Creating Scenery with Spray Foam on a Model Railroad Layout

[@Railshop-models]

This has been so far the best how-to do spray foam ive come across. Short, simple and to the point, no muss no fuss. A fast and fantastic technique that i have added to our playlist now. Thank you for sharing 😊

[@IwshIcldstrtover]

I couldn't agree with you more!

[@outreachvideo]

Thank you so much for posting this. I just had a 12x10 table built for my O gauge train set (Lionel Super Chief) and thru the holidays collected all the styrofoam I could get my hands on. I am in the process of finding the right layout for the train and once I get that right I then have to add the layout for the Carrera slot car track thats going to accompany it. I am looking for accessories ideas and I sure am going to keep yours in mind. Thanks again for posting this.

[@RDayton]

If you mist the foam with water you can smooth it or shape it with your hand before it dries.

[@pao.8691]

How long do you have before it dries and you can’t mold it?

[@josephschuster1494]

Great info, Paul! I’ve ‘liked’ and subscribed, and will use your tips on my layout! Thanks! 🚂

[@phillipg1588]

Excellent idea. I used to use messy plaster but this spray foam looks so much easier and less messy 👍

[@Issicra]

I'm gearing up to help my 75 year old father build his first (mine too) HO scale layout. I had Tyco trains in the 70s and 80s but we were never serious about it, so we're learning on the go here. This foam method looks to be the easiest thing we could handle. Thanks!

[@dennisporter6000]

I'm sixty five and i'm doing that with my grandchildren now😊

[@Issicra]

@@dennisporter6000 That's wonderful. We're hoping to get some work done on his project this weekend if the weather cooperates.

[@SharingtheRoad]

Incredible tutorial and extremely helpful! Exactly what i I was looking for as a beginner. Thanks!

[@paulsteinweg]

I’m glad you found it helpful!

[@peterlutz7191]

Great layout! Awesome 'tip', I'll be using spray foam for my layout.

[@inovahightechltd]

Thanks Paul! Great video and great information! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 With greetings from Kansas Peter

[@user-spacrazie]

I have been watching so many videos on creating scenery and without a question, your technique is the best!! Your end results looking amazingly realistic. Thank you for sharing!

[@paulsteinweg]

Thanks for your comments. I also like using the sheets of insulation to build up segments first. Helps to create more 3d look. Check out my 1st video on how I did strews by carving into the foam sheet like actual road construction. Then, used driveway crack filler to make pavement. It is a fun hobby. I will do a separate segment on that.

[@paulsteinweg]

Oops. Meant to say streets.

[@user-spacrazie]

@@paulsteinweg I will check it out. That sounds really interesting!

[@darrellrobinson6200]

I loved your tips. Getting ready to start mine back up again now that I've retired. And yes cost is a big factor.

[@dennisporter6000]

@@darrellrobinson6200 A lot more than when we were kids.

[@JamesSchinner-mq1lz]

Great info - You know your "STUFF" NO pun intended. Please do more. You could do great!

[@charlesandre2698]

Outstanding video enjoyed the process and detail you achieved…..just got all the materials to do my own track…..thanks 🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️

[@tomstuart2652]

Simple and easy instructions for landscaping. I made a small layout quickly. I suggest using a larger brush and making a thin wash of any earth tones over the entire area first. You don’t have to worry about the white as you add various colors. 8:30

[@Paul-ey1ct]

Very clever, love it from England 🇬🇧👍.

[@randylearmonth4047]

Very informative, awesome job

[@tadcobert1307]

Thanks for sharing this technique, I’ll give it a try

[@HobbyWorld_one]

Great video, I'm mostly working on slot car tracks, but the principle is the same :) Love the work you have done with your track.

[@mrupscale]

Awesome tips thank you for taking the time to post this! Happy New Year 🎉

[@TheGrover1968]

Love the music. Good demonstration. I've seen another railroad done that way, and it looks good. I just don't like those spray cans. If you don't use it all up and set it down for a while, then it sets up in the , you can't use the rest of it. I'd wear latex/nitrile gloves and grubby clothes. It'll ruin your clothes, and it's hard to get off of your hands. I've thought about getting two part density foam. But if you're sealling gaps between boards, the spray cans easier, though.

[@stephdustin-ty4xd]

I'm helping my 12 yr old make a diorama of alcatraz Island so this is invaluable!!

[@andreassimon2283]

Wunderbar. Bitte mehr davon.

[@eeegee4810]

Maybe try an empty parmesan container for your turf material. The two openings on the container would give you more control on applying.

[@frankbullitt4556]

looking good. Great idea

[@ImCold-le4lq]

This is Really cool! me and my dad are building a layout that goes arround our entire basement.

[@skipgear]

We tried this method on an N-Trak module a few years ago. Use with caution. The foam continues to grow for months after you spray it. We added some rock castings in a cut and little skim of spackling to smooth some places it out. Both cracked in a few weeks and continued too months later. It took about 6 months before the spray foam stabilized.

[@paularose9407]

Once it hardens it no longer expands. You definitely had external environmental factors creating movement. If a base board has lots of movement can create cracks etc .

[@paulmontgomery303]

Very informative, thank you. Snowy greetings from mi.

[@cumbria0896]

I've been using this for years and several layouts and after spraying and waiting to expand and dry, roughly carve with a bread knife then smooth with a 2inch surform. Also then coat using wall tile adhesive/grout applied with a paint brush as smooth or stippled as you require. Beats sold foam and plaster bandage and a fraction of the cost.

[@paulsteinweg]

Yep, I remember those old days of screen and plaster of Paris

[@LesTrainsduBalbu]

Hello from France ! Thank you very much for this tip 🙂! I'll try to apply it to my Z scale project 🙂 Have a nice day ! (You won a new subscriber ;-) )

[@bonniehollingsworth1996]

If you cover it right away with Saran wrap, you can form it with your hands. Also, when you mist it with water you can form it when it’s still wet.

[@stephdustin-ty4xd]

I'm helping my 12 yr old make a diorama of alcatraz Island....this video was a nice surprise but your tip made it that much better! Thank u 😊

[@dennisporter6000]

Thank you. Never would have thought of that

[@makietakolejowamakarona3127]

Piekna makieta, swietna praca. Pozdrawiam

[@jefwisse1957]

Brilliant 👍😃

[@TGA2010000]

Great video

[@majormuckup373]

Pau thanks for the video and ideas put forward. Are the spray foam products flammable?

[@danielfantino1714]

For very very large area you have the stuff than come in 2 look like propane tank. It´s far more expansive but they offer more control. You put a thin layer that will inflate almost instantly. You don´t get that "saucage" effects. Tips must be replaced if you stop like 30 seconds. The stuff available in reno center is usually used for foam house insulation. I think it offer better results, but not for 4 X 8 size. More huge layout. Wearing mask for lungs protection with proper ventilation of fresh air. Remember that ALL foams, close or open cells, burn like hell with toxic fumes. Don´t forget that with all your wiring if you don´t want layout and house a nice barbecue.

[@TheKonnoisseur11]

This is beautiful and nostalgic this is like dollhouses for guys 😅

[@thorstandeckman5037]

Paul, hope your trains still work! Where have you been? We miss your knowledge sharing.

[@keithludowitz9637]

Hello from Bali, Indonesia. Nice video. I saw another video where a modeler used a butane torch to shape the XPF foam surface. I wonder if the techniques would combine (depending on the flamibility characteristics of spray foam).

[@DougLaSala]

Thank you so much for sharing! Would you happen to be a Big Band Drummer???

[@mike1776GSD]

Paul, great instruction vid. The woodland scenic turf, do you use the acrylic not yet dried to hold the turf in place?

[@paulsteinweg]

I just used a watered down white glue. Woodland scenics and others sell a static tool to make them rise up.

[@robmaciver5093]

Can the dry foam be shaped with a wire foam cutter, too?

[@paulsteinweg]

I am sure it can. Needs to totally dry 1st.

[@robmaciver5093]

Thanks Paul!@@paulsteinweg

[@EivinSukoi]

Well done job

[@IwshIcldstrtover]

Hi! I wondered if you could tell me wher you get the larger sized blue styrofoam that you are featuring in this video? I've looked on eBay, they sell only smaller sized styrofoam pieces. I am trying to create the "grassy knoll" as part of an HO scale modelDealey Plaza, the sight where President Kennedy was assassinated, and am having a bit a problem finding the foam you are using.. Could you possibly give me some advice? Thanks ever so much.

[@paulsteinweg]

You can get at Lowe’s or Home Depot.

[@IwshIcldstrtover]

@@paulsteinweg Great!!! Thanks so much!!! Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!!

[@LeonKolenda]

OK, This looks like fun and way less messy! I have a few questions. 1. Do you build your scenery in modules and then add it to your layout, and do you use a Foamboard Base maybe 2" thick for the whole layout, and then add the scenery modules to that base? So you don't glue your stacks of Foam, just use nails? Or does the Spray Foam hold the sections of stacked foam together? How long does the spray foam take to dry, Can you shape it or do you have to use as it comes out? Suggestion: Invest in a Lavalier Microphone, instead of just using the camera sound, The audio on your videos will be much better!

[@paulsteinweg]

Good news, I got a lavalier mic for Christmas!!! You were not the 1st to mention Regarding your questions: I built the foam insulation layers as I did the layout so I would have a base that I would have some variable levels to start. For example, my town area is elevated 2” above everything else. Then the mountain sections in the far corners were layered in. I used a caulk gun in most areas between layers with either latex caulk or other adhesive. Nails work fine to hold in place until you add the foam. The key is tapping the foam down as it drys to limit the air pockets. That is why I prefer the loctite brand that comes out less aggressive. After drying, carve to the shapes you like. You will see on my original video how I created street using the foam sheets and multitool. I will be doing a focused video on that…..with my new mic😊

[@LeonKolenda]

@@paulsteinweg I'm using 2" XPS as a base and raising my double main line 4" on 2 additional layers of 2" XPS. This 4 inch rise will run for about 6-8 feet along a river below. What I want to achieve is more of a slow-rolling landscape, I hate flat! Can u shape and smooth out this spray foam or does it dry fast and stick to what ever you might use to shape it? I want to stay away from plaster and plaster-sheets if possible.

[@adamaglionby7438]

Great video, like the show and tell with the patch of completed in middle of form, really helps ​@@LeonKolendalet it cure first then shape it, it cuts ,sands and surform /rasp

[@tomf9928]

i tried a small mtn this way works great!!

[@just4funTrains]

Thanks great video

[@JuanSilveti-z9p]

Hermosa maqueta

[@hetzer7366]

Here we have a happy little pile of yellow turf😅😅

[@fernandomurillo9272]

Awesome thanks

[@gerlandkent6377]

[thank, you for you're video]👍

[@paulhart7129]

Very nice. I

[@RDayton]

About 15 20 20 minutes

[@rogermartin404]

Spray foam..... UNSUBSCRIBED. 🤨

[@Steinstra-vj7wl]

Not very realistic.

[@GaryLowe-l1t]

Can the dry foam be shaped with a wire foam cutter, too?

[@paulsteinweg]

I assume it could. I suspect it might get a bit messy. Easy to carve with a knife or multitool saw

[@ZoeVandenBerg-n7y]

Very nice. I

[@RanaBalent]

Can the dry foam be shaped with a wire foam cutter, too?

[@paulsteinweg]

I have not tried, but I don’t see why not.