Z Scale Layouts - Making a Road With Water Putty
When working with Z scale model trains, the best strategy to make your layout particularly impressive to viewers is by having a high degree of realism in the layout scenery.
Due to the small ratio employed in Z gauge, the "amazement factor" of your train layout will not come from size, but from attention to detail.
Here is a method on how to create extremely realistic-looking roads within your Z scale layout, or any scale model train layout.
This technique utilizes water putty instead of plaster to build a road within a model train layout.
Water putty dries harder, doesn't shrink, and you will find it is much easier to work with than plaster.
Start with some strips of basswood, which you can buy in precut strips or cut on your own into 1/16th inch strips.
You are going to use this wood as a temporary form to hold the putty that will comprise your road.
If you are building a two-lane road, the proportions in the real world are usually about 18 to 24 feet wide, which means about 1 inch to 1.
3 inches wide in Z scale.
Draw the shape of your road on your layout in pencil, then lay the wood down by wedging it between two brads that you carefully nail onto your foundation.
Follow the curve of your road, adding a new set of brads every 2 or 3 inches.
Bend the basswood as you go to create the curves.
This type of wood is quite flexible and should bend easily, but if you are going for a sharp curve you can soak the basswood in hot water for a few minutes and you will find that it bends even more.
To keep your wooden forms in place you may want to add some light glue, tape, or something heavy on top to keep them on your layout while you put the putty in place.
Mix your water putty using one part water to three parts putty.
Once the putty is properly mixed, begin adding black acrylic paint to it until it attains the road color that you are interested in.
Once you have the color you like, start filling the form in with the putty.
Keep a putty knife on hand for this task, as well as for cleaning up anything that falls outside of your forms.
Once the putty has dried for one day, remove the wooden forms using an X-acto knife to cut them away.
Keep in mind, if you are building a road across your train tracks, you must be very careful to keep putty away from the tracks.
It's a good idea to use some tape over the tracks during the road building process, and leave enough space so there is not a ridge that your cars will bump against when they cross over the road.
You can sand and shape the road after the putty dries, so don't obsess too much over this step until the road has dried and you have removed the wooden forms.
By now you should have a beautiful looking realistic road, adding depth and beauty to your Z scale layout.
Due to the small ratio employed in Z gauge, the "amazement factor" of your train layout will not come from size, but from attention to detail.
Here is a method on how to create extremely realistic-looking roads within your Z scale layout, or any scale model train layout.
This technique utilizes water putty instead of plaster to build a road within a model train layout.
Water putty dries harder, doesn't shrink, and you will find it is much easier to work with than plaster.
Start with some strips of basswood, which you can buy in precut strips or cut on your own into 1/16th inch strips.
You are going to use this wood as a temporary form to hold the putty that will comprise your road.
If you are building a two-lane road, the proportions in the real world are usually about 18 to 24 feet wide, which means about 1 inch to 1.
3 inches wide in Z scale.
Draw the shape of your road on your layout in pencil, then lay the wood down by wedging it between two brads that you carefully nail onto your foundation.
Follow the curve of your road, adding a new set of brads every 2 or 3 inches.
Bend the basswood as you go to create the curves.
This type of wood is quite flexible and should bend easily, but if you are going for a sharp curve you can soak the basswood in hot water for a few minutes and you will find that it bends even more.
To keep your wooden forms in place you may want to add some light glue, tape, or something heavy on top to keep them on your layout while you put the putty in place.
Mix your water putty using one part water to three parts putty.
Once the putty is properly mixed, begin adding black acrylic paint to it until it attains the road color that you are interested in.
Once you have the color you like, start filling the form in with the putty.
Keep a putty knife on hand for this task, as well as for cleaning up anything that falls outside of your forms.
Once the putty has dried for one day, remove the wooden forms using an X-acto knife to cut them away.
Keep in mind, if you are building a road across your train tracks, you must be very careful to keep putty away from the tracks.
It's a good idea to use some tape over the tracks during the road building process, and leave enough space so there is not a ridge that your cars will bump against when they cross over the road.
You can sand and shape the road after the putty dries, so don't obsess too much over this step until the road has dried and you have removed the wooden forms.
By now you should have a beautiful looking realistic road, adding depth and beauty to your Z scale layout.
Source...