I'm getting to the time where I have to think about placing paved roads on my layout still under construction. I will have some "dirt/gravel" roads but I do not know the best way to make realistic looking paved roadways....any help?

Steve

Texas on the West Coast........

Get some 1/8" Masonite and cut your roads with it. That will provide a stiff roadbed to work with. You can paint that gray with some dilute black washes to simulate concrete. Use an x-acto knife to cut in "cracks".

For asphalt, you can use asphalt roofing paper from the local home improvement center. $30 or so will get you a roll of the stuff which is enough to do all the roads on your layout, plus all the roads on several friends' layouts. We have a roll at the club and we've done most of our asphalt roads already, plus a couple of members have taken some home and we still have nearly the full roll.

I've been using heavy mil illustration board on my Chicago South Loop project. I used an off white board, then masked the road markers with 1/4" thin tape to make the road markers. I colored the board with a flat black spray paint, then peeled up the tape to reveal the road markers. Worked quite well.

I used 1/4" MDF here for the concrete slabs and put 1/8" over that for sidewalk/curb



Here I used both 1/8" for road and then on top of that for curbing and sidewalks.





Here I used Durhams water putty and put down two Popsicle sticks for a depth guide and squeegee it to level the water putty between them. Then painted it black to look like paving.

Hey TexSpecial, woodland scenics makes a plaster product - I believe it is called "Smooth-it" that you can use for roads. Using a special tape they have called paving tape, you lay the forms for you roads and by doing this you create forms the same way you would if you were actually laying real concrete.

Once you prepare the mixture, you can either add paint to the plaster or paint on top of the road when it is dry. I recommend adding paint to the mixture so the sides are the same color and so the color is consistent in all areas.

Once you prepare the mixture with the paint, you dump it sparingly into the forms and smooth it (hence the name) with a straight edge provided, or a scrap piece of plastic or styrene.

I have not personally used this technique before but I have seen it used and the results are great looking. It also looks like alot of fun, too , which is what O scale is all about!!! HAVE FUN!

Check out this thread...

http://ogaugerr.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/57660482/m/7771061474

I made my road out of autobody sandpaper. It's fine grit so it reflect light like asphalt and and has a great texture. I glued it down and then I took a white fenil pencil to draw my lines.

I used the Woodland Scenics product mentioned above called "Smooth-it." After outlining the road area with a tape made by W S, you simply mix the product and apply it between the taped areas, spread it, and smooth it out to make your road area. Simple process...the only issue I ran into on my second application was that the powder mix setup to quickly so I had to move qucikly to speard it before it became to hard.

The issue was probably my fault because I didn't add sufficient water the second time. The first application worked out perfectly. After the roadbed hardens, I applied the W S black coating for their road system, and finally added the white strips with a white paint stick made by "Sharpie."

PRRfan
Your automotive sandpaper technique is very convincing.
Nice work, thank you for sharing

.

.......This parking lot is just a vinyl floor tile from Homeboy Depot




.....This is still my favorite material for asphalt roads....


....From Home Depot roofing section. [This is the stuff Matt's talkin about.]Its from a roll of roof "backing' & is made from asphalt Striped using a stencil w/a light flat spray paint.
Then dusted w/ a cement powder for a dirty hi-way look. Hope this helps...................................Remy

Jeff, that's the best treatment I have ever seen of roofing felt paper. I think the manhole cover is cool! You could make a scene where a couple of guys are stealing a manhole cover! This has become a BIG problem in cities these days, as a 100 lb. iron cover can bring pretty good bucks at a scrap yard.

.


.........Hey thanks Mike. Thats actually not the felt type backing but rather roof shingle material w/out the granules. The manhole cover is just a photocopy of a real one on sticker stock paper.

.......Heres a few different types of roads, all in one shot
.......Gravel,brick,concrete & in the way back, just flat black paint [so far]



...........I have a blast makin em!........................Remy

Hay everyone...did not put my two cents in sooner because I was taking in all the great ideas. I did not know roads could be modeled in so many ways. I believe I have all the info I need to start my roadways....it seems like dirt roads are much easier to model.....anyway thank you, thank you and more thank you to everyone who helped me.



Steve

Texas on the West Coast........

I use plain cardboard, easy to cut in any shape.

I find the harder materials Masonite, illustration board, tile, roofing materials. too hard to form.

Not that those materials don't have certain applications and provide differing surfaces.

But cardboard is cheap and glues well and takes paint well too.

Or you can do this...
[IMG:left] [/IMG]

[IMG:left] [/IMG]

PRRfan - can you tell me what a Fenil Pencil is? Haven't heard of this, will it work for drawing curves?

tks,

quote:

Originally posted by Lyinel:
PRRfan - can you tell me what a Fenil Pencil is? Haven't heard of this, will it work for drawing curves?

tks,

I'm not sure if that's what there really called or not, that's what my dad called them, LOL. It's a white "pencil" that writes like chalk, but it won't rub off. So be extra careful with your lines. I can take a pic if you'd like.

My road stuck to the WS grass mat just fine with Elmer's. The only thing is make sure you have something smooth and flat to set on the paper after you glue it because it will curl. In my first pic, that circular dent came from me putting a small paint can there.

quote:

Originally posted by CSX Al:
I used 1/4" MDF here for the concrete slabs and put 1/8" over that for sidewalk/curb



Here I used both 1/8" for road and then on top of that for curbing and sidewalks.





Here I used Durhams water putty and put down two Popsicle sticks for a depth guide and squeegee it to level the water putty between them. Then painted it black to look like paving.

Al that looks great, I especially like the concrete blocks with the spurts of grass growing in between them. Do you have any in progress photos of you doing this? You are a craftsman sir.

.
....This new camera of mine is really helping to show details more clearly. [Now all I need is a better photographer ] I thought this photo belonged on this thread. It really shows up close the great "asphalt road" this roofing backing simulates


Thanks again to Ray for the original idea for using roofing material.

Jeff, is the roofing product you used called "rolled roffing?" The product I'm thinking of is like a roof shingle in the form of a roll that is laid down on the roof surface and literally rolled down the roof to be installed.

CSX Al, What is MDF and where can you get it. I really think your streets are superb!!

mellotronko

Driving the roads along the Monon, the Hoosier Line!!

quote:

Originally posted by Capetrainman:
Jeff, is the roofing product you used called "rolled roffing?" The product I'm thinking of is like a roof shingle in the form of a roll that is laid down on the roof surface and literally rolled down the roof to be installed.

....Capetrainman, no. Its actually the backing material [actually asphalt ] used by roofers before installing the shingles.

Mello MDF is medium density fiber board and you could get it at home depot or lowes. Jeff if it is the stuff you put on before the shingle it is caled rolled felt, it is like a think paper.

Thanks Stevin, I haven't been doing a lot of train stuff over the summer and haven't been on the forum too much as well. To many To-do lists around the house while the weather is good. As for your question about the weeds. I just used some small pieces of clump foliage and put a small amount of white glue in the opening between the blocks and jammed the foliage in there. Once the glue dried it is in there for good.

quote:

Originally posted by stevin:
Mello MDF is medium density fiber board and you could get it at home depot or lowes. Jeff if it is the stuff you put on before the shingle it is caled rolled felt, it is like a think paper.

...Well, this isnt the felt paper. Although,you are correct about that stuff & this stuff. They both go down before the actual roofing material.