Where to get things cheap or things you can do without having to spend lots of money on the Model railroad Layout. When doing some of these things please remember to ask for permission to do it as
you do not want to build your next layout under police supervsion:-)
Some of the answers take up a lot of space so those questions are linked here to make this page load a little faster.
Construction sites are a good place to look for the material to build the layout. Some contractors do not want to hual away small pieces of lumber as they have to pay the dump by the pound. When
you approach the contractor insure that you ask him only for the items from the scrap pile. Do not be upset if you pull a long piece of lumber out of the scrap pile and the contractor tells you that
you can not have that piece. Just give him the piece and continue to look for the piece that you can use on the layout.
Some items that tou can find are:
Short sections of lumber that can be used to finish off the front of the layout and used to build supports for the track.
Sections of plywood the odd shapes that you can cut into shapes for the layout top and track sbubase.
They're building a school down the block from me. Huge pieces of 2-inch blue foam lying all over. Turns out they only use it in 4x8 sheets, the rest is trash.
Scraps of carpet for that farmers field.
Very short pieces of wire that can be used for hook up wire to the track.
Go to garage sales on the last day of the sales. You can buy lots of things at a very low price on the final day of garage sales especially during the last hours as the person holding the sale
will want to get something for thier items rather than just throwing them away or having to store them again. Going to garage sales on the first days might lead to buying the old od piece of model
railroad item. Taking the wife with you is an option but might cost you more money.
Some of the items that you can find at garage sales are the old pot and pans, bowls, rags (they might be called used clothes)
For Sale Signs Styrene Question
"Rev. William R. Beatty" was asking about those big (15"x18") plastic signs ("For Sale" "Garage Sale" etc) that seems to be about the same thickness as the Evergreen sheet.
"John A Dalton" wrote an interesting answer for this on how he uses the signs on his layout
I am modeling southwestern Wisconsin in 1955 and need info on what oil companies had storage tanks in that area...
I can't help you with names, but with a modeling tip. Use 3" and 4" PVC pipe connectors with a piece of styrene glued to the top. Makes great looking tanks that cost only a few dollars to make.
Shane Lambert
If you want rock openings, go to you friendly PetSmart store and look in the fishie section... The Coral caves are pretty neat and there's a wide variety. Also, the gravel they use in the bottom
of the aquarium comes in various sizes and has to be useful for something. The parakeet gravel (?) should be good as some kind of layout product too...
Tom
Ah, yes, I'm well versed in PetSmart (got four fishtanks). Aquarium gravel is usually a bit too big for ballast (except if you're garden railroading, whereupon it'd be near perfect). It's better used
for rocky stream beds, tailings, or rockslides. Laterite, which is a clay substance used for substrate in natural planted fishtanks, is finer and might be more useful, except it's a bit on the
reddish side for typical ballast. May be good taconite ore or something? Parakeet gravel, kitty litter, activated fishtank filter carbon, aquarium or terrarium rocks and decorations and all sorts of
stuff you can find at a pet store could all be used creatively on a layout.
And of course, there's the plethora of scenery material you find just by walking into your back yard or woods! I built a diorama for a high school art project that used various weeds picked out of
the yard for trees, twigs cut to length for pulpwood and woodchip loads, real rocks, dirt, the whole bit. Pretty much anywhere I go, I see something that could somehow be turned into a scenic element
on a model railroad.
Jonathan N. White
Try using a small amount of the poster tack sold at any office supply and most grocery stores. I use it to hold misc. items onto my flatbeds. Holds good, easy to remove and no permanent
residue.
Down on my bar I've got a whole STACK of terrific coasters that are silver on one side and say "AOL" on the other. Any other ideas for them?
The silver side makes a pretty good light reflector in buildings I have cut up a couple of them to use as mirrors in an O-scale bar car.
Jack "The trolley nut" Priller
If anyone wants to make a custom display case, here is a suggestion.
Find the large size display case for model cars. This case is over 13in long and can handle 1/18 scale cars. Anyway, I bought from foam trackbed by Woodland Scenics at the hobby store and also some
Atlas 6 in and 3 in track (straight)
Then I purchased some Bondini Gel adhesive from Wal-mart
Cut the trackbed to desired length and then place track on top of it.
After figuring out how to center track on trackbed, flip track over where the ties are facing up, then put Bondini on ties and flip back over onto trackbed. Hold down track for 15-20 sec and then let
it set for a few minutes, approx. 6.
Then figure out and position trackbed on base of display case. Then mark it with tape, if necessary. Squirt some Bondini on bottom of trackbed and put the trackbed on display case base. Hold down for
10 sec.
There you have a nice case to display you fav. rolling stock or locomotive. There are also pre-made track in display cases cases but this one you make is original and something you can say, I made
this. Just a helpful tip and suggestion.
jaijef
I dont want any seams so I want the backdrop itself to be on gaint 14' x 36" ( poster - if you will ) that I can remove and roll up for transport. My problem is where do I find durable suitable
"paper" of this size?
You want *any* ideas? Here you go...
#1-Call your local oupoor advertising (billboard) companies. I understand they use vinyl sheeting material. Might have cutoffs or maybe you could use the back of a goof. If you already have an image,
they also have giant drum plotters now which print their billboards all as one piece rather than as "wallpaper". Why limit yourself to a backdrop when you could have an "environment".
#2 - Most blueprint houses have color plotters now which can plot continuous tone photographic images on up to 36"x the length of the roll. Problem there might be with durability of the image.
Alan
I use 1/2" Homosote for the roadbed over plywood. The yard is a flat sheet of the Homosote while the rest of the layout is Homosote strips. I build up the lower areas with 1/2" extruded foam with
a topping of used Bounce dryer sheets soaked in plaster. This eliminates most of the weight of the plaster and I mount the building bases before I bring the plaster soaked sheets up to the edge.
SJ
....hey, another GREAT idea !!!....used dryer sheets....never thought of it....i've got to try that one.... :))
....i will add this note about dryer sheets....if you want to keep small mice from invading your layout (especially in the winter), just place the dryer sheets in out-of-the-way places, like behind
things where they don't show....MICE HATE DRYER SHEETS...it's the smell, i guess....we learned this trick years ago when we were full-time motorhomers....especially in farming communities where field
mice seek warmth... :))
....and, now, with this NEW use for USED dryer sheets, if you run out at 3am, while modeling the Grand Canyon, all you have to do is look behind everything, and your supply problem is sol-ved...
:))
....big john.... :))
Most bugs don't like them either, especially Bounce(tm), Doesn't help with the 'electrical bugs' however.
Jack Priller
Proof of the old adage "From the mouthes of Babes...."
Don
Today while at the supermarket, I happened to see a toddler in a stroller, happily drinking from his "Tommee Tippee" type spill-proof cup. Then it dawned on me, a cup like that would be ideal for
applying ballast!!! I went to the "baby needs" section (haven't been there for at least 14 years!) and found a Playtex "Spill-Proof Cup." I took my new treasure home and began the modifications,
which consisted of removing the spill-proof valve and trimming down the spout inside the lid.
The original mouth piece had two holes (..)
I removed the center divider (__)
Another nice feature of this one is that the lid screws on, eliminating any concern about a press on lid popping off and creating an avalanche...)
I'm using Arizona Rock and Mineral Co. HO and HO "fine" ballast and it pours like a dream, with no clogging! I
don't know how this would work with non-rock ballast from other manufactures.
BTW... It will hold the full 12 Oz. bag of ballast and you can tape the label on the side for reference!
TOM
Another baby product that has been used for years but may be new to some is the revolving tray for baby food jars. These can be used as a turntable for the paint booth or as an actual turntable with
some work. Haven't looked lately so I may be out of date!
Jon Miller
I use the syringe designed to put a liquid medicine in a baby's mouth as a measuring device for model paints. This way when someone says "one part X and three parts Y" I can now use my syringe to get
those "parts" in amounts small enough to fit in my airbrush cup without wasting a lot. Be careful though, some of these toddler "dosing syringes" are packaged and priced like items marketed for
modelers! Some shopping in various drug stores will find a cheap dosing syringe.
Dave Bott
I was looking for road bed for my layout and didnt like the price of the hobby stuff here in Canada so I thought I'd take a walk around Revy, the same type of hardware store as Home Depot. And I found it the perfect substitute for the foam type of roadbed. Its called "Sill Gasket" and comes on a role 75 feet long and 5 1/2 inches wide. This stuff is perfect and only cost 8 bucks. If you're looking for a less expensive alternative check it out.
Bigbuck
I have found a 8'x24" roll of 3/32" cork for less than $9.00 at Menards (I live in the city where the "coporate office" for Menards is located so we don't have any Home Depots around here) that I am using for my roadbed. I have setup a "jig" to help me cut the cork into the size I need for my layout and so far it is working out pretty good. I do get some gaps (less than a 1\16") around the turns but I figure that the ballast will cover that up pretty well.
Brian
Good source of inexpensive motors, gears, pulleys, belts, etc. is to pick up a VCR or three from the 2nd hand store. Usually only a couple of bucks, they have at least one and usually two very smooth running 12VDC motors. The "el cheapo" brands have only one motor but usually a pair of belt drive doo-dads, while the originally more expensive brands have two motors and more industrial-grade plastic gears. The belt drives are less critical of alignment [by you] while the gears are better if you need precision. All of them have at least one worm/gear combo with between 60 and 120 to one ratios.
If plaster or hydrocal gets exposed to air that has too much moisture, it can actually react and set without being mixed. If this happens, each little particle of powder can harden without clinging to the adjacent ones. This means that it will still pour out of the container and look like powder that has not been activated when in fact it has already set. Sometimes plaster that has been stored for a long while will react just because of the moisture that has been introduced by the few times the container was openned.
I had a bag that was old. I could use it, but the next day it was still wet and damp feeling. I began calling it "Last night's plaster", because you could still easily carve it the next day. When it finally did dry, it was very light weight and could crumble when squeezed between the fingers.
Lesson:
1) Keep away from moisture.
2) Even if on sale, don't buy the 50 gallon barrel if it will take you 10 years to use it all.
Creston
I just finished sweeping the floor after doing some sawing for some benchwork and I wondered if anyone is still using dyed sawdust for any aspect of scenery and, if so, how it compares to ground foam. I am thinking primarily of tree making but also ground cover, etc.
I still use it for a base /under/ ground foam and even use it for top cover in some areas...BUT...I sift it and only use the very finest sawdust...if you do a lot of belt sanding, that sawdust is even finer and excellent for ground cover without sifting...very close to Woodland Scenics finest ground foam...
Rod
I dye my sawdust and still use it. I sift it to get the finest powdery stuff, the bigger chunks look like, well, sawdust. I'll even go to the extent of making sawdust from a scrap of pine with a plywood or veneer blade to get the fine powdery stuff.
Anyway, once I have a good handful of the powder, I take a 1 lb. empty margarine tub (I get "I can't Believe It's Not Butter", but any brand will do, once you wash it out, the sawdust doesn't care), and fill it about 1/3 full of water, with a good healthy squirt of "Ceramcoat" acrylic in the color I want.
Stir it up real good, and dump it out on a sheet of newspaper (finally, something "USA Today" is actually good for), and let it dry overnight. Stir it up, and you can't tell the difference between it and Woodland scenics fine turf.
Don
Your method is slightly different than mine but basically the same...I do mine in larger quantities using 1 gal plastic ice cream containers...I wet the sawdust until it is slightly damp so it will absorb the color better than dry sawdust does...I mix the paint and water separately and then add it to the dampened sawdust and mix thoroughly...I then spread it out on large plastic trays (about 14"x18") and dry it on the sunporch...when it's dry I sift it again to break up any lumps...I do many different shades of greens, yellows and browns and store each color in 36oz coffee cans...when I'm ready to use it I mix several colors together to get a more natural look than a solid color...and for anything other than well groomed lawns I usually lightly spot sprinkle some tan and brown sawdust but not enough to hide the green...the nice thing about sawdust is that you can get a lot more colors than you can with commercial ground foam (although you can also color your own ground foam for more variety)...
Rod
Not using it myself anymore, though I do know one or two who still use that as part of their arsenal. Depends, I think, on how fine the sawdust is. Rough-cutting pine, no way, but some finish cutting from hardwoods should work. All this based of my assuption that you are talking HO here; the coarser type could work in O or G scales. Have serious doubts about N or Z. Anyway, sift the stuff so you're just using the "fines"; old style crank flour sifter should do the job, or a good tea strainer.
Jack "The trolley nut" Priller
My "Arsenal" as Jack puts it, includes fine walnut basswood and oak dust from sanding. I use them for coloring the roads, ditches and even some ballast around the turntables. I will add colors to them via an "old" blender. Now how fine is fine????????? My fine is ----- breathe on it and it is airborne!!!!!!!! This dust is very absorbent and will darken at the flick of the blender switch! ------- Ger
A few weeks back, my son informed me he had to build a diorama for history class of a Civil War battlefield. Unfortunately, it was 7 p.m. Sunday, and the diorama was due Monday.
We just moved into our house a few months back, and I could not track down the box that contained the tin of plaster that I bought to build model railroad scenery or the occasional middle school diorama. And there wasn't a paper towel to be found anywhere in the house. The only thing I could find was a tin of Durham's water putty I had bought to seal up some cracks and a handful of used fabric softener sheets in the laundry room trash can.
What a strong combination! In an hour we had a rock-hard shell that he could paint and sprinkle ground foam on. Add a few Civil War soldiers from my 54mm collection, and voila! He had a diorama.
Jim
I have used Durham's Water Putty, and it is tough. I used it to cast some bridge abutments. I also used the same molds to create castings in Hydrocal. I found fewer defects from air bubbles in the water putty casts, and the water putty castings were considerably stronger and more durable.
Make sure you don't plan on carving the Durham's Water Putty after it has set, unless you intend on using a rotary tool or other power tool. Yes, you can carve some after it has set, but it is quite hard. I'm sure the softner sheets created wonderful reinforcement fot the material. The Durham's Water Putty is heavier than Hydrocal if that is an issue.
I will use Durham's Water Putty again in the future, but mainly for creating castings of rockwork, stonework, or building walls. It is definitely a useful product.
Creston
I used the Durham's with paper towels for my layout. Did three layers and removed all the structural bracing from underneath it afterwards. It has been standing now for 9 years. Soon it will be going to a new home as I'm moving and some friends are splitting the layout to add to theirs. No cracks or peeling. Painted it with a base coat of beige/tan and then went to work. Rocks were made hollow using the same materials in rubber molds and then put on with Durham's.
Dayna
I guess I COULD just do a search on "garage sales" and then post the post numbers. But that wouldn't be nearly as much fun!
Dearly beloved;
Since to the best of my knowledge, H. Ross Perot is NOT on this list, and since none of us have access to his bank account, draw near and heed these words of wisdom(?) about how to make your hobby budget go further.
There are several ways to save a buck or three while getting the things you want/need for the layout; flea markets, 2nd-hand stores and garage sales topping the list.
Rule one: Have with you some means of determining the "scale" of the stuff you will be looking at; tape measure clipped to your belt, 6" ruler in your pocket, figure in your scale, or one of those cards that show various things in your scale.
I'll pass on making comments on flea markets; most of you know your way around them anyway, but 2nd-hand stores and garage sales can provide a plethora of good things at very reasonable prices. Things to look for:
Train stuff. OK, that's sort of obvious, but think about buying that "It's not my scale" stuff anyway if it's cpeap enough; barter could become a way of life.
Toys, simple. If the price is right, check out the possibilities that parts of it can be used even if it isn't "your scale". Once you cut up a toy car, truck, boat, plane, etc. the resultant "junk" can be used in a variety of scales; ie. that car tire that is a little big in HO becomes a truck tire in N.
Toys, complex. Toys of the electro-mechanical type can provide motors, gears, pulleys, etc. for adding animation to your layout. (My sermon on having more motion on the layout than just the trains running thru a static scene will wait for another day!) You can use those gears and pulleys as detail parts on/around buildings or pile them up in your "recycling yard'. Robot parts, particularly arms and legs, make great flat car loads; cast-in detail that would take hours or days to duplicate and just waiting for the visonary with a razor saw and some paint to create something that few if any other layouts have. Some of these type toys also have lights/LEDs that are usable, and some even have flashing circuits. All this for frequently less than a buck apiece!
Craft supplies. Paints and brushes are common, but eyeball the sewing supplies as well. That corduoroy thing I mentioned in a recent post; check out garage sales. Same for "wedding veil", comes in several mesh sizes; usable as cyclone fencing, or lattice work under a porch/loading dock. You might even find scraps of fake fur occasionally. Have found kits for those "lighted sweatshirts", the kind with a flasher circuit and 8 to 12 LEDs for under $3; retail is around $7.
Make-up. Covered this fairly well in a recent post, so will add just a thought(?) or two. The glitter nail polish I mentioned for individualising signs can also give a few of your figures sequined gowns. Face powder can add texture and highlights to bare "earth". And the fancy tops of some cosmetic containers can add that something different to a non-industrial bell tower or fancy roof-line.
Jewelry. Fine chain at w-a-y below hobby shop prices. Screw-back earrings for miniature clamps; spring-clamp backs also work. Children's jewelry frequently has usable miniature figures; "Hunchback of Notre Dame" provided me with a 5' 2" gypsy girl for in front of the fortune-teller in "Electric Park"; the "Lion King" gave me a pair of sitting lions for in front of some public building. Still in one of my parts drawers are a pair of adult-type earrings that in HO will get painted flat black and be the wrought-iron gates to the railroad owner's mansion. (And the mnasion will be the Bates mansion from Hitchcock's Psycho!) Gentleman who steered me to this type of thinking(?) had taken some 1/4" diameter lion heads from a bracelet (flat backs) and glued them along the top of a building, then painted them to look like cast concrete.
Well brethern (and sistern too) that covers most of it.
Rule two is to think "outside the box" and try to visualize what that "thingy" would be in your scale; observation is a learnable "art".
Jack "The trolley nut" Priller
Which remindeth me of something I forgot when I did the "garage sale"
Lindberg (and possibly others) have/had a line of 1/96 scale ship kits, many including figures. These can sometimes be found on the "secondary market" for pennies on the dollar.
Before someone reports me to the prototype police, do the math: a 6' tall figure in 1/96 is about 5' 5" in HO, a fairly common height among the human race. Kit I picked up (Captain Kidd Pirate Ship) has 20 figures, several of them positioned for climbing the ratlines, which makes them perfect for climbing ladders. A couple of the others are kneeling "gunner's mates" with an out-stretched hand that have several possible uses.
Just another possible source of figures in different positions and sizes to add variety to you scene.
Jack "The trolley nut" Priller
Yep...I picked up a pkg of Star Wars figures in the toy dept at WalMart and they were HO size...not practical for general use on the layout but they worked just fine in the display window in a costume store (I detail and light most of my structure interiors)...have also used Preiser cowboys as mannequins in a western clothing store, Preiser wedding figures in a wedding supply store, police and military figures in a uniform storefront, etc...I've bought many of the Preiser unpainted sets and this is a good use for those that aren't appropriate elsewhere on the layout...with these sets you get a lot of duplicates (many of the sets include 120-130 figures but only 25 or 30 different poses) and to eliminate having too many identical figures you can bend arms and legs to different positions and I even cut figures in half at the waist and swap them to make a completely different figure...swapping heads can also change the appearances noticeably...the Summer Sport set included some nude figures that might not look too appropriate at a sidewalk cafe or on a station platform but I'm using some in an upper floor art studio and in a massage parlor...painted bathing suits on some of them for a beach scene and they looked as good as the swimmers that came with bathing suits.
Rod(Waste Not, Want Not)
I was searching the web for ideas on scenery and a couple of sites said to save coffee ground and sawdust. Okay you guys I have a can of coffee grounds and a can of sawdust, what now?
Coffee grounds are used sparingly! They will be used for ballast where there is heavy oil drippings. Fine sawdust, colored with paint soaks is used for ground, grass, dirt etc. Don't be afraid to experiment. ----Ger
Suggestion for the "heavy foil"; use foil candy wrappers as the other side is paper and easier to glue down, at least for me.
Jack "The trolley nut" Priller
Pla-Doh? Don't laugh. Try it. It dries hard (some shrinkage) and can be apinted. If you don't like it, dump it in some water and it is reusable.
Barb (The kids will never know you borrowed it.)
Humm interesting idea! I was at Michaels the other day and noticed all that modeling clay, Im sure there are some uses there!
Works a lot like pla-doh except it can be baked and hardened right away. However, it cannot be reused. It CAN be used for masters for making molds as it will not melt.
Barb
From the Martha Stewart model railroad department:
For those of you who follow the traditional European practice of bringing a cut fir inside and decorating it, I have been buying N-scale freight cars, drilling the tops, and installing wire loops. I then hang these as decorations. Good use for cheap cars that match no known prototype (like those odd MDC things they start flogging in late fall).