When I was a kid, like everyone else, I had a slot car track. Well, actually, it was Dad's and mine, but you know how kids kind of take things over. We had some Aurora Model Motoring track that we ran off an old train transformer that was eventually replaced with AFX as that came along. But the one thing I never had was a permanent layout. I used to devour the annual AFX handbooks and the catalogs from AutoWorld. I used to love looking at the layouts that were so real and I would spend hours designing my own in my mind. My layouts were hurriedly built on the floor, and just as quickly taken down. But the bug never left me, and I finally have found the place, time, and the resources to realize my dream.
I
am aware that many books and articles have been published about
how to build a track and create scenery.
However, each person sees and does things slightly different from the
next person, so I feel there is always room for more of the same.
That being said,
there are numerous people that influenced me in building my track.
Some of those folks are Greg Braun, Jason Boyes, Luf
Linkert, and my good friend Steve Berry. My thanks to each of those
gents who somewhere along the way answered a ton of questions from a
“newbie” in the hobby.
Choosing to build
a permanent track raises several interesting questions. What kind of cars do I like to run? What type of look or era do I like? Do I want to use
plastic track or route my own? What
area of the world is this track supposedly in? Is
this a track I can live with for a long time?
Pretty heady questions! I’ll
answer these questions for myself since I’m the one writing this article.
Play with different layouts and get a feel for the circuit
A major
consideration in building a permanent layout is size. I’ve seen many smaller layouts that were very
effective and high in driving fun. In
my case, I have a small, unfinished basement that I’ve been able to use about
half of. It allowed me to have a 5
x18 foot maximum table. I
probably could have gone 6 feet wide, but I wanted enough room to walk around
both sides of the table. This also
means marshalling the track is much easier than having to reach across a very
wide table. I have children,
and this was important to me.
I modeled my
tables after the excellent write-up on Greg Braun’s site (www.hoslotcarracing.com), so I won’t repeat
that here. The one change I made to
mine was moving the legs to the outside of the grid.
I felt that this would give me better stability.
Since the entire table was to be 18x5 feet, I was concerned with making
it moveable. Therefore my tables
are actually 6x5 feet each and bolted together.
The legs are also removable, so that two people can actually move the
tables up the stairs if needed – like when I finish the basement off.
I’ve also “modified” the scenery to that the tables can come apart,
but more on how I did that in the scenery section.
Table Construction
Elevation changes
are great ways to lengthen a layout, and allow for interesting scenic
opportunities. In order to
get my elevation changes done as smoothly as possible, I wanted to use a
continuous piece of wood. Therefore
I actually cut the top of the table out around the raised areas. I then used a “T” type of brace underneath that to fasten
it to. On one end of my
layout I didn’t cut anything, but simply raised the base itself and braced it
at an angle. My elevations are a
maximum of 9 inches off the main table top.
Note: something to consider
is the overpass height if you have one. Make
it at least 4 inches high from the top of the track to the bottom of the
overpass; otherwise it will be difficult to get your hand under the track!
Elevation
Construction
Another
consideration is how to keep the cars from running off the table.
There are many different methods to do this, but I chose to use the
method that Luf uses when building his gorgeous, routed tracks.
I used ¼” mdf wood as a backing for scenery and attached it to the
outer perimeter of the table. I cut
a line of the rough silhouette I was looking for – in this case hills.
I attached aluminum screen to the top of this with staples and then to
the track board. This allows hills
to be built along the edges of the track. I
can tell you that I’ve never had a car leave the table since doing this, and
trust me when I say I’ve done some crazy driving to test it!
Scenery Backing
With the tables
done and the elevation changes in place, I begin by squaring up the track.
One thing to realize with elevation changes is that as the track is
being pulled into different ways, it will cause some minor
joint mismatches. This is due to
the track being two dimensional and flat, and the surface being more three
dimensional. Somewhere you will
probably have a small 1/8” or 1/16th” gap at one or two joints.
That wasn’t a problem for me as they occurred where the track was
permanent and I was able to fill the gaps.
To fasten the track to the table, I use silicone caulk.
I do this for
two reasons: it is easy, and the
track is easily removable later with a simple putty knife.
I dab a spot of silicone caulk every few inches under the track and use a
nice, flat, heavy book or other item to hold it until it adheres properly.
Where the track
crosses the joints of the table, I’ve cut the locking portion of the tabs off
to allow the track to simply slide out as the tables are separated from each
other. Make sure you are ONLY
cutting out the locking portion, not the whole tab – after all the, track
still needs to fit together!
Cut Track Tabs & shimming HO cork shoulder
With my Sport
track being a little on the narrow side, I wanted the illusion of making it
wider as well as having some sliding room for the cars.
For this I used a mixture of stock Scalextric borders and HO railroad
cork. I simply incorporated
those into the layout of the cork and blended them in as best as possible later
on when doing the scenery. I
shimmed the cork to be as close to the track height as possible. The shims were simply poster board or cardboard cut to fit
under the cork. Another
method would be to trace the track out onto another ¼” mdf board and cut the
track area out, but my crude jigsaw didn’t make clean enough cuts for me to be
happy with the results. I’ve seen
it done better elsewhere though, and it does look excellent.
This step will
either satisfy you, or drive you completely nuts! Depending on where you live, most pavement is not pure black;
it usually has shades of gray showing through.
The next step was to remedy this and make the track realistic.
Remember, this is me talking; each person has their own preferences!
A few words of
caution: the track will be very
durable, and allow you to clean it with a damp cloth. I am even able to scratch mine with no visible damage,
however, do not apply masking tape to it, or you’ll take off chunks of the
paint. Why the paint does this, but
stands up to everything else, I believe is due to the nature of latex on
plastic. There’s just not enough
“tooth” for the paint to truly grab onto.
Also, if you do this step while the track is apart, make sure the
contacts don’t have paint on them before assembling them or you will have
electrical issues!
I begin by taking
a light gray latex based paint and thinning it in a container.
I use plain water to do the thinning.
The consistency when done is about the same as milk.
I use a 1” foam brush to paint it on.
I put on a thin coat, wiping the rails with a clean rag when done.
The pebble surface of the track will appear as the paint dries.
If the color is not to your liking, by all means put on a second coat when
the first is dry. Remember
that two light coats are MUCH better than 1 heavy coat!
Ask me – I had to strip the first coat off several pieces as it looked
very fake!
Example of
gray painted track
As for the HO cork
I used, I painted all of it black before performing this step.
It turned out very well and mimics the track surface.
After the track is
down and dry, I used Luf’s method of making it look like it’s been patched
and cracked. I used a darker gray
latex, not as diluted as the initial track coat, and using the foam brush again,
simply painted areas to look like asphalt patching. I randomly applied these around the track.
After that dried, a simple Sharpie marker was used to place cracks on the
surface of the track.
Weathered Track
Previously I’ve
mentioned using aluminum screen for the scenic base. This is not the only way to do this, but it is one that I’m
familiar with, and is easy to do. I
only use the screen where I’m covering the openings caused by the elevation
changes, or from the table surface to the sides. I lay the screen out how I think the slope of the land
should look and staple it down. I
also place objects, such as blocks of wood underneath the screen to cause hills,
bumps, etc to be created. Those are
removed after the coat of plaster is dry. To
give the tables the ability to be separated, I only screen up to the edge of
each table. That leaves a small
gap, but we’ll cover that in a minute.
To cover the
screen I use a product called Sculptamold that is available in most U.S. hobby
stores. Following the directions on
the bag, I mix the Sculptamold and use my hands or a common dinner fork to
spread it over the screen. I try to
vary the texture as I place it. It
goes on in a fairly thick coat and dries completely within a day. As it is drying, I move each table at the joints.
This creates a crack in the plaster along the table joints.
Paint and turf will cover this hairline crack, but allow the tables to be
completely pulled apart! When dry,
the Sculptamold can be sanded, cut, and shaped, to suit your needs.
I remove the blocks of wood at his time. The screen now has no problems holding its shape as the
Sculptamold dries very hard.
Applied
Sculptamold as Scenic Base of layout
For my rock
outcroppings, I purchased two different Woodland scenic rock molds.
I again use the Sculptamold to cast these.
These dry enough to handle within a ½ hour, so once I make about 6 of
these, I’ll place them while drying another batch in the molds.
To place them, simply “glue” them onto either bare screen with
Sculptamold or hot glue, or place
them over an area already covered with Sculptamold.
I blend them in to the background and each other by manipulating the
plaster with my fingers. To give
the rock outcroppings variety, I often break the casts into smaller pieces or
turn them at different angles. This
keeps any repetitive rocks from appearing.
Rocks being molded into hill
For flat surfaces
I simply spread the Sculptamold around, adding small bumps, etc. to keep the
landscape from becoming dull. I
run the plaster all the way up to the edge of the HO cork in order to make it
all pull together properly.
This is the area
that I was most concerned about. I’d
never done anything past the plaster stage on my train layout.
I emailed Jason Boyes with a few questions on how he makes his tracks
look so real. After receiving some
excellent advice, I started off. Using
his advice, I’ve actually gotten a pretty quick
system down now for doing the turf.
I
begin by painting the rock areas first. The
reason for this is that they make a larger mess. I use an earth tone latex paint
to paint the rocks, but
then mix gray and black latex paint diluted 1:1 in a spray bottle and spray that
over the wet rock areas. I mixed
the color to roughly equal that of India ink.
Most train stores have stuff already premixed if you are worried about
the color. This step is what gives
them a fantastic definition, and in my mind MAKES the rock.
You’ll notice that the spray has run down to the base of the rock, soak
most of it up with a paper towel. You’ll
be painting over that soon enough.
Rocks in various stages of painting & highlighting
I
start on the rest of the landscaping by painting an 8x8" patch of landscape
with the same earth tone latex paint used on the rocks and sprinkle on turf.
I stop sprinkling turf about an 1” from each edge in order to give
myself somewhere to blend the paint of the next area into.
Then when done with that patch, I move on to the next and continue the
process. The turf I use is made by
Woodland Scenic and I use a shaker bottle they sell to spread it.
The color for this first step is their "Blended Turf Grass". When that is dry, I use a spray bottle filled with
diluted craft glue (Elmer's Glue works too) and spray an 8x8" area and add
a “Medium Green Turf”. Then
when done with that patch, I move on to the next and continue the process.
Once this coat of turf is dry I repeat the process with the
“Burnt Grass Turf" color. I
try to do a larger area at one time, so I’m not changing the turf in my shaker
bottle as much.
Turf in
various shots
All of
the above are Woodland Scenic colors. Remember that I am trying to achieve a
semi-arid look and that your color selection may be drastically different.
I also purposely don't try to make it a thick, perfect carpet of grass. I
like some "dirt" showing through.
When everything looks the way I want it, I spray a final coat with the
diluted glue again to finish the hold. When
everything is totally dry, I vacuum the area to pick up any extra material that
may be loose. Once this step is complete, vacuuming the area is possible
since the material is now completely stuck down.
I do this as a regular part of my cleaning of the track.
Without
having a green thumb, you can plant an entire forest that never dies.
I purchased the large bags of plastic tree kits sold by Woodland Scenic.
In my case, I used the mixed bag of Pine trees that were 6-8” tall for
the large trees and the 4” trees for saplings.
These trees are extremely easy to make.
Simply follow the directions on the bag to twist them into shape and
paint. I paint mine several
different colors. I use brown, tan,
and black as my base colors. I dry
brush the brown on, followed by the tan and then the black.
By dry brush I mean not painting the tree heavily, I’m attempting to
get the look of texture, not solid color.
There
are many different methods for placing the greenery on the trees.
One of the two I’ve tried is to “paint” the craft clue on the
branches, rip off a piece of clump foliage and hold it in place for a few
seconds. The trees look
“fuller” this way, but that is very time consuming. Any easier method is to fill a large zip-lock bag with
a Medium Green Turf “ and then “paint” the craft clue on the branches, and
throw the tree in the bag. Shake it
all about for a minute; pull the tree out and Presto!
A completed tree. Now, keep
in mind that I’m modeling Pine trees only, not deciduous Oaks, etc.
Those are done completely different from my method.
A final spray of diluted glue from the spray bottle keeps the foliage on
the tree.
Trees
ready for planting & method 1 &2
To
plant the tree, simply drill a hole slightly smaller than the base of the tree,
dip the bottom base of the tree in craft glue, and press it into the hole.
I attempt to get the trees pretty straight, but in nature, none really
are so I don’t worry about them being perfect.
The
hardest part of placing trees is figuring out where they should go.
What looks natural to one eye may look very symmetrical to another.
I try to make them random as best I can.
For
bushes, I use Woodland Scenic clump foliage broken up into small pieces that I
glue down where appropriate.
I’m
no electrical expert, so I’ll leave that to others. I used Greg Braun’s excellent site as a reference for
wiring my layout. I’ve wired my
track with two driver’s stations (on opposite sides of the table with banana
jacks so I can hook up different controllers.
Both lanes are independently wired with Ninco power packs, and have
in-line fuses. I have 1 power tap
about ½ way around both lanes to ensure even power.
The power is very good, and the wiring was pretty easy.
If you have questions, most folks are able to post good diagrams of how
it all goes together.
Wiring to
track, main block and driver station
I did
use only the middle table to house all the electrical.
This was done in the event I do need to move the tables, all the wiring
is self-contained. This means the
driver’s stations, power feeds, and taps at the ½ point of the layout are all
in the middle of my middle table. Too
easy!
So,
that’s where I’m at right now. Is
the layout complete? Not by a long
shot. I’ve still got one corner
to finish, and a pit area to think about. I’m
also designing my own pit building and grandstands in the flavor of the day.
I’m toying with the idea of a functional pit lane.
I’ve seen it done and I just need to take a deep breath and go for it
as time allows. I also want to make
many more trees. It is amazing how
insignificant 80 trees on a layout of this size look.
Can
anyone do this? Yes they can.
If you have the ability to handle a paint brush, a fork, and a shaker
bottle, anything is possible. Just
plan out what you want and go to work. I
find this type of work to be incredibly relaxing after the kids are asleep –
just me, my dog, cat, and a good radio station.
I admit to being the kind of person who likes to look at a car driving by at eye level. I really admire model railroaders and the realism they evoke. Hopefully, we'll see people re-think slot cars and understand that as beautiful as these cars are, you need a suitable backdrop to show them off.
I'd like to thank my wife and children for bearing with Dad's "toys". They wouldn't have been possible without you!
Please feel free to email me with any questions you might have. I'm always happy to help others!
dreinecke@msn.com
