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For stratified rock formations, look up |
Broken strips of ceiling tile can put some rugged geology on your layout
by Dan Goins
Editor's note: A registered New York state asbestos handler wrote us to advise the only true test to find out if used ceiling tiles contain ASBESTOS is thru a lab. Even if the ceiling tiles discussed below don't contain ASBESTOS, he and Trains.com recomend a good resperator, goggles and gloves when working with ceiling tiles. Thanks to reader Mike Ledley for the advice.
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The Burnt Lake Special is about to enter the tunnel at the end of the trestle.
John May
| | The answer for making those dramatic rock face ledges may be right above you. Of course, you could get in trouble with your spouse if you start taking out your rec room's ceiling tile. But you can take some extra ceiling tiles from a remodeling job or go out and buy a box to create the rugged scenery that can be appropriate in many locales, and is a must for any layout set in the West.
I model the Santa Fe railroad in New Mexico and southern Colorado. The eroded and colorful rocks with dramatically steep vertical faces make this part of the West instantly recognizable. It's a natural for model railroading purposes since we need to compress much of what we do. The ceiling tile rocks make great canyons, ravines, gullies and washes, mimicking the layered look of sedimentary rocks. With some rather quick steps, water-based paints, ground foam, and shrubs, the ceiling tiles become very convincing rocks with out the plaster mess.
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The site for the town of Almost before the tile scenery work is complete.
John May
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The town of Almost with the ceiling tile rockwork done.
John May
| | My layout is 35 x 15 feet with a long hidden return and staging track section, and the ceiling tile rocks make very effective view blocks. For areas with a large canyon and major dry wash, a narrow strip of rock along the front edge of the layout gives depth to the scenes.
I've found that ceiling tile that has a smooth surface is best. The kind with the pebbly surface does not stack well. These are primarily paper products with additives to give them strength. CAUTION: Do not use the old tiles made with asbestos. Celotex and the small square tiles are too fibrous for these rocks.
The easiest way to break them is to put a 2x4 on the floor and place the tile on the board. A quick downward hit with the hand will break them along the board. The breaks will be uneven, but this is good. If you push rather than hit you can better control the shape of the break. This will create plenty of dust, so break them outside or in a well-ventilated area.
Besides the long strips, you'll end up with plenty of little pieces, too. Put them in a box. They prove to be useful later. If you don't want even strips, you can just start breaking the tiles by hand in a variety of shapes. The box of odd shapes grows quickly enough anyway, though, and they help to fill out the scene.
To secure the tiles, you'll need a gallon bottle of white glue (it is cheaper this way and you are going to use a lot of it) and some finishing nails. The tiles can be placed directly on plywood, but if you are using open grid bench work, you'll have to provide some light support.
Place the first row of tiles down without gluing them at first. Put the white side down when ever possible. The white material does not take paint as well as the brown side. Fit the pieces as you would a puzzle. Make them a snug fit to limit light from the back showing through. Small holes, however, are easily plugged. If you are satisfied, then glue the first course down.
Just keep building up as much as you need. These rocks can be stacked very vertical or stepped back as needed for effect. After about three layers stick a finishing nail down through the stack to hold them in place until the glue dries.
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Glenn's Wash showing the "aging process" of the ceiling tile rocks. Repeated brushing wears down the face of the rocks to make them appear old.
John May
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Coloring
The inexpensive water-based craft paints work well. Find the colors you want or mix them to create the shades you need. Add water and make up pint jars of the colors. Adding a few drops of liquid detergent will keep the paint from beading up when applied.
Lightly spray the rocks with a mix of water and few drops of detergent. Again the detergent is a wetting agent. Like ballasting the track, the tile will accept the paint better and the wet surface will let the paint soak in. Spray paints only cover the surface and any pieces broken off will show the grayish tile color. The water-based paints do a better job of penetration.
Brush on the color. A 1½- or 2-inch brush works well. The stiffer the bristles and the more you brush, the more weathered the rocks become. You need to think about how "old" or eroded you want the rocks to look. On my layout I have both old and new cuts to represent the new alignment of the double main line. The color will lighten as it dries, but you can always go back and add another coat if needed.
When dry, spray the rocks with an India ink and alcohol mix. Only a few drops of India ink to a pint of alcohol are needed. This adds character and depth to the rocks. In a vertical crack or crevasse, repeated spraying creates a moist look to the rocks. Adding "vegetation" here looks great. A 50/50 mix of white glue and water on the rocks will take ground foam and other scenery products well.
On the tops of the rocks you find more vegetation and "dirt" than on the rocky shelves. Kitty liter makes a good-looking spoils area along the face of the rocks and along the bottom. I use the same paints on the kitty litter, placing the litter on some old screening and spraying on the paint with an old pump bottle. Roll the litter around a little so coverage is complete and let it dry on the screen. Once dry, glue it in place wherever the rock spoils would accumulate.
When the rocks are done the scene comes alive when you add the ground foam, shrubs and trees. I use the Woodland Scenics foam blocks to make the shrubs. I just pull off pieces and tease them some and glue in place. Anywhere water will accumulate is where something will grow. Not giant plants, however. Remember this is the dry southwest.
I have done the ceiling tile rock on Eastern scenes too. These rocks are grayer for limestone, or dark gray to blackish for shale or coal seams. Just put more green materials and more trees to make them look like they belong in Eastern part of the U.S.
The ceiling tile rocks can be made to resemble everything from sandstone to limestone to shale to basalt. They can look like old eroded rock faces or very new cuts.
And if you're on a really tight budget, maybe your spouse won't notice the missing ceiling tile above the corner cabinet. | |
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