Tips For Scenery On Your Layout or Diorama

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     Have you ever wondered how modellers of dioramas and railroad layouts get nice clean, carved lakes, water bodies and cool mountain scenery?  How its done without the heavy hassle of wood and plaster?
    
     The trick is to making your project lighter, easier and more fun to work with is the Insulating Styrofoam. You know the dense stuff that comes in Pink or Blue. Its easy to get from home improvement stores or somewhere that sells construction supplies. The foam usually comes in 4' x 8' sheets and doesn't flake away or create a huge mess like the pellet white Styrofoam can.

     Using a knife, hot wire foam cutter or other creative tools you can carve into it, cut it, and paint it (with acrylics). To create water bodies outline the area with a pencil line gently pressed into the foam (you can change or adjust it as needed). When you have the area lined out, carve it out with varying depths for realism. Make sure you seal the bottom with an acrylic sealer or a layer or two of white glue.

     The pink Styrofoam is very rigid and I have found it's also very easy to stack to make very realistic looking mountains, just stack, glue and carve. You can add small areas of hydrocal rock faces for extra effect and little added weight.

     So, the next time your stuck in a construction related traffic jam, don't get to frustrated you can spend the time looking around for bits of discarded foam and thinking of that new idea to add that extra fantastic look to your next project.

~ submitted by Jesse Millington

(This article is by one of our staff. He has had experience with model building, model railroading and collecting. This article is his opinion. There are many different ways to make and design water and if you have any tips you would like to share or an article you think our readers would enjoy, we invite you to share it in the comments on this blog, on our Facebook (www.facebook.com/ChinookAndHobbyWest) or on our website (www.chinookandhobbywest.com). Thank you for following our blog Chinook Hobby Talk.)