Realistic Scenery Volume 3 - Modelling A River - Model Railroad

hey all and welcome to realistic scenery vol 3 my name is Luke and in this comprehensive guide I'll step you through the process of building a complete diorama that covers everything you can see here including techniques for modeling a river with two-part epoxy the results are very convincing to the eye and by applying these methods and techniques in your own models you too will be able to achieve fantastic realistic results with the introduction aside let's get started as with any model diorama I start with a plan I'll usually draw a few sketches to get a good idea of how I want the diorama to look foam is the obvious choices the scenery base for its ease of use and versatility however it does have its limitations as you will see later on in the video to glue the foam together I roughen up both surfaces to ensure the glue gets a good hold the foam is non-porous and the glue will often have a tough time and hearing to it a good foam safe glue like guerrilla glue does a fantastic job just be sure to use it sparingly and weigh it down as the glue will expand and possibly cause the foam to move the dioramas focal point will be a ripper running right through the middle so no plastic covers up areas I don't want I mark out the path of the river another great material to work with when making dioramas like this is sculptor mold it's basically a plaster mixed with a fibrous paper material that makes it easy to mold and form into hills and mountains when mixing it try to get it to the consistency of cottage cheese now it's just a matter of using a bit of artistic talent to build up the landform sculptor mold has a reasonably long working time of about five to ten minutes it leaves quite a rough surface and depending on the area or modeling a rough surface may be just what you want however for this model I'm after something a little more used and compacted by people animals and vehicles so I continue to work it with my fingers until it's nice and smooth I had a vision of a semi eroded embankment so using a plastic carving tool I begin to carve lines down the embankment and then smooth them out with my finger again you'll just need to use a bit of creativity to make the eroded areas I find if you add in some angled grooves and not just all straight up and down you get a nice random effect that doesn't look like a pattern with the landforms complete I can now prepare the cork Road bed for the train line depending on the brand you may need to tidy up the edges to get a smooth profile sandpaper makes quick work of this and before gluing the cork down ensure the area is smooth and free from lumps and bumps PVA does an adequate job of fixing the cork down you can also use liquid nails or any other adhesive caulk but just make sure it's foam friendly because you don't want the foam below the cork to gradually melt away once it's in place I pin it down and way down to dry then once dryer trim off the excess cork from the edges and lightly sand the top to remove any imperfections in a similar fashion using some PVA glue I fixed the track down use pins to hold it in place and weigh it down as it dries to remove the excess track I use rail cutters you can also use something similar to a dremel tool with a cutting disc but these work just as well if not better they leave a very clean cut you will generally not need to follow the edges but if you do it will be very minimal and don't forget to fill in the tires at the end of the module in preparation for the base coat I sand the riverbed to remove any lumps of plaster it doesn't have to be perfect but the smoother the better and easier it will be later to paint the riverbed previously I had used base coats that were generally light brown but because the base coat here will be highly visible on the banks of the river I need to match it to my dirt texture as close as I can I achieved this by mixing colors until I'm happy to avoid lines of pain on the riverbed I stipple the brush over all the areas that may be visible underneath the water effects this includes the riverbed and the banks of the river now moving back up to the track I use Tamia hull red for the rusted rail effect it looks like light brown now but it will draw a few shades darker isopropyl alcohol on a paper towel easily removes the paint from the top of the rails through the riverbed I want it to appear to gradually get deeper towards the middle so I use a small sponge and a dark brown paint down the middle and lightly feather it out towards the edges it's best to start light and gradually add more paint until you get the darkness you want if in the end you're not happy you can easily reapply the base coat and start again you may want to practice on some paper first before I move on I'll show you how I make the glue I use to fix the scenery in place I use matte Mod Podge which is similar to PVA wood glue however it dries completely matte i dilute one part Mod Podge with three parts water and also adding a few drops of liquid washing detergent to apply the glue over scenery I use a fine mist spray bottle but to fix the dirt texture down I use a brush to cover the areas I want the dirt texture with the glue do your best to avoid getting glue on the riverbed the dirt texture is fine sifted soil mixed fifty-fifty with fine sandalwood grout the applicator is an old spray can lip and Stocking which helps get a fine even coat over the module you can use a spoon or a cup to help apply the dirt but I find I get best results using the spray can lead and stopping vertical surfaces can be tough to get however by using a fault piece of paper you can blow the dirt onto the vertical surfaces before fixing it all in place I blow away the excess dirt from the riverbed then finally miss the area with isopropyl alcohol all wet water and finally apply the glue using a spray bottle some areas may begin to pull along the riverbed which I soaked up using a paper towel I'm almost ready to ballast the track however I want some dried-up grass to be protruding from the ballast so I make up some grass Tufts using beige six millimeter static grass and randomly apply some to the edge of the track using tacky glue or PVA for more information on making a static grass tuft you can check out my video on making DIY homemade static grass Tufts I'm using fine grey blend ballast from woodland Scenic's there are many ways to apply ballast the way I find easiest is to simply tip out the ballast from a cup and work it down between the ties with my fingers until it gives me the profile I want any excess I brush away and use a small vacuum to clean it up sometimes you can be left with a sharp edge but using a dry brush I can smooth out the edge the easiest way to glue it down is to pre-wet the area with isopropyl alcohol and then again with the eyedropper apply the diluted Mod Podge mixture the same stuff we use to fix the dirt texture in place to avoid being left with glue lines across the embankment I soaked up the excess glue with a paper towel once dry you can pick off any ballast that was glued to the top of the tires or rub your finger along the top of the tires to break away the ballast the plan is to have a paddock which will need a fence there are commercial products available but for this I'll demonstrate a homemade fence using a chopper my fence is going to be one and a half centimetres tall and I have four wires each ninth of an inch apart I cut the fence post two centimetres long so I have access to press into the scenery I use burnt umber to color the fence and then dry brush a light brown over the top to give it some highlight I mark out a post every two and a half centimeters and drill a small hole for each post when pressing the posts into position make sure the holes for the wires are all lined up I didn't need to glue the posts into position because there are a very tight fit however if your holes for each post are a little big you'll most likely need to glue them into position here is one of the limitations with the foam I mentioned at the beginning as the scenery and glue is applied numerous times to the module you can see the foam is beginning to curl up on the edges this will be a big problem when it comes to applying the water as it needs to be flat and level to correct this problem I glued and clamp the module to some wood using gorilla glue it's best to do this now rather than later when the module is covered in scenery to finish off the paddock I'll need a gate I draw a simple gate on some paper I measured the gate so it would be wide enough to fit the tractor through it and cut some strip wood to size using the chopper super tack glue is used to glue it together baking paper works a little like tracing paper as it's see-through when gluing the fence together the baking paper helps prevent the glue from sticking in places I don't want it to and I can see the template below to connect the gate to the fence I will use two small pieces of wire I draw two holes and glue the fence into the open position after our measure and fix the last post into position now for the fun part adding the greenery here I'm adding some homemade static grass tops randomly along the bank I'm just placing them into position to see how they look and once I'm happy I'll glue them down into position with super tack glue some of the larger Tufts may need to be pressed and held until they conform to the contours of the terrain you can also use your fingers to press them down as well to help blend the grass tops in I randomly apply a smaller two millimeter static grass around them I use undiluted Mod Podge and then plug in the static grass applicator to apply the grass if you're interested in making a state grass applicator just the same as the one I'm using you can check out my video here where I'll step you through the process of making one from start to finish I'll also add a link in the description to remove the excess grass you can vacuum it up or in my case turn the module over and lightly tap to remove the grass don't forget to collect the unused static grass as you can apply it on other areas inside the paddock I will place a large tree and have a dirt road I test out the position of the tree and tractor then lightly draw the road and tree outline on the module so I know where to apply the scenery I have recently found the negative wire from the static grass applicator doesn't necessarily have to be in contact with the glue for the grass to stand on end as long as it's closed the static grass will stand up once I'm done I remove the excess grass and collect it for later use to further blend the scenery I use a range of woodland Scenic's ground foams the one I use most is burnt grass I also use earth blender fair bit as well light application at random spots really helps tie the scenery together around the base of the tree I apply ground up leaves I made using a blender basically click some dried leaves and bark and blend it into the consistency of fine ground foam and sift out the larger pieces and don't forget to detail the riverbanks as well I'm using a little bit of ballast and some of the woodland Scenic's find tellest as well and then finally to tie all that together I add in some sand I'll make sure no tellus ballast or sand remains on the dark areas of the river only allow it to remain on the lighter areas that simulate shallower water to fix all the loose scenery in place I once again mist it with alcohol and seal it in place with the diluted Mod Podge I soaked up the excess again from the riverbed using a paper towel next comes the most exciting but stressful part because if not done right it can ruin the entire project I'll be using two-part epoxy to make the river before pouring the water I need to seal the ends first start with a light sanding to remove any grooves and channels the epoxy may seep through I'm using medium bond masking tape to create the dam and to further ensure it doesn't leak I seal the edges of the tape with PVA I'm using a two-part epoxy from the craft store but there are numerous types you can use envirotec seems to be also quite popular just make sure you follow the instructions very carefully this brand requires two equal parts to be mixed for seven minutes as for color I'm using a color pigment specifically designed for coloring two-part epoxy the color is burnt umber depending on the color you want just slowly add small amounts until you reach the opacity you're after the river our modeling is a muddy stream so brown water is the most appropriate color start by pouring down the center and the epoxy will gradually level itself out towards the edges there may be spots where you need to work it out a little more depending on how much you port bubbles will surely appear and the smaller ones will generally pop on their own but for the larger bubbles I use a straw to a direct short bursts of air which will pop the large bubbles lightly breathing over the surface will also help the bubbles pop one layer of epoxy may well be enough depending on the river you want but for mine I'm after a slightly deeper River so I again mix up another batch of epoxy and pour it on again doing the same process to work it out to the edges and pop the bubbles using a straw on this second layer I also want to add ripples to do this I let the epoxy set up for about an hour or two hours and then I come back with the straw and blow on the surface here you can see the ripples appearing but this process will need to continue for about 20 minutes the ripples will gradually level off again so I do this until the epoxy hardens to a point that the ripples remain if you have an airbrush you can use it to make the ripples which will save you a lot of breath and lightheadedness after about 8 hours the epoxy will be firm enough to remove the masking tape the epoxy guidelines recommend removing the tape before the epoxy fully cures which is about 24 hours now we can finish the fence the fence wire is made using bead thread it's about 32 gauge and a beige color it's very easy to work with just tie a knot on one end to prevent pulling it all the way through and thread it through the holes on each post to fix it I use superglue to hold one end then at the opposite end I pulled the line tight and apply the glue to hold it finally cut off the excess and then you have a great-looking fence now for my favorite product to use woodland Scenic's finely foliage it's so versatile I basically use it on all my dioramas they make great-looking bushes and shrubs and I also use it to make the large tree I'm placing in the paddock they are easy to glue in place using full strength Mod Podge and the static grass helps hold them up straight or you can drill very small holes in the base to secure them down the large tree I'm using is a woodland Scenic's deciduous tree armature I have a detailed video you can watch where I show you step by step the process to make the tree exactly as you see here they are highly detailed tree is perfect for foreground scenery the tree armature has a small extension on its base which I use to glue it onto the module with full strength mod punch to make sure it's straight I had to use a skewer to hold it into position until the glue dry to blend the trunk of the tree in with the rest of the scenery I came in and added the ground leaves and bark material around its base then fixed it in place with diluted Mod Podge once the river has been poured you want to avoid getting any glue on the surface so any scenery that needs fixing down I use the eyedropper to accurately apply the glue only where I want it where the epoxy touches the scenery like ground foam or static grass it will absorb into it and the epoxy will slowly climb up the bank it's hard to avoid this problem and in some cases it provides a good effect but in my case it looked unrealistic to fix the issue you can paint the epoxy with glue and dust on some of the dirt texture to cover the shiny areas as I did here then blow away the excess using a straw don't wipe the dirt away from the water otherwise you will leave small scratches on the surface one of the biggest changes you'll see on the diorama is once you weather the road I'm using artist hostels that I scraped into a bowl and apply using a dry brush for the road I'm using raw Sienna they also apply some around the base of the tree to help tie it in with the rest of the scenery as the bark has a lot of contrast for the track I dust over some black pastel and where the ballas transitions to the dirt texture I dust over some brown the actual color I used was called Australian red gold don't forget to remove the glue from the tops of the rails I first use six hundred grit sandpaper to remove the scenic glue then go over it once more with two thousand grit sandpaper which basically polishes the top of the rail that basically completes the main scenery for the module but it's the human element that really gives life to the scene here I'm adding details to some sheep from atlas generally in real life sheep are rarely one they tend to look more Brown and to improve the texture I lightly coat them in glue and dip them in an appropriately colored grout and Shake away the excess paint the faces is and hooves and carefully remove the base other details that make the same pop are vehicles and people for the farm scene I have a tractor and a trailer and then for the river I have some woodland Scenic's canoers once you tie all the elements together you're left with a very realistic scene I can almost hear the sheep running after that big pile of hay if you want more information and to see the tutorial about making the hay load for the tractor don't forget to visit my website Boulder Creek Railroad comm where I'll post the hay tutorial thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe and be the first to view my upcoming videos you

Channel: Boulder Creek Railroad

Views: 2,352,195

Keywords: model, railroad, realistic, scenery, real, dirt, road, dirt road, river, water, two part epoxy, dusty, dusty road, water effects, easy, guide, detailed, super realistic, ultra, train, trains, ho scale, ho, scale, realistic model, train set, train layout, layout, rocks, plaster rocks, sculptamould, ground cover, leaves, real dirt, grout, wet water, alcohol, mod podge, mod, podge, static grass, static, grass, mininature, noch, woodland, scenics, woodland scenics, wiking, figures, canoers, sheep

Id: MGKmhmo79zw

Length: 22min 43sec (1363 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 08 2015