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Australasian Region
National Model Railroad Association Inc

Division 1: Scenery Clinic, Grahame Davis (Nov 01)

Preparation

Grahame Davis and I (Glenn Stevens) arrived before lunch, to carry out the necessary preparatory work prior to the arrival of the other members. This entailed fixing heavy guage dressmaking brown paper to the layout as the foundation shape. This is used because it is easy to shape, it retains its required shape when damp with plaster, and ends up as a very strong and light foundation, the strength coming from the application of 100mm squares of newsprint soaked in casting plaster. This forms a laminate that when dry is as strong as you will find. Before the plaster was completely dry, Grahame added two rock moulds and a rock retaining wall, which were stuck on with wet plaster.

Next Steps

He then painted brown all those areas of terrain that were to have ground cover, foliage and trees. This is to give a credible look when the ground cover is added, and if laid a bit thinner on some areas, then the brown underneath shows through and looks fine. Any light brown, tan, or sand colour looks good. All rock moulds and areas that will be left as rocky sections or retaining walls should now be coloured.
    Grahame used acrylic colours, mixed with water and applied via a spray bottle. Some good colours are raw and burnt sienna, raw and burnt umber, and carbon black.
    Grahame then added ground cover, twigs, boulders, and all sizes of dirt, gravel and rocks. The dirt and small rocks were added straight, i.e. not washed, as he wanted it to look as natural as possible. He let it fall naturally from the container and did not try to redistribute with fingers etc, so as not to spoil the look. When he was happy with the general look, he sprayed with 'wet water' and then a 50/50 mix of white glue and water.
    Grahame then added weeds, as there are plenty of these all around in real life, in particular around water run areas. Woodland Scenics have great weeds that add interest and realism. To plant weeds, he just used a dab of white glue and stuck a group of very small short weeds upright into the glue.

Comments

Over the half hour the clinic actually took, he had all of us enthralled at how easy it all looked, and how well the results turned out. I wonder how many of those who attended went home and tried their hand?
    In all twelve members and five guests attended a very enjoyable afternoon, and with the comments overheard about Grahame's work, the clinic was very well received, with most of us not believing how easy it was.