# Simple track laying and Mountain building



## NIMT

I'll show you how to go from a simple flat board to a nice 3D add-on for your layout for cheap and easy. The principals can be used for virtually any scale and size.
This small layout / diorama board took about 8 hours to build, most of that time was waiting for material to dry. The final product is really not finished just got to the point of landscaping and that's another thread!
I hope this helps enlighten those new and maybe re inspire the old.
Oh and Just Say No To Foam!!! It's for your beer/soda cooler!:laugh::laugh:
Start with a layout / diorama plywood top.







Track layed, rail painted, profile boards installed. 







Screen cut and attached.







First coat of quick set drywall compound. 







Finished mountain structure and base coat of landscape. 







Move down threw the thread for the whole how to do it!


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## gunrunnerjohn

What kind of screen are you using?


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## NIMT

List of Tools and parts needed.

Plywood
Window screen, Aluminum or Steel kind 
Quick set drywall compound 20 to 90 min if your new to this stay with the slower till you get used to it!
Small mixing/paint pail
Recommend small drill mounted mixing paddle, you can do it by hand.
Putty knife
Cheap scissors
Blue painting tape
Flat black or dark gray spray paint, Can be done with can and brush too.
Wood glue / White glue
T-50 stapler, not required
Cheap stiff paint brush
Clear latex caulk not 100% silicone, Ballast and paint won't stick to it.
Rubber gloves are nice too.
Thumb tacks / Push pins


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## NIMT

*Laying track*

Laying track-
On your layout top draw in the center lines of all track to be layed.







Apply caulking in two lines on either side of center line.







Starting at one end tack down the cork or foam rubber base to one side of center line.







Install second base and tack down, wait for approximately 1/2 hour to set.







Apply 2 small lines of caulking on each piece of base 







Smooth with putty knife leaving approximately 1/16 inch of caulking. 







Install track starting from one end on base pining down as you go.
Movable rail on flex track should go to inside of curve. 







After 1/2 hour remove all pins and paint rails, ties, cork
This is optional but will give it a finished look when done.
If modeling an old railroad you can substitute black for rust color. 







15 min later use a cloth with a small amount of goof off, acetone, lacquer thinner, or mineral spirits to remove paint off tops of rails.


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## NIMT

*Mountain Building*

Mountain Building- Part 2
Cut and install outside profile boards or what I call guard rails. be as random as possible 







Cut and install mountain profile boards, if you want a 4 sided mountain just repeat boards on other side.







Cut pieces of window screen larger than space your going to cover, like 2 to 4 in of overhang on all sides.







Wad up, wrinkle and smash screen randomly. 







UN wad screen and leave winkles in-tacked, tack to profile boards, You can pin the screen to the profile boards and glue the screen to the boards. If you fold the screen edge over and keep it from hanging over the profile edge it will be nicer when you bump into it. 
When covering steep cuts or large surfaces it is good to add in more supports or a wadding of screen to keep profile till mud cures. once mud cures your mountain will be incredibly strong!















Fasten or glue screen to layout top. trimming for clearance to base and track.























Trim any remaining screen hanging over edges.







Cover base and track with Tape leaving no holes for mud to enter.















Mix small amounts of dry wall mud to a thin consistency, almost thin enough to run threw screen, but not quite. Using a paint brush, brush on the mud mixture in a thin layer, pushing the mud partially into the screen but not too hard. Thin is better than thick, removing extra is really hard to do after it's cured. You want to keep the profile of the wrinkled up screen as much as possible. Brush the mud as it hardens to get a semi smooth finish. 























Second coat, Apply same as first building it up then smoothing it out. After all material is applied, slightly wet the paintbrush as this will aid in smoothing surface. 















Third coat, This coat can be a little thicker in consistency and applied heavier to get the final look. I use rubber gloves to help couture the final surface and get a smooth finish with the damp brush.















After completely hardened, Remove tape, Clean of any residual drywall mud off and around track.
suggest using alcohol to wipe down rails to remove final dust and debris























Painting entire surface with latex (house paint) will aid in resistance to moisture. Finish product landscape to taste, Outside profile board will now inhibit the Flying engine or railroad car from from ruining your day.















































Happy mountaineering!


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## concretepumper

Excellent tutorial Sean! :thumbsup: I might give the screen thing a try. I was already planning on using drywall mud to do some landscaping with.


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## tjcruiser

Yeah, I like the screen idea coupled with the contoured plywood perimeter. Nice stepwise tutorial, Sean.

No need for crumpled newspaper or such under the screen to give it some bottom support ???

FYI ... I used hot glue to glue down my cork roadbed ... worked like a charm ... very quick /strong grab.

Cheers,

TJ


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## novice

Very helpful for us not-know-howers 

Thanks a bunch


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## NIMT

Whew.....
That was a work out!
If you posted before this post you need to go back and reread the previous posts, I was adding it all in when you posted.
Next time I need to break it up more.
I hope this is of use to someone!!!!

Gunrunnerjohn,
I think you posted in the middle of my chaos, :laugh::laugh: The screen is window screen.


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## concretepumper

Sean are you using thin set dry wall mud? What type please. Thanks, Rick :thumbsup:


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## gunrunnerjohn

Thanks, that's a great treatment of the topic. Looks pretty easy to do and gets great results!.


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## NIMT

concretepumper,
I use whatever kind of quick setting compound that I can find, right now it's from Home Depot, Beadex, silver set 20. You just need any quick setting type, the numbers tell you approximately how long before it starts to set or harden. You will get the same results with either time it's just the longer one's give you more time to work with it! When you first start mix small batches till you get used to how it spreads.


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## cabledawg

Just......WOW.......I'm impressed. A little late for my current layout, but if we redo it in the future, I'll go back to this for instruction!:thumbsup:


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## NIMT

cabledawg,
Thank you!
You are adding a new addition.


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## x_doug_x

thanks for the tutorial. never would have thought of this.


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## HOMODELTRAINZ2009

Thanks for the tutorial it was very helpful and the results were amazing!! And it looks relatively simple to try for us newbies like me.


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## NIMT

Thank you,
Just start off small and work your way up!


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## novice

I just went back and read the details - absolutely fabulous! I was going to use plaster strips for my first layout, now I'm sold on drywall putty LOL - which I happen to have in my garage as well as the screen.

Can't wait to see your next tutorial - you're incredible!


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## NIMT

Just make sure it the quick setting kind of drywall mud.
It's a powder you mix, the standard premix compound will take forever to set and will crack like mad!
What kind of how to would you like to see next?
I'm thinking the quick and easy pond, lake or river?


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## novice

NIMT.COM said:


> What kind of how to would you like to see next?
> I'm thinking the quick and easy pond, lake or river?


Oh Yes - Please. That would be incredible.

Thank you for sharing your incredible knowledge for those of us just starting out and little to no experience.

Very generous of you.


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## novice

Not sure where to post this, but if I were the moderators I would create a subforum for tutorials such as this.

This one deserves a "sticky"!


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## NIMT

Working on the second step by step how to, Tunnels and Tunnel portals. Should be done with it today.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Keep 'em coming. 

What are you going to do with all that scenery after you build it?


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## NIMT

The second installment is done.
Tunnels and Rock portals.
Click above to go to it.
Thanks


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## BraytoChicago

Awesome post. This was what's I've been looking for! Thanks.


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## kingred58

Yeow! That is sick looking realism, and APPEARS to be done with such ease! Wish I had started here!

NIMT, you doing this for a living, 'cuz you should be!

From a teaching perspective, it was very well done, as well. 

Now, if you all will excuse me, I gotta go make more space in the basement...


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## jonyb

Nice work!!

Going to the tunnels now....


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## Fighterpilot

NMIT, thanks for the tutorial. I've been into radio control scale aircraft for the last 20 yrs. and have depended on post such as yours at a site called " rcscalebuilder.com " to learn new tricks and see what others are doing. I've put a couple of builds on that site myself. 
It's great to have you show new people to the hobby how to do things or just to show "your" way to do it so that others can observe and make a judgement on how they might want to attack the problem. As you know, there is never only one way to do something; but, this seems to be the best way I've seen it done yet. 
Couple of questions. Does the drywall compound add a lot of weight and does it have a tendency to crack? Can modroc cloth be substituted for the drywall compound? Opps that's three questions, sorry.
Thanks again. I will review this information often as I endeavor to create my layout.


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## concretepumper

Hey fighter I used Seans method and it works great! As far as cracking no. Brush it on in thin layers to prevent cracks and it isn't too heavy either. :thumbsup:


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## haphall

A great thread. Thanks. I did almost the same thing on my first layout at 12, almost 50 years ago. It worked well then and still does. Keep it simple.
A thread on realistic water would be helpful, especially mountain rivers.
I'm off to learn about tunnels...


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## Fighterpilot

*Beginning Layout*

Will use a lot of what I learned in this thread. Here is a picture of my beginnings. It's been a learning process; but, it's been enjoyable.


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## NIMT

If you run into any problems or have any question please feel free to send me a PM.


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## concretepumper

Fighterpilot said:


> Will use a lot of what I learned in this thread. Here is a picture of my beginnings. It's been a learning process; but, it's been enjoyable.


Sweet like candy! I dig it! Looks like something I might do! Man I am itching to rip mine apart and start over! 

Keep us posted on your progress!


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## Fighterpilot

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=5980



Wow, don't light the fireplace! Your wife has got to be a sweetheart to allow her living room to be made into a train room. You need to be very nice to her! Thank God it's not G-Scale.. LOL!!


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## concretepumper

Fighterpilot said:


> Pumper, for whatever reason, your pictures are not showing up on my computer. All I'm getting is little grey squares that say "Picture not showing up, we are working on the problem." Is there some program that I need?


No photobucket is the hosting site I use and I dont know whats going on. For a few days now some of my pics have been like that. But not all. I dunno. 

But they should show automatically.


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## Fighterpilot

*Tunnel portals and retaining walls*

Sean, you are the man when it comes to this landscaping stuff. I started filling under some of my raised track and it's looking good. Just waiting for the stuff to dry now.
Next project is four tunnel portals where the train enters and exits the tunnel in a curve and the track above is curved as well. My gut tells me to post a picture of the area I need to put the tunnel opening so you can see exactly what I'm talking about. I'll do that later tonight if I can figure out how to download the picture from my camera to my computer since my son changed my operating system. I'll also post a picture of the progress on my layout.
Regards,
Bill


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## NIMT

Yes please post pics! I like seeing everything progress!


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## Fighterpilot

*Progress on board*

Here are a couple of pictures of my progerss:


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## novice

Coming along really nice - I like those risers


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## tjcruiser

FP,

Looking great! I really like the fig 8 layout. And the Corsair,too ... looks likes he's on a recon mission!

TJ


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## concretepumper

FP that looks great. I see you picked it right up too!  If you build the edges up higher they can serve as a guardrail also. I don't know if you have that problem with 3 rails though. Sean originally made this tutorial to show me how to build some guard rails on my Helix! 
I took the idea and ran with it. Pics on my link below. 

BTW Gunrunnerjohn my pics are all back on Photobucket!  :thumbsup:


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## gunrunnerjohn

The track base looks really cool, that's coming along great!  

CP, glad to hear your pictures are back.


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## Fighterpilot

CP, how high are you going with that helix? You could run it to the ceiling and then run the train around the room and back down.. LOL!
Looks really neat and coming along just fine.


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## gunrunnerjohn

My helix is planned for a connection to the ceiling track, I thought that would be a great addition.


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## NIMT

Wow, that looks great. Your using my method? That looks really clean and neat unlike mine that's all over the board!


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## Fighterpilot

Yes, Sean, I'm using your method in a way. I used newpaper rolled up because it's such a small area that I'm filling in. When I get around to building my mountian and tunnel on the far left corner of the layout, I'll use the screen. I also used the plaster impregnated cloth I got from the hobby shop (got to keep the local guy in business) and it worked very well. I can augment that with the quickset drywall paste wherever I want to add a ridge or where the plaster layed too flat or where I just need to fill in a little. This is one of those things that looks a lot more complicated than it really is and once you dive into it, you realize that it's not rocket science. Now, blending colors and making it look real is going to be a challange, because I'm not an artist; but, the local hobby shop owner is a train guy that has helped me a lot and told me he'd help me out with the blending of colors and textures on the top of the board.
I'm going to have to eyeball one of your backdrops when the board gets closer to being done.


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## NIMT

> This is one of those things that looks a lot more complicated than it really is and once you dive into it, you realize that it's not rocket science.


Don't tell them that! It's supposed to be a secret! That way I still look like I'm doing brain surgery, or building the next space shuttle!


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## gunrunnerjohn

Well, we can use a replacement for the shuttle, so I'd get right on that project.


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## Fighterpilot

Tomorrow I go buy some window screen and quick set drywall mud mix....Mountains here I come!!:worshippy:


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## NIMT

If your storing your layout in a humid environment put a cap full of bleach in the mud when you make it to help keep it from getting moldy. And if you want to make it super strong, mix some wood glue in the drywall mud too!


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## novice

NIMT said:


> If your storing your layout in a humid environment put a cap full of bleach in the mud when you make it to help keep it from getting moldy. And if you want to make it super strong, mix some wood glue in the drywall mud too!


LOL now you tell me - will do.

Using the NIMT method on my diorama for a test before I tackle the big layouts


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## Fighterpilot

*Tunnel and Underpass Portals*

Hey guys, did a little experimenting with some pink foam board I had left over.
I noticed how easily it could be marked, so I took a piece of foam, cut it to shape, grabbed a pencil and scribed what looks like a stone built portal to my underpass.


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## tjcruiser

Wow! That looks GREAT. Did you hand-carve the '2011', too?


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## Fighterpilot

Yep, you can do it all with a sharp pencil. After you paint it a gray color, you can go over the mortar lines between the bricks with the pencil again to darken them up. 
The 3/4" thick pink foam cost about $9.00 for a 4x8 sheet. More than enough to do any thing you want and make a bunch of mistakes.
Just make sure you paint it with a latex water based paint. Most any type of spray paint will eat the foam.


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## Fighterpilot

*Portals, etc:*

Here is a picture of my tunnel portal, which is in the position it will finally be installed. I'll need to build a wall to the left and another portal for the track on the left side. I've also attached a picture of the fill in I did between the two different level tracks. I will eventually fill beneath all the overheads, except where the bridge is and where the underpass with the road will be located. Tunnel portal is pink foam, painted with latex. The wall will be made of the same material.
You'll be surprised at how easy it is to make this stuff if you have a little patience and a steady hand. Just look at some pictures on line and then reproduce what you see in pink foam. I would think you could make a stone wall if you wanted to draw the stones in the pick foam and then scribe with a sharp pencil over the drawn lines. Think I might try that, just to see what it looks like.
Regards,
Bill


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## novice

Wow those look great - so you etched the lines with a sharp pencil? Clever  :thumbsup:


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## gunrunnerjohn

Nice job, that's a great idea.


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## novice

Would you mind providing dimensions for them? Height, width etc? I'm not very good at figuring these things out.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Looks like his "bricks" are about 1/2" by 1" from the track running under it. You want to leave about 5" clearance above the track for the highest train.

What other dimensions are you looking for?


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## novice

Thanks GRJ - The overall height and width and width and height of the opening?


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## gunrunnerjohn

Well, I'm talking about the height about the top of the tracks. The overall height would be dependent on the track base and the type of track you're using. O and O27 have different heights.

The width of that opening looks to be 4 to 4 1/2", I'd probably go for more like 5" if I were doing it.


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## tjcruiser

FP,

Very nice and careful layout of the stonework ... crisp / evenly spaced block. Neat!

TJ


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## Fighterpilot

The width of the opening is dependant on where you are installing the portal. If you are on nothing but straight track, you can make it narrower than if you're coming out of a curve. I would think you need to clear each side of the train by at least 1/2". As far as the height of the opening, just make sure you have enough clearance above your highest locomotive or passenger observation car, or any other higher car you might have to clear the portal opening. As for the overall height of the portal, that is dictated by where you are installing it in your layout. If you look at the track running above and to the right of my portal, you can see that I just couldn't make the overall height of the portal any higher because the tracks above limit how high I can make the face of my mountian at the entrance of my future tunnel. For my vehicle underpass opening, I did a 14 ft. clearance portal or 3.5" figuring 1/4" to the foot. The great part about using this stuff is you can make whatever height or width you need to fit the location you're going to place it.


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## NIMT

Great Idea Fighterpilot! If your doing HO or N this process can get a little rough! But if you make one you can make a mold from it and cast several from your mold!


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## Fighterpilot

I made some progress on the layout. Posted 3 pictures in the General Discussion forum "Base Color" Thread. Got all the track layed down and just had to finish one corner for some instant gratification.


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## Fighterpilot

*Portal and wall*

I stopped playing with the foam and got down to some serious portal and wall building for my layout. After practicing on about 4 pieces of foam, this is what I've come up with. As Sean says, it's great for O scale; but, would be a little tough to do in HO or N scale. I guess the bricks could be concrete block in HO scale


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## Artieiii

Nice work!
-Art


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## tjcruiser

FP,

Your portals and walls look GREAT! Nice work. What does the "LA" stand for?

Lots of guys add soot stain to the bricks around their portal arch to give it a weathered look, especially if running steamers.

Keep us posted!

TJ


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## Fighterpilot

Just a little poetic license....LA is the abbreviation for Lousiana, my home state. I'll post some additional pictures when I finish painting the face of the portals and the support wall. Should be done most of it tonight.
I think I'll start a separate thread in the MY LAYOUT section of this forum and show some pictures from the start to where I've progressed to now. Should be a help to some guys that have never done this before, like myself. I'm sure I've reinvented the wheel on more than one occasion while putting this board together; but, it's been fun. Anyone can do this they just have to remember that anything you do with this train board you can undo. So don't be afraid to make a mistake. Just get in there and do it!


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## gustovski

hey sean any more tutorials?


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## txdyna65

Sean have you done any more tutorials? I need one on water lol
Im going out to get the screen and drywall compound today, thanks for this tutorial and the other one on this subject, hope I can get the same results


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## NIMT

I have not done one on water but I should!
I'm here for technical and moral support during your adventure! Heck I'll even pass a beer or other adult beverage along if that will help the cause!


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## txdyna65

Yes please do one on water, your pictures and explanations are easy to follow and you make it look so simple. I def. needed a few adult beverages the other day doing that chip install lol The actual chip install was easy, the front light is what gave me fits.


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## NIMT

They can do that! That's why I get paid the big bucks to do installs! :laugh::laugh::laugh:
Waterfall, River, or Lake or all the above?


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## txdyna65

River and or lake is what Im planning on doing, so either or both is great with me


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## joed2323

Thanks for bringing back an old thread. This is a good tutorial.

I actually have used sean's method as my main method for doing terrain. I used to use ws plaster cloth for all my hills/mountains, i still have some actually but at 10 bucks a roll for plaster cloth its not cheap.

I started buying quick set drywall compound 6 months ago, its the best way. At 7 bucks for a big bag of drywall compound, it goes a long way, and its good in the bag form, because you can mix small batches or big batches. I use this stuff for everything now, i use it for making rocks from rock molds, i use it for making roads instead of expensive ws smooth-it

You can find window screen at walmart, for 10 bucks a believe. So for under 20 bucks you can make lots and lots of different land forms.

Im also for new tutorials:thumbsup: we havent had new ones on this forum recently.

Btw txdyna- do not use woodland scenics realistic water, stay sway from it. I hate this stuff, im not the only one who thinks this way. ive tried using this for my first river, i poured it 3 different times, for each pour i gave the recommended time for each pour to dry, long story short, i made sure it was sealed and damned up, so it did not pour on the floor, it just never built up, it was paper thin, and looked like garbage.



Use envirotex lite, (may have spelled it wrong) but you can find this in any home depot,lowes,menards. Its way better stuff...


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## txdyna65

Thanks for the tip Joe, I'll be sure and stay away from it and wait for Seans tutorial to see how he does it


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## Gordon the big engine

That looks really cool!


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