, usingthe blade of the slot-head screwdriver,gently burnish the surface of the foiluntil the car’s finer details showthrough the foil.

When you’re satisfied that all thedetails are adequately represented,remove the excess foil using your knifeor scissors from the car’s fender wellsand all around the bottom of the vehi-cle. With the screwdriver blade, smoothaway as many wrinkles as you like (butremember it is a junk car).

Finally, carefully peel the foil off.You may have to loosen it from the bot-tom of the car to do so.

At this point, you have a raw model

that you can customize further. Bendor bash the body to suit your trashytastes and then decide how you’d liketo paint the exterior.

Use black gloss paint directly on thefoil to represent the windows or, if youprefer, carefully cut away the foil withyour hobby knife.

Paint the inside of the shell flatblack or a color resembling old rust.(For rust, I prefer Apple Barrel NutmegBrown no. 20521, a water-based brush-able paint available in craft stores.)

To simulate chrome trim, you canleave certain areas, such as bumpersand windshield moldings, unpainted.

To create a more convincing look,use your hobby knife to randomly opendoors, hoods and trunks. Leave just alittle foil to represent a hinge.

In just a couple hours, you can cre-ate a whole junkyard’s worth of cars.That’s a “lot” of scenery, all for theprice of a roll of foil.

Fender bendingDarryl White makes quick-and-easy junked cars with foil

TOP: After wrapping foil around your “master” car,burnish in the details using a dull flat headscrewdriver or similar instrument. With scissors ora hobby knife, cut away the excess foil. ABOVE:Some paint and an opened door make the modelmore convincing. Windows can be representedwith gloss black paint.