Fall Scenery

I just started modeling the groundcover on my O gauge layout, replacing a flat green grassmat. Any tips for modeling fall groundcover, or should I just mix green/yellow ground foam?
C.J.V.

A rather more complex question than you might at first think, Chris. It all really depends on just how realistic you want to make your layout look.

If when you say that you model in O gauge you mean older Lionel, or similar tin-plate trains, then it is generally accepted that one can play pretty free and loose with reality and just use a mix of bits of rather brightly colored lichen and such with some light greenish coarse ground foam added in. Both are common products found in hobby shops that cater to model railroading (if you are lucky enough to find of those locally these days!). This is the approach many, if not most, non-scale Lionel train hobbyists follow - simple yet creative.

If we are talking the latest "scale" O gauge Lionel and MTH locomotives and cars, these generally look better surrounded by a landscape with a bit more sophisticated approach, one employing range of groundcover materials like those offered by Woodland Scenics, or Scenic Express, in autumn colors in fine, coarse and clump form. These are what most HO and N scale modelers use on their generally more realistic-looking layouts.

The precise colors employed, too, should pretty much reflect the area in which one either lives, or that one's layout represents. There is a striking difference in the vividness and diversity of colors seen an a New England autumn and those of locations further south and west.

CNJ999

I have a mix of postwar Lionel and modern Lionel, MTH, and RMT. Currently on my layout I use a grass mat (really just green textured paper), so at the moment anything would be good. What I'm currently planning is a green base coat, then cover with Woodland Scenics yellow ground foam, and then some WS green ground foam sprinkled throughout so it looks like early fall (i.e. most grass died for the winter, but not all of it). Im planning to experiment on a 20" by 20" module first, so nothing is set in stone yet. I would prefer to try to get it to look like that found on HO and N layouts, but Im not sure how to go about that in O gauge because now all the details are bigger and more noticeable. I also pass by a fully stocked hobby shop on my way home from school, so any scenery elements needed can be easily bought.
C.J.V.

You really picked a great season to model. When I was in college, my HO railroad was set in the fall of the year. I really loved the fall maple trees!

You may be able to keep your grass mat as an under base for your new scenery effects. Look in the automotive department of your local big box store. There should be large cans of spray paint there. Look for the flat camo colors people buy to camo their pickups and Jeeps. There should be several shades of tan, supposed to look like, well, dried grass.

Lightly dust this spray over your grass mat (I am thinking it is made of dried sawdust, like the kind Life-Like sells). Try not to get an even effect. If you have more than one shade of tan, so much the better.

Weeds and other tall growth can be purchased from the hobby shop, but you can get the same stuff cheaper if you go to a store that sells materials for craft projects. Try Hobby Lobby or Ben Franklin if you have them. These are a good source of items that you can "imagineer". For instance, I've used small glass beads for insulators on phone poles or around a power plant.

The ready-made fall trees are lovely, but costly. Be sure to get some at least to use in the foreground.

Lichen has been pretty well replaced by ground foam and polyester, but it still looks good as background cover. If you can get a bunch of it dyed in fall colors, you can build up a background hill out of chicken wire or styrofoam and glue clumps of the lichen to it. Again, if you buy the lichen in the craft store, it should be cheaper. You might even try spraying the clumps with fall colors before attaching them.

I think the main problem with grass mats is that they are too uniform in appearance. I still use grass mats here and there, but only to represent a manicured lawn. If you have a large grass mat area, you might try placing small objects beneath it to create small hills. And be sure to put more foliage on top of it for bushes and weeds.

Most of the ground cover on my railroad is various shades of ground foam. You can sift it directly onto wet paint. I now model the summer in a western urban setting. Light olive acrylic makes a good underbase for late summer grass, and would probably work for what you have in mind.

Woodland Scenics makes a good line of tree materials that can save you a lot of money if you want a lot of trees. They sell a bag of 114 tree "armatures". These are brown, but can and should be painted to look more like trees. Painted gray and used "as is" they can represent dead trees (Paint an upper limb and a band down the trunk flat black for a "tree killed by lightening").
You can paint the trunk to represent whatever species you want to model (you have to go outside and look at some trees- very few are really brown). Woodland Scenics and other brands sell polyfoam and lichen foliage materials, including some in fall colors.

Go for it!

Les

Thanks for the info Desertdweller! I never would have thought to use camo paint for a base color. I read your post while on my way home, so I stopped into a hobby shop and got any materials I didn't have. I also found previously that using the Woodland Scenics tree armatures with fall dyed lichen makes a very realistic tree as it looks like some leaves fell of but most are still there. I think it looks better than the ready made trees.
C.J.V.

Chris, Another suggestion for fall ground cover is...wait until this fall. Pick up some bright colored leaves from the ground. Grab a handfull of dry pine needles (be sure they are dry - you don't want any pitch in them!). Put a few of the leaves, 4-5 should work well, and some of the pine needles into a blender, food processor or something similar and 'pulse' them a bit at a time until you get the desired consistency/size. Paint the area you want to cover with a tan or brown flat paint, let it dry competely and then brush on lightly diluted white glue to cover the area well. Sprinkle on your leave mix and you have fallen leaves! Now, let the glue dry over nite, at least. Then caot the entire area with a clear sealer like Dullcote. Rustoleum also has a clear Matte Finish spray that works good. This will seal the leaf mixture and prevent decay. I did this on my previous layout and it last a good 5 years....then I had to tear it down and move. But, it looked as good on the last day as it did on the first! Be sure to get the brightest colored leaves you can find, and be sure they are all competely dry when you put them in the blender. And - if you have an old blender or can find a used one at a yard sale, it's always a good idea! Last thing - be sure to open a window and maybe use a fan to help ventilate the room when you use the clear spray. (and the Camo spray too!) Your lungs and anyone else in the house will appreciate it! Experiment a bit with different leaves and colors to get the desired effect. Have Fun!

I put some trees together this week using dyed green lichen for foliage. It was the first time in many years I had used lichen for foliage.

I had forgotten what neat stuff this is to work with! It is wonderfully organic. Soft, organic texture. Wonderful smell of vinegar and pine.
Pick out the pine needles and choose the most delicate buds, like little heads of broccoli. I found a big bag of the stuff at a Hobby Lobby, and used tree armatures from Woodland Scenics.

Sure, in a few years the stuff will dry out and become brittle. Pull up the trees, break the lichen off the armatures, and glue fresh stuff on (I used regular Elmer's Glue).
No problem!

I mixed them right in with trees made with ground foam foliage. Looked fine to me.

Les