Getting Real Column - 2
to tear down the oldest sections of my layout and start from
scratch. Planning, walls, track and operations were all covered,
and two successful op sessions were held.
Heading into the winter after the last op session in November,
I decided to make a major push to get scenery in place in a
large section of the layout. I really wanted my layout back!
Remember, we left things with essentially bare benchwork and
track, looking at the back of scenery in the other aisle. For me,
normal layout construction methods would have resulted in
at least another year of work to rough all this in. What could I
accomplish if I really set my mind to it, if I used some different,
more modern constructions methods? I set out to find out.
Floral foam scenery: New to me
Mike Confalone and I cross-pollinate in terms of layout ideas.
He had been using green floral foam to create convincing scen-
ery in record time, and persuaded me to try it out. His reasons
to use it were compelling:
I
t was fast to install, and easy to cut
I
t could be easily carved, and the open-cell foam was much
easier to carve than typical pink or blue closed cell foam
used for insulation
W
ith the need to install hundreds and hundreds of trees, I
could simply poke the trees in place rapidly instead of drilling
a hole for each one as in my old plaster cloth scenery
The only downside I could see was cost, but I addressed it in
part by using 50%-off coupons, readily printed from the A.C.
Moore and Michael’s websites, to buy it continuously in quan-
tity with dozens of visits to the store -- and having my wife and
friends do the same! – until I had a critical mass of foam to
begin. And I was not shy about getting Mike C. down to help
me get started, since this was a different mindset for scenery
1. In Laceyville, I was unhappy with the track layout,
the 200’ cliffs behind the town, the foam chunk green-
ery, and the way the space was laid out.
1
creation for me. I was in “additive mode” most of the time,
and this was a “subtractive” methodology as you will soon see.
First, a little background.
Laceyville
I had made an early attempt at the town of Laceyville, but was
never happy with the results, which is why it remained largely
devoid of scenery until the rebuild, as shown starting above.
MRH-Aug 2014
