Dave graffam models cricut
Next step, adding the fence to complete the curve, and starting to add other vegetation. I got the contours sorted out on the homestead hill with thin cardstock and hot glue, and was then ready to Mod-Podge the grass. I painted on Mod-Podge and stuck it down, and then went back over the edges with Mod-Podge to keep it from fraying and make sure it says down.įirst coat of gray on the road, and I'm calling it a night! Tomorrow I'm going to use some thin frozen-food-package cardstock for the hill contours at the homestead, and then start adding the details! I went in intending to get the tye-dye green fleece they always have in stock and that I've made some wargaming grass mats with, but this has a tighter pattern and more natural green color that will require less paint to make it look passable. Then some nearly instant cat-proof springtime grass, thanks to a perfect mottled green calico print from JoAnn's Fabrics. My wife walked by and saw the rock cut at the curve, and said "that looks extremely Midwestern, so misson accomplished." :) Here's the whole thing with the homestead on the hill and the gesso applied to the track, as well as a few areas of cardboard that will get painted later - rock outcrops and the creek bed. I did a quick template to figure out the elevations on the hill corner, and then cut apart the road section to trace onto the module.
(I learned that trick from the wargames folks painting 1/72 figures made from bendy plastic.) I can't spray paint right now anyway, since it is so freaking cold outside! Gesso has become my secret weapon when painting plastic, as it will stick and not flake off when bent, like some spray paint will do. I smoothed over the joints within the modules with shipping label stickers cut to size, then applied Liquitex gesso to the track. With luck, we'll have some inaugural Valentine's Day races! I'm pleased with how it is turning out so far, and tomorrow plan to finish the profile of the hill for the homestead with the road curve below at the end of the 2'-0" module, paint the track, and apply scenery. Since it is basically a hollow speaker box underneath, it is a little noisy when cars run on it, but I might try stuffing it with wadded paper or plastic bags to take care of that. I'll be keeping a 2" high base on all the modules, so the "zero elevation" at the creek bed is 2" above the bookshelf/table.Īnd here's the completed first day of work! Gluing the 3" wide strips of cardboard (cereal box chipboard at extremely curvy locations) over the framework to form the ground plane makes it rigid, I swung it around a bit without hearing too much popping and cracking from the hot glue joints. Here's the completed framework of the first 4'-0" module.
#Dave graffam models cricut full#
Next up, after assembling two tracks with profile supports and sandwiching them together to get a two-lane road, is adding the 3" bridging front and back to get a full width of 9" and meet the front and rear profiles.
#Dave graffam models cricut portable#
I have to admit, I have an ulterior model railroading purpose in building this track - I've always wanted to test out lightweight open-frame cardboard and hot glue module construction I have seen used for some portable model railroads - so here's the start of a track section, with the hill profile cut x2 and bridging cut to the width of the track's underside channel glued between.īy spacing the walls of the track profile to line up with each notch on the outside of the connector channel on the underside of the track, the track fits snugly into the profile with a good surface area for gluing. 3," somewhere, I just need to pull the correct HO scale flat car from storage and pop it off.) Black and white newsreels of the latest races with silent film cards for commentary will likely appear on YouTube at some point.but first the track needs built! My wife and I are big into steampunk, and so I'm planning on collecting a stable of all the "old time" style castings I can find. My concept is to go for a 20th century open highway theme, utilizing nearby Flint Hills scenery as inspiration. Hot Wheels track sections were available at the local Dollar Tree, so $5 later I was clearing the top of a bookshelf and going at my cardboard supplies with a box knife. I've been model railroading my whole life, but with the addition of a "quarantine kitten" to the family last year, I had been looking for something a little more durable while my trains cower with fear in storage. I stumbled onto 3dBotMaker's YouTube channel a week or so ago, and my wife and I are hooked.