The Atlantic and Southern Build Thread Continued, Part 4

[ACL1504]

I agree with Rick just seeing the pictures of the layout is outstanding!! The tutorials that go along with it priceless!!!

Jerry

Jerry,

Thank you for the compliment. I enjoy doing the SBS on what and how I do it all. Paying it forward I guess.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Over the past seven days, I've been redoing the scenery on the A&S RR layout. I covered 14 feet of new and revitalized scenery.

I was reviewing what I did and realized I needed to add one short dirt road to the tower.

I tilted the office back out of the way. I misted the scenery to loosen the material. After several minutes I used a putty knife to remove the necessary scenery for the road.



I marked the front edge of the tower base with a black pen.

[ACL1504]

Next, I removed the old scenery.



I then temporally replaced the two structures.

[ACL1504]

I then used the black pen to out line the two sides of the office. I then removed the structures out of the way.



I used blue painter's tape to ensure no glue gets on the plywood and interfere with the bases of the two structures.

[ACL1504]

From here on, I'll be adding the dirt road and repairing water marks on the existing dirt road.

Adding dirt roads is easy if you follow the steps I'll be showing. It is a multistep process but one that is done over two to three days. The results are worth waiting for but patience is needed for the final outcome.

I'll show you how to repair the water stain on the dirt road later in a few more posts.



I've covered how to do a dirt road on RR Lines and also somewhere here in one of the 4 parts to the layout thread.

I'll do it here again for any newcomers to the forum.

I start by spreading a thin layer of white glue on the area where I want to add the dirt road.

[ACL1504]

I use Scenic Express Fine Soil and Dirt. This is SE 0403.

It comes in Fine, Medium and Coarse Soils and Dirt. At one time SE stopped carrying the dirt but I understand they now carry it again.



Using a small paper Dixie cup, I sprinkle dirt on the area I want covered and of course over the white glue.

[ACL1504]

Using a soft bristle brush, lightly spread the dirt over the area. Try not to push down hard as the brush will get glue on it and then it becomes a mess and you'll need to get a fresh brush to continue.



The dirt will be absorbed into the glue. You will probably see a wet spot like the one shown below. Not to worry, just add a little more dirt. However, it isn't critical if you don't as more dirt will be added later.

[ACL1504]

The water stains on the old dirt road are from the water and matte medium soaking into it from the addition of the new scenery as seen in the lower right of the next photo.



Here is how you remove the water stain.

Dip a soft bristle brush in the fine dirt and "paint" the dirt on the road.



Here is the same road with the painted dirt on top. Easy Peasy.

[Mark Dalrymple]

As always, enjoying your tutorials, Tom.

Cheers, Mark.

[ACL1504]

As always, enjoying your tutorials, Tom.

Cheers, Mark.

Mark, Cheers,

Thank you for following along and happy you are enjoying the journey.

Tom

[ACL1504]

This section was next and fixed in the same way as the one on the other side of the track.





This section of the road is fixed.



Back in a few, Diet Pepsi time.

[PRR Modeler]

Very nice Tom. In the last couple of years I have started using the same product.

[ACL1504]

After several hours, I still had some glue showing through. I just added a little more diet to cover the wet spot. Again, this isn't really necessary as the next step will cover it as well.

For the purpose of this thread, I added more dirt.



I let this set overnight to let the base glue dry.

The next day, I misted the dirt with a fine spray bottle, enough to get the dirt wet but not "muddy".

[ACL1504]

Very nice Tom. In the last couple of years I have started using the same product.

Curt,

Thank you Butty. I really like the SE dirt. Reading Bob brought me a small bucket of the same type dirt from Pennsylvania. To get the fine dirt, I needed to use a fine mesh sieve/strainer.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Using a plastic pipette, I added matte medium to the dirt road. You need to add the matte medium very slowly so you don't squirt away the dirt into clumps. I let a few drops on the dirt and move to the next part of dirt needing the matte medium.



Next, fill a fine mesh sieve or strainer with the SE Fine Dirt. Hold the sieve over the area you want covered and tap on the side of the sieve. This process is the most critical as you want a fine layer of dirt evenly covered over the area.

I remember my mother doing this with flower when baking a cake or pie.