How do you make your roads?

[PiperguyUMD]

So, what methods are available for making roads and sidewalks?  I've dabbled with using drywall spackle and I've thought about cutting styrene.  I've seen some really great roads on here, particularly on some of the N scale layouts.  I'm looking forward to your thoughts!

[randgust]

Hmmm.    I don't consider myself Gods Gift to Roads but here's what I'm doing....

Paved streets, parking lots, generally wide area:  1/4" Masonite, painted and weathered, with real dirt shoulders.
Crossings:    Plaster, real wood timbers.   Carved after set to get the elevations and approaches correct; similarly painted and weathered.
Dirt roads:  Cork roadbed, ballasted with sifted dirt, ballast glue.   After it dries hard, rub more dry, loose dirt into it and one more spray to get it relatively smooth, can also put ruts in at that point
Brick:  H&R brick sheeting.

For the Masonite and sheet goods I'll draw things out on paper right on the layout, then cut it out and use it as a cutting pattern for the material.

I've used Floquil Dark Lark Gray for asphalt for years, good thing I have a big stash of it.   I've gone primarily to chalks for weathering.   I've also used Floquil Concrete and weathered it - second shot shows that fairly well.

I'm using colored pencils and rulers for line markings, you can also put them in a compass for nice curve lines.

[MichaelWinicki]

There are many terrific ways of making roads, and I've used several different methods on my layout to create contrast:

From painted styrene:



To rolled roadway (with a gray gravel coating)



This images shows a combination of products from Woodland Scenics' "Smooth It", to Arizona Rock & Mineral's "Asphalt Paving Powder" to tinted light-weight spackle to basswood that was painted:



There are several ways of creating roads... My suggestion is to give a couple of them a go so that your roads differ in appearance.

[JMaurer1]

One of the first industries I built was a paving company. Now when I need a new road built, I just sub it out to them 

[dougnelson]

For roads, I typically use lightweight spackling compound.  It is easy to work with - spread with a spackle knife and smooth to desired texture with a damp wet fine foam sponge.  It takes paint and ink washes well. For sidewalks, I have used the Fine N cast resin sidewalks.  Some have the integral concrete gutter.  The spackle can be brought right up to it.  I would also consider using illustration board.  Concrete scoring and cracks can be added by pencil.

[wm3798]

I've had success with painted styrene, but lately I'm using that foam you get at the craft store.  I mist a bit of flat white and flat gray over a black sheet, and it comes up nicely.





I use Sharpie paint markers, yellow and white fine tips, to make the striping, and some black charcoal shavings rubbed in with a finger to get the weathering effect.  The grade crossings are made with stripwood.


Lee

[SP-Wolf]

I went with Woodland Scenic' s smoothit as well: I'm pretty happy with the results.

 

Thanks,
Wolf

[tehachapifan]

For roads with imbedded tracks or for around grade crossings, I also use Woodland Scenics "Smooth-It" as my experience with joint compound is that it tends to shrink and/or crack (I have experienced none of this whatsoever with Smooth-It). I line the road to be paved with styrene that is around the same height as the railhead, pour-in the Smooth It and then screed with a spackle knife that is big enough to span between the nearest railhead and strip of styrene. I used to try to mix-in some WS pigments prior to spreading but found that the color tended to dry too light, so now I add pigments after the Smooth-It is dry (sometimes via a wash and sometimes straight from the bottle, depending on how new I want the pavement to look). Also, before the Smooth-It dries, I clear-out flangeways with an old set of trucks first, then clean-up with running a small screwdriver along the flangeway as needed. There's a point somewhere between not too wet and not too dry where this process seems to go the best, but it takes some trial and error to find it.



The patchy-looking, "City Edge" layout-inspired street below was way harder to achieve than it needed to be, as I actually finished the concrete-colored areas first, then carved-out chunks that were then replaced with more Smooth-It pre-colored with an asphalt color. I would've probably achieved close to the same results if I simply painted these areas with the asphalt color without removing anything (I had to darken most of it afterwards anyway). Still, the end results were pretty good...

http://



Another finished road area using the same method but with striping and other markings added...



I also have a highway that, except for the areas right around the tracks, was simply cut from I think 1/4" plywood and was painted with some of my wife's craft paints (I may have applied a thin layer of Smooth-It or something else over the plywood...it's been a while). I wanted a light color here as I think there's a tendency to color model roadways too dark, so I went with a pretty light gray....

[MichaelWinicki]

I've used light-weight spackling for roads & parking lots, and it's OK, it's a little more of a challenge to work with than Woodland Scenics "Smooth It" and dries a little differently than "Smooth It" but for a contrasting road here or there or a parking lot– it's OK.

"Smooth It" is one of WS better products IMO.

[mu26aeh]

I've been using DAP DryDex Spackling with pretty good results.  I've found that it does not crack like normal drywall mud etc does, unless you put it on extremely thick.

2017-02-12_02-08-08 by Adam Henry, on Flickr

20170131_185010 by Adam Henry, on Flickr

[SSW7771]

There are some great looking roads above!

I have been using sheet styrene for my roads/parking lots. I spray paint with a light grey primer and while still wet I lightly overspray with a tan/sandstone. You can customize the color to represent different age of concrete with darker grays like the parking lot below. Striping was done with a color pencil and straight edge. Paving joint lines are done with a light touch and a fine mechanical pencil. I have done curbs and sidewalks with strip styrene.

The grade crossing was to represent weathered asphalt which is a base of black craft paint with white caulk powder sprinkled and rubbed on. I would get a better picture but I am traveling for work.




I have been used sanded grout for a gravel lot and would work will for gravel roads.

[MichaelWinicki]

As far as sidewalks I like the side-walk pattern sheets offered by Evergreen...



Oh and there's a styrene brick sheet masquerading as a brick street.

[MetroRedLine]

I don't like messy materials, so I use .010" Evergreen styrene for roads, and .040" Evergreen styrene sidewalk for sidewalks (shimmed with .010" styrene strips underneath, so the top of the sidewalk is .040" taller than the street. I use styrene strips for curbs.

[Chris333]

.040" stryene


sanded and etched with a motor tool.


Painted up with a few different primers. Sidewalks are light aircraft grey.

[arbomambo]

a couple of years ago, when I became involved with T-Trak, I was looking for a flexible substance for raods; my Sweetheart had a stash of chipboard (dense craft cardboard) and it seemed like a possibility.
 I affixed it to the plywood surface, used lightweight spackle to form shoulders, then painted with a dark-ish gary enamel-atrists craft pens for tar for crack fills, and Sharpie paint pens for striping...has worked out very well for the modules, after a few years, as durable as ever...








some pastels for the grease strip (Tamiya offers an oily black)








for those of you with Facebook...here's a link to an album, posted on our SWARMTrak Facebook page...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1108691605811623&type=3