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I sure wish you folks were around in the mid 60's when I first got into the hobby. The hobby has really changed throughout the years & it's companies like Woodland Scenics that's made that possible. I just got into DCC operation with sound & it's a whole new world of model railroading. Thanks a bunch Woodland Scenics.
Over the decades, I've tried just about every way to make roads, and this WS system is the best. And I hate mixing plaster products, too, which this is. But, it's worth putting up with it for the results you get. It turned out so well, I used it for a second road, 2 parking lots, and an engine terminal. I used it for tarmac and for concrete lots. Good job.
Fantastic! This video is jam packed with great information and tips, this was 18 minutes worth watching. I'm inspired to build a city. Please keep videos like this coming, great products, great information and superb results! Thank you.
Man, you do ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL work especially w doing the RxR crossing! That looked like the real thing! I took notes while watching this video for the crossing, the sidewalks and the roads w the weathering. Thanks for sharing this video and I'm viewing this from Delmar, Delaware.
Don't forget to sprinkle a little bark from log trucks and fine sawdust "wood chips" from chip trucks on the sides your roads, ideas for some of you on your layout ... I model modern HO forestry , I'm in love with woodland scenics products ...
+PeterCommedian 2015 - There is no 'reply' link on either your comment nor a 'dicussion' tab on your UA-cam channel, so I am responding to your question here about the width of an N scale road. The following are approximate, and it will also depend on how it looks to you. Hope you find this answer and that is helpful. City Street - 26' (15/16" in scale) Country Road - 20' (1 1/2" in scale) Highway Lane - 11' (7/8" in scale) and a Sidewalk - 4' (5/16" in scale’)
Welcome to the hobby! Please send us some photos at marketing@woodlandscenics.com, when you have completed your scene. Would love to see it! Glad the video was helpful. Happy Modeling!
For more control over where the Top Coat is applied and for an even application, dip your foam brush into the paint and then brush it onto to your project area.
Yes, if you would like to practice with the products first, try our Road Systems Learning Kit, Item LK952 or our Road Kit, Item RG5151. The Road Kit includes a Road Ruler that guides you in modeling road work in the correct scale. Happy Modeling!
I built a section of US Route 66 through Essex California, on my Santa Fe Needles Sub layout in N Scale. An extra added challenge was to find very small beads, and orange glitter to place the small "Cat eyes" on the lines, I used HO Santa Fe Hood Decal striping for the lines down the middle. They average out to be about 4" in N Scale. Mike in Fresno, Ca.
Watching the grade crossing vid. Matt said if you get chips after making a groove for your trains to touch up with top coat. Having chips in your grade crossing gives it that aged weathering look after years of vehicle crossing over.. Makes it more realistic..
We are not sure what your plans are for this technique and we have never tested this combination. However, given what we know about the products, we believe that if you want to model flat, horizontal roads on a stationary layout, you should not have any problems. However, we suggest trying this on a test area first to make sure you get the effect you want. Hope this helps! Happy Modeling!
I'm building a small N scale Christmas decoration complete with auto reversing trolley to honor my late grandmother, and uncle. Christmas village, and HO layout masters respectively. I have never made anything close to this, so all of your videos have been very helpful in trying to do their favorite hobbies justice. Thank you for helping me get it right the 1st time.P.S. I love the product line! Very easy to use.
That's amazing! We're glad you enjoy using our products and find the videos helpful. Feel free to share photos with us on social media or by emailing them to marketing@woodlandscenics.com. We'd love to see how everything looks when you're done.
one thing ive seen a lot on the great planes but other placez as well, are foubdations of houses long abandoned, or burned out in a wildfire. often just a worn cracked slab and a chimney. i think woodland scenics road kits might be a good way to model an old slab foundation.
another tip and I learned this from Steve Otte at MR. if you don't want white showing add six parts Smooth It to two parts water to one part each of Concrete and Asphalt paint this way you get that gray consistency of a freshly laid road. when you are done add details which can be anything from Atlas crossing strips, Blair Line Crossbucks NJ International Signals, you name it when your module is done add it.
Srajan Jain, if you click on the "Show More" above, it will provide you with the list of materials used and also provide links to each product. Happy Modeling!
This is a bigger company than I thought. I figured it was just one small factory shipping out to regional hobby shops, with output severely hindered by a recent fire. I had no idea it was national.
I was going to add that BLMA has Modern Grade Crossing pads, for N, Z, and HO scale. you can purchase either Rubber, or Concrete pads. But my question is how would you integrate that into your road paving system? Oh and those Roads are simply awesome!
Nice; I just did this the hard way! If and when it comes time to make another road, I'll give it a go your way. Striping would have been the biggest help, but I used paint pens. The results (in progress) are on my blog; let me know if you need directions on how to find it if interested...
Looks very nice.. If your road is over styrene, I recommended sanding the styrene then to paint, use a light gray primer ( spray can) , then airbrush the road using rubbing alcohol and India ink ( 2 teaspoons india ink and about a pint of rubbing alcohol) ... hold it about about several inches above the road surface and slowly mist the road until it gets a mist of black, covering the whole road . then you can use a black chalk powder to spot oil stains and so forth ..THEN seal it with dull coat to give it that flat look. you can always scribe the styrene with an utility knife to indicate cracks on the road.
Wow! Thank you for all the information... this is the only video as far as I know that actually helped me build my city, step by step with clear instructions. But one question: Where can I find *modern* model cars so that I can place it in my model?
+Matthew Roberts We are delighted this video was helpful to you. As far as modern model cars, there are several manufacturers who make them. Not sure what scale you are wanting, but if you will Google 'modern scale vehicles' you will find several options. Good Luck, and Happy Modeling!
@ModelSceneryExpert Thahnk-you very much for your reply! Sorry it took a bit to get back to you. I'm going to follow your advice and that advice of the video very soon!
I can see trying that once I create a city or town area. I'm in a project that will probably take me to my death. For rural areas I simply used 1/8" cork with a chalkboard base paint, followed by spray glue and added WS #40 Natural stone ballast, rolled it. Added hair spray.
Howdy Matt, I've checked the WS website several times & I can't seem to locate the dry transfer double yellow road stripes? What am I doing wrong or are the road stripes not a WS product? Surely they can't be those stripes in the 4"x5" sheet which is only one sheet? Thanks again for all the great products! BTW, I just purchased your new "Just Plug System" & that is THE coolest lighting product to hit the world of model railroading! I bought the entire system & enough accessories for roughly 100 lights & the price for this system is extremely reasonably priced. Thanks again Woodland Scenics for making this such a great hobby!
if you are making a crossing use the required DOT code for stripes. stripes need to be two inches apart and they need to be set about three inches from the crossing. you need two solid stripes on each side and a white stop bar before the crossing don't use a single stripe and never use dash stripes remember this is a no passing zone and passing on a crossing is illegal.
Thank you for the instructions! It realy adds allot of realism to my railway but i got a question. Is using plaster an idea to use for making smooth roads? I have allot left from rebuilding the house
Very good not sure if you can get smooth it in the uk. I model trains and all my products I use are woodland scenic they are very good. I'll have to look in to the smooth it. I have never seen it on the woodland scenic stands at shows or model shops. Thanks
Is it just me? I've never seen a street corner that's an exact 90 degree angle. Every street I've ever seen has a radius-ed corner. I imagine that this was done to facilitate vehicle turnuing and help to curb pedestrian mishaps by eliminating a sharp edge.
I use styrene for the sidewalk and roads.. I do this because if I use putty or smooth it for roads and use styrene for sidewalks, I find it difficult to create the perfect curb. However, I sand the styrene so it has that flat look, then is use a very thin layer ( maybe 1 mm think) of smooth it or Durham's putty , this way I can create pot holes and cracks on the road.. I paint the roads with a mixture of black and white, then I weather it with white chalk and then black chalk
I just got my DD40AX, And some track, i just dont want tack on some table, i would like some realism close and around the track, maybe just grass or something, how can i do that? Im completely new at this hobby, and it seems like alot of fun!
Hello there! Excellent demonstration! Your models look very realistic. Just curious about the die-cast cars in your video, are they 1/64 scale or 1/87 scale? Which one do you prefer to the model railroad layouts or does it matter? Thank you so for sharing your video and keep up with the good work.
On my model railroad, I have many mountains and hills, however I am covering the entire layout (including all flat surfaces) with WS Plaster Cloth. Should I let that dry and then use the steps in this video to make the road, or should I make the road and then install the Plaster Cloth?
What if you have a very large layout,how can you get all the details in the model without damaging the scenery? I am planning on making one of the maps from the game,world of tanks.
Hello. Would really appreciate your help. When you use smooth it, how long can you keep the packet open? I know with water it will go hard straight away but what about just dry left in the packet? Many thanks in advance
Because Smooth-It is a plaster-based product, any moisture in the environment will be absorbed by the Smooth-It and turn the unused portion into a rock. We recommend that you place any unused portion of the dry product in an air tight container away from the sun to extend the life of the product. There is no specific shelf life for the product. Hope this helps!
Do you have any products and / or advice for making crowned roads (higher in the center), gutters, manholes, and drainage grates along the curbs, as are typically found in larger towns and cities with storm drains?
Great step by step instruction. I would however note that rarely do you see 90 degree corners at cross streets. Generally, the corners are a sweeping radius. Just saying. Thank you for your demo.
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I sure wish you folks were around in the mid 60's when I first got into the hobby. The hobby has really changed throughout the years & it's companies like Woodland Scenics that's made that possible. I just got into DCC operation with sound & it's a whole new world of model railroading. Thanks a bunch Woodland Scenics.
Bernhardt Heckendorn Yes, the hobby has certainly changed! Thank you for your support and kind words! Happy Modeling!
Over the decades, I've tried just about every way to make roads, and this WS system is the best. And I hate mixing plaster products, too, which this is. But, it's worth putting up with it for the results you get. It turned out so well, I used it for a second road, 2 parking lots, and an engine terminal. I used it for tarmac and for concrete lots. Good job.
Fantastic! This video is jam packed with great information and tips, this was 18 minutes worth watching. I'm inspired to build a city. Please keep videos like this coming, great products, great information and superb results! Thank you.
the legend is here...
Luke has spoken! But there still is b
o city construction vid yet...
Hi Luke what's going up?😀
Coming from a true legend!
Luke the master at doing all this.
What a wonderful hobby, it's amazing!!
Thank you a lot for your help Mr. Matt. You practically answered all my questions. Take care
Thank you so much for replying back and I appreciate your suggestions.
Happy RR modeling to you!
Steve G.
Even though following these tutorials will basically give WS a monopoly on my layout, I think I still will follow them.
love it. Y'all's systems work so well. Been using it on my T-Trak modules lately.
Man, you do ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL work especially w doing the RxR crossing! That looked like the real thing! I took notes while watching this video for the crossing, the sidewalks and the roads w the weathering. Thanks for sharing this video and I'm viewing this from Delmar, Delaware.
Thank you verry much
This is the best WS video yet! I WILL use this technique on my layout!
Amazing tutorial, and great quality results!
Love these Vids. They inspire me to work on my layout. Thanks for posting guys
I like the part for rail crossings.
A very helpful tutorial - thanks Matt.
Outstanding video/tips and techniques!
Don't forget to sprinkle a little bark from log trucks and fine sawdust "wood chips" from chip trucks on the sides your roads, ideas for some of you on your layout ... I model modern HO forestry , I'm in love with woodland scenics products ...
+PeterCommedian 2015 - There is no 'reply' link on either your comment nor a 'dicussion' tab on your UA-cam channel, so I am responding to your question here about the width of an N scale road. The following are approximate, and it will also depend on how it looks to you. Hope you find this answer and that is helpful. City Street - 26' (15/16" in scale) Country Road - 20' (1 1/2" in scale) Highway Lane - 11' (7/8" in scale) and a Sidewalk - 4' (5/16" in scale’)
Wow! That was amazing! I'm just getting new to this hobby and I'm making a 80's police chase scene! This really helped!
Welcome to the hobby! Please send us some photos at marketing@woodlandscenics.com, when you have completed your scene. Would love to see it! Glad the video was helpful. Happy Modeling!
For more control over where the Top Coat is applied and for an even application, dip your foam brush into the paint and then brush it onto to your project area.
[thank, you for youre helpful video]👍
Thanks for the help and hello from New Zealand
Fantastic - thank you
Thanks for the video guys. It was actually very helpful!
Yes, if you would like to practice with the products first, try our Road Systems Learning Kit, Item LK952 or our Road Kit, Item RG5151. The Road Kit includes a Road Ruler that guides you in modeling road work in the correct scale. Happy Modeling!
cracking layout i will be sure to show our local club this video.
i like these how to viedos will help me whit my layout love train hobby enjoy your viedo
I built a section of US Route 66 through Essex California, on my Santa Fe Needles Sub layout in N Scale. An extra added challenge was to find very small beads, and orange glitter to place the small "Cat eyes" on the lines, I used HO Santa Fe Hood Decal striping for the lines down the middle. They average out to be about 4" in N Scale. Mike in Fresno, Ca.
Forgot to add in my last comment subed and favorite! Thanks again for some great advice, I was a little "gun shy" on building my roads, untill now!
Nice one crownstreet ill get some sorted out. I fancy having a go at doing some roads. Thanks again
Very nice video . I love this . Thank you very much for information. 😊😊😊
Watching the grade crossing vid. Matt said if you get chips after making a groove for your trains to touch up with top coat. Having chips in your grade crossing gives it that aged weathering look after years of vehicle crossing over.. Makes it more realistic..
This is definitely true! Some people prefer the more weathered look, but not everyone does.
love this....
fantastic vid, this will help me when i start building my new model railway.
AMAZING!
@ModelSceneryExpert Awesome! Thank you so much!
I am making a horse ranch for my stable mates!!!! love the supplies
Great Job!
Nice 👍☺️
We are not sure what your plans are for this technique and we have never tested this combination. However, given what we know about the products, we believe that if you want to model flat, horizontal roads on a stationary layout, you should not have any problems. However, we suggest trying this on a test area first to make sure you get the effect you want. Hope this helps! Happy Modeling!
Light Weight Premixed Sheetrock Compound works Great also and Less Expensive. On simple Layouts, Roofing Felt/Tar Paper will work.
I'm building a small N scale Christmas decoration complete with auto reversing trolley to honor my late grandmother, and uncle. Christmas village, and HO layout masters respectively. I have never made anything close to this, so all of your videos have been very helpful in trying to do their favorite hobbies justice. Thank you for helping me get it right the 1st time.P.S. I love the product line! Very easy to use.
That's amazing! We're glad you enjoy using our products and find the videos helpful. Feel free to share photos with us on social media or by emailing them to marketing@woodlandscenics.com. We'd love to see how everything looks when you're done.
Great video. Easy to use products
Fantastic video lots of inspiration and information
That's very nice of you. We're glad you enjoyed it!
Hattons stock both the smooth it and paving tape. I have used both and they are very good!
Thanks mate !!
Love it
thanks for answering so quick i am gona build some dioramas and try it out first!
Thanks!
nice job man! :)
may get a kit to test it out on my O Gage
love it
one thing ive seen a lot on the great planes but other placez as well, are foubdations of houses long abandoned, or burned out in a wildfire. often just a worn cracked slab and a chimney. i think woodland scenics road kits might be a good way to model an old slab foundation.
nice work
I'm going to buy the grass and the materials needed to do the road.thank you helped a lot
I like your video this will be really helpful in future
I forgot to say I love your stuff. with a layout as big as mine, I would need a month of sundays to make roads this way. but I do love WS products
+Wasatch Range Railway Thank you very much for the kind words! Other than maybe the Superbowl, what better way to spend those Sundays. Have Fun!
very nice video you can learn a lot from this😊
nice video.
THANK YOU
very good video
another tip and I learned this from Steve Otte at MR. if you don't want white showing add six parts Smooth It to two parts water to one part each of Concrete and Asphalt paint this way you get that gray consistency of a freshly laid road. when you are done add details which can be anything from Atlas crossing strips, Blair Line Crossbucks NJ International Signals, you name it when your module is done add it.
thank you
thanks fo the info...
Srajan Jain, if you click on the "Show More" above, it will provide you with the list of materials used and also provide links to each product. Happy Modeling!
@ModelSceneryExpert Thanks MSE! Will do!
This is a bigger company than I thought. I figured it was just one small factory shipping out to regional hobby shops, with output severely hindered by a recent fire. I had no idea it was national.
I was going to add that BLMA has Modern Grade Crossing pads, for N, Z, and HO scale.
you can purchase either Rubber, or Concrete pads.
But my question is how would you integrate that into your road paving system?
Oh and those Roads are simply awesome!
Nice; I just did this the hard way! If and when it comes time to make another road, I'll give it a go your way. Striping would have been the biggest help, but I used paint pens. The results (in progress) are on my blog; let me know if you need directions on how to find it if interested...
Looks very nice.. If your road is over styrene, I recommended sanding the styrene then to paint, use a light gray primer ( spray can) , then airbrush the road using rubbing alcohol and India ink ( 2 teaspoons india ink and about a pint of rubbing alcohol) ... hold it about about several inches above the road surface and slowly mist the road until it gets a mist of black, covering the whole road . then you can use a black chalk powder to spot oil stains and so forth ..THEN seal it with dull coat to give it that flat look.
you can always scribe the styrene with an utility knife to indicate cracks on the road.
Awesome tips! Thanks for sharing!
Might be just me, but that maquette at the beginning reminds me of sims 3 sunset valley town for some reason :P
Wow! Thank you for all the information... this is the only video as far as I know that actually helped me build my city, step by step with clear instructions. But one question: Where can I find *modern* model cars so that I can place it in my model?
+Matthew Roberts We are delighted this video was helpful to you. As far as modern model cars, there are several manufacturers who make them. Not sure what scale you are wanting, but if you will Google 'modern scale vehicles' you will find several options. Good Luck, and Happy Modeling!
@ModelSceneryExpert thanks you helped me a lot.that's all my quistens
@ModelSceneryExpert Thahnk-you very much for your reply! Sorry it took a bit to get back to you. I'm going to follow your advice and that advice of the video very soon!
I can see trying that once I create a city or town area. I'm in a project that will probably take me to my death. For rural areas I simply used 1/8" cork with a chalkboard base paint, followed by spray glue and added WS #40 Natural stone ballast, rolled it. Added hair spray.
Nice
Hi, I'm looking to make a cobbled street and I'm wondering if you would have any tips or techniques I could follow? Thanks
If there are minor imperfections in the initial application of smooth-it, can a second layer be added on top to cover and fill in?
otimo video
Howdy Matt, I've checked the WS website several times & I can't seem to locate the dry transfer double yellow road stripes? What am I doing wrong or are the road stripes not a WS product? Surely they can't be those stripes in the 4"x5" sheet which is only one sheet? Thanks again for all the great products!
BTW, I just purchased your new "Just Plug System" & that is THE coolest lighting product to hit the world of model railroading! I bought the entire system & enough accessories for roughly 100 lights & the price for this system is extremely reasonably priced. Thanks again Woodland Scenics for making this such a great hobby!
if you are making a crossing use the required DOT code for stripes. stripes need to be two inches apart and they need to be set about three inches from the crossing. you need two solid stripes on each side and a white stop bar before the crossing don't use a single stripe and never use dash stripes remember this is a no passing zone and passing on a crossing is illegal.
Thank you for the instructions! It realy adds allot of realism to my railway but i got a question. Is using plaster an idea to use for making smooth roads? I have allot left from rebuilding the house
You can use drywall plaster works the same
nice
Very good not sure if you can get smooth it in the uk. I model trains and all my products I use are woodland scenic they are very good. I'll have to look in to the smooth it. I have never seen it on the woodland scenic stands at shows or model shops. Thanks
I just use the foam road, Maybe not as realistic but still fine.
cool
Is it just me? I've never seen a street corner that's an exact 90 degree angle. Every street I've ever seen has a radius-ed corner. I imagine that this was done to facilitate vehicle turnuing and help to curb pedestrian mishaps by eliminating a sharp edge.
Great video. Maybe next time you use newspaper to protect work area, dont use the obituaries😆👍
I use styrene for the sidewalk and roads.. I do this because if I use putty or smooth it for roads and use styrene for sidewalks, I find it difficult to create the perfect curb. However, I sand the styrene so it has that flat look, then is use a very thin layer ( maybe 1 mm think) of smooth it or Durham's putty , this way I can create pot holes and cracks on the road.. I paint the roads with a mixture of black and white, then I weather it with white chalk and then black chalk
Thank you for sharing your modeling technique. I'm sure others will find it helpful. Happy Modeling!
I just got my DD40AX, And some track, i just dont want tack on some table, i would like some realism close and around the track, maybe just grass or something, how can i do that? Im completely new at this hobby, and it seems like alot of fun!
Hello there!
Excellent demonstration! Your models look very realistic. Just curious about the
die-cast cars in your video, are they 1/64 scale or 1/87 scale? Which one do you
prefer to the model railroad layouts or does it matter? Thank you so for sharing
your video and keep up with the good work.
Thanks, I have one more question. How do you make the smoothen?
On my model railroad, I have many mountains and hills, however I am covering the entire layout (including all flat surfaces) with WS Plaster Cloth. Should I let that dry and then use the steps in this video to make the road, or should I make the road and then install the Plaster Cloth?
What if you have a very large layout,how can you get all the details in the model without damaging the scenery? I am planning on making one of the maps from the game,world of tanks.
There's a sick Santa Claus on the newspaper 1:44
Hello. Would really appreciate your help. When you use smooth it, how long can you keep the packet open? I know with water it will go hard straight away but what about just dry left in the packet? Many thanks in advance
Because Smooth-It is a plaster-based product, any moisture in the environment will be absorbed by the Smooth-It and turn the unused portion into a rock. We recommend that you place any unused portion of the dry product in an air tight container away from the sun to extend the life of the product. There is no specific shelf life for the product. Hope this helps!
Do you have any products and / or advice for making crowned roads (higher in the center), gutters, manholes, and drainage grates along the curbs, as are typically found in larger towns and cities with storm drains?
Great step by step instruction. I would however note that rarely do you see 90 degree corners at cross streets. Generally, the corners are a sweeping radius. Just saying. Thank you for your demo.