My first serious layout!

[MilesWestern]

I'm back in action, with MORE progress! I managed to build a retaining wall, finish the other mountain/hill, and add some appealing rock formations.
The Photos below also may feature an honest-as-goodness world traveling passenger car from a long-ago offer by walthers: The oscar and piker passenger cars.
Enjoy!

 

[doctorwayne]

I like the rock slide effect, Miles. How much of that is loose and how much is glued in place? Very effective. :thumb:

Wayne

 

[Gary S.]

Good to see more progress, Miles. Thank you for posting and keep up the good work.

 

[MilesWestern]

Wayne: Most of it is glued in place, but I need a stiffer glue, does dilluted matte medium really work? and at what ratio? I'm using elmer's carpenter's glue right now.. Any siggestions?

Non of the rocks on the ROW are glued, and none behind the retaining wall until I make that thing look more stable. I doubt it'd hold anything the way its built now!

Gary, thanks! I look forward to drawing more inspiration from your layout.

For the record: decomposed granite from a rockery, or building materials yard makes great colored, non-magnetic dirt.

 

[doctorwayne]

Miles, matte medium will work (you can thin it about 50/50 with water), but I find that it works no better than thinned white glue, but costs a lot more. I don't think that yellow carpenters glue is the best choice for this type of scenic work, either, as it's supposedly not water soluble after it dries - not good if you need to make changes. It too is more expensive than white glue. Around here, 2 small bottles of matte medium cost about as much as a gallon of white glue, so I always use the white glue. If you need to hold stuff, such as rocks, in place on a steep slope, "paint" the area first with undiluted white glue, then place the rocks or other loose material, then give the whole area an overspray of wet water (water to which you've added a few drops of liquid dish detergent) to help the glue soak up into the added scenic material. By the way, to mix up a batch of thinned white glue, use hot tap water, as it seems to mix faster than cold. And if you're just gluing regular scenic material, such as ballast, wet it thoroughly with a generous spray of wet water before applying the glue mixture. Without sufficient wetting agent, the glue mix won't be drawn into the scenic material deep enough to make a good strong bond.

Wayne

 

[MilesWestern]

Perfect! that's exactly what I needed to know! Always happy to listen to someone who's scenic acomplishments are second to none.

 

[cnw1961]

Miles, that looks fantastic. Those sliding rocks and the retaining wall are great. Hope you get it all glued down without changing the look.

 

[green_elite_cab]

Cool shots. I wish i've actually gotten anywhere on my layout int he past few months. I still need to finish all these projects. Maybe i'll have extra time this weekend, since i don't have work because i have an Eagle project to complete, but it won't take me the whole day.