A hill for the "F" Gauge 1:20.3 Large Scale Railroad.
I needed a bit of scenery to break up one side of my layout, and also support the necessary fundamental items for the second level. Most notably a coal bunker and a water tower for the Climax Steam engine.
I decided to make the 2 hills separate and different. In this picture you can see that I made them out of layers of the 1" Pink insulation. After deciding on an approximate area that I wanted too fill, I created a template by trimming strips of he insulation and shaping it to the contours I wanted. The bottom layer of each hill IS the template.
in this picture is the shape of the templates in black, the wall in pink, and the background (inside details of the tunnel) in green
Note that the tunnel is supporting the portal with a second complete portal (in red) and that is actually glued to the edge of the layers as they are installed. The edge of each layer that meets up with the inner tunnel portal is the only thing that has to be constant.
On the right side hill (Water tower) the only constant is the flat facade that i had to create so the hill would not hang over the layout edge into the walkway. Therefore that is almost flat too.
How do you do this???? Easy - The first (bottom) layer becomes the template. You trace "LOOSELY" around the template onto a piece of insulation and cut it out Freehand. Yes it will be "off, yes it will be larger than the template and yes - this is exactly what you want. Imagine - something you don't have to measure twice and cut once!!!
What you will end up with is the layers that you see on the 2 hills. Note the center layer, see how it "Hangs out and I did have to trim it.
In the first picture:
See also, the crevasse (hole) that I created by using 2 scrap pieces. (third layer down and the natural sliver - 6th layer behind tree.
Now, when you get near the top of the hills, you actually have to pay a bit of attention. The top 2 or 3 layers must conform to what yo want the terrain to look like so they have to be fitted. I fitted the top 2 layers to the second level of benchwork so I could use drywall screws to secure them.
Each layer is glued to the layer below (using Emer's white glue - right off the shelf - not diluted) and I used wooden shish-ka-bob sticks (coated in Elmer's glue) to secure them. Think "wooden re-bar" They added extra support to the thin faces.
So - the bottom layer of each is screwed to the benchwork. The 2nd and 3rd layers are glued and screwed to the layer below --- the other layers are glued and "pegged" together with the skewers.
The top 2 layers are screwed to the layer below and the 2nd level's benchwork. Therefore they are "Cat proof"
Remember - i want them to look different. I chose to trim off the excess of the right hand hill and re-create the left hand hill into the "Different" one.
First, i always place a base coat on everyhting!! I use American Accents Stone spray paint
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You can find it almost anywhere, Wal-Mart, Michaels Crafts, AC Moore etc.,.. Wal-mart is the cheapest (but you already guessed that!)
It's oil based, so first I had to use water based brown spray paint.
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Just to be safe, i sprayed one coat, let it dry overnight and applied a second coat and let that dry overnight.
If you goof this up now, it'll "eat" the pink insulation - really a true mess!!!!!!!
Then - 3rd coat - the American "Brown" stone paint.... and the results are in the photo
Note the right hill is finished as far as base coat and facade. A trip to a craft store and i bought a few "Fake Flowers" with small blooms. i cut the blooms, drilled 1/8 holes in the foam and glued the flowers in place with the Elmer's, only so the cats would not think "play toys". Some green paint for the beginnings of some color detailing can be seen too.
A few "Rocks" made from rolling up Spackle are there in white, to the left of the tower base. These can be painted any color after a day or so of drying time.
The hill front is still "Flat looking" so I took some more "Renolds Wrap" heavy duty wrap and crinkled it up.
if you are not familiar with this process, you take a sheet and crinkle it up, not rolling it, not folding it, you crinkle it between your fingers and thumbs. When you CAREFULLY stretch it back out - you end up with a rough layer that can be stapled to a hill LOL or wrapped around a square of wood to make the rear of a tunnel. spray paint it bakck with a bit of other dark colors and you have a nice tunnel or mine.
After staplint the foil to the hill, I stapled it top and bottom, I sprayed that with the brown "stone" paint for texture.
In the above picture you can see the "Black foil" on the inside walls, the Brown foil on the front wall and the "Overlapping" on the top layer and above the portal entrance.
Now, I didn't take "Progress" pics so I'll have to reconstruct what happened between the "Layers and the finished hill.
First, I took gold paint and streaked it lightly along the "edges" of the foil. It can be seen above to the left of the portal.
I also decided to create a larger area of lighter colors, so i did that too. Any of the "pale" areas are gold paint.
While it was still VERY wet and blotchy, I cleaned my brush on a towel, dipped it in dark brown and "Mixed" them together on the side of the hill. Remember not to put ANY pressure ont eh foil, or you will flatten out the details.
This toned the gold to the dirty looking color I ended up with. I'm very pleased with the results, it looks just like dirt when you see it. The picture lightens it.
After that - I took a can of American Classics Gray (do you see a pattern here??) and after shaking the can and pointing the spray head toward the hill.. I "hit downward" on the spray head "shooting very short bursts" of paint on to the facade. This gave everything a gray tinge which complimented the gold and brown without putting "too much" gray into the scenery. You can see the hints of gray in the bowl formations.
Now, this is a transition era layout, so even though the "Electric" Eggliner runs on the bottom, I wanted some remnants of steam there too..... Note the portal "Before" photo.
Nice and clean, wood all looking new (sinister laugh) heh heh heh heh heh
Took the brown and gold..... just "Stuck" the brush randomly into the sides of the portal... a bit over the tunnerl entrancce.... Smeared them around with fingers... Yes, fingerpainting - who would have thought????
Placed a spare slice of insulation over the track and just a Shot" of black spray paint and you have a Nice smoke mark above the portal and "Dirty" weathered looking wood......
Even have a "cameo" appearance of the "Gray Stone paint" can
Also - you can see the utility knife i used for all the cutting and trimming of the foam and the diagonal cutters to cut the flowers to size and the pin vice I used to drill the holes in the foam for the flowers.
You can also see the contrast between the "Stone looking" hill to the right and the contoured hill to the left.
I then copied the gold / brown / stone painting details onto the right hand hill. I called these "Hills" because they are only 15" tall about 1/3 of an engine's height higher them the engine. In HO these would be mountains
Well - I hope I gave enough details in the explanations. Next time - I'll take more pics!!!
As far as the foam, I hope you can see that the facade is the main thing you have to worry about. You have to have some sort of vision of what you want to end up with, before you start. The hills and terrain of the layout do not necessarily have to be a solid mass, some can be hollow, even if they are not a tunnel.
And yes, changing your mind as you go IS allowed!! It's YOUR layout - - You are the only one you have to answer to! As has been shown numerous times here in the past, there are very few things on a layout that don't have some prototype somewhere!
So you stick the skewers down through all the layers of foam? And how long do you let the glue dry before proceeding with the painting and all? Reason for all the questions is that I will be needing to glue some faom to foam on my layout too. Of course, not nearly as much height as yours! On the Elmers, I have found it takes forever to dry when glueing two non-water absorbing pieces together. But I see that the skewers would hold everything in place while the glue dries, even if it takes a few days.
They added extra support to the thin faces.
Therefore they are "Cat proof" 
