[Farrout1]

Gpa113 it is a 12” x 10”, roughly 4mx3m track. Lanes lengths are close to identical at 65”. When I post detail images you will see more than just the canoeists 

Rallyhub no detail on my track compares to your tracks!

Carver will try to post some images over Xmas break

[rallyhub]

Rallyhub no detail on my track compares to your tracks!

Thanks for your compliment, but that's too much of an honour considering your super detailed track.
Everyone has their own incomparable style and yours is really good.
It is always a pleasure to look at your almost endless well-crafted details in your photos.
Please, show us more.


Hub

[Anthony B]

Stephen - I second Hubs request - more pictures please. I will be getting back to my track after the move and the more ideas the better.

Any how-to pic records yopu have would be good to see as well please.

[Farrout1]

Ok. Here we go!  This started as a 4 lane Scalextric track nearly 20 years ago. The same basic layout has existed throughout - they were my favorite corners from prior 20 years of temporary track building. 

Between Jan and May 2014, working weekends only, I rebuilt the track to go from a maximum height of 4”/ 10cms to 24” / 60cms and changed to a routed track with full landscaping using Hydrocal (a lightweight cement) cast into rubber molds. 

The inspiration was generally the idea of the Col du Torini, Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, featuring a sort of flat valley area/ village rising into the mountains and even featuring a snow tunnel as seen in the Italian and Swiss Alps. 

Here is the original track. Apologies for the image quality, I do not know how to upload at higher quality
   
   
   

[Farrout1]

To build you sometimes must destroy. So I brought in the kids to be Godzilla’s!  In the second and third photo you can see the markers I laid out to figure out where my elevation changes should be and what the sight lines should be to allow the racers to see all of the track from their race stations. 

   
   
   

[Farrout1]

At this point it is probably worth mentioning that I had never routed anything (didn’t own one!) nor ever done any scenery of any sort. I had a great teacher in Bill Schneidewind for both. Here is what routing looked like. I used six 4’x8’ 1/2” MDF (120x240cms 1.25cm) taking care to use as few sheets as possible to minimize the number of joins. I did make a few errors but it is easy to fill with wood filler and re-rout if needed. Lane spacing is same as Scalextric/ SCX track and I redid the back to back Goodwood chicanes that existed in the old track but hid it inside the snow tunnel bwahahahahhahaha!!  

For the routing you basically layout your inner lane first (there is kit with a flexible plastic guide you can buy - at old wierd herald) and then use a spacer that rests on a plastic piece that goes in the already routed slot (to mirror the other lanes) or bring them closer as your vision dictates. If you do you outer lane first you are likely to have the inner corner be too tight for a decent sized guide!

   
   
Note flexible router plastic guide in middle of photo
   
Note wood filler for errors
   

[Farrout1]

Next you need to fix the MDF sheets to the table. My table is 10’x12’ (3.05m x 3.65m). Here I screwed in the flat sections first - there is only one!  Then used 2”-4” wood blocks to build the height under each section. It is strong enough for me to walk the whole track just with those supports, before I added the concrete rocks!  Yes I walked it all!

   
   
   
   
   

[Farrout1]

I hate lane colors on race tracks but we race this track and we need them. So I painted the inside of the routed track lanes instead of on the driving surface. Then I choose a dark track surface (a matte out door paint) which, in retrospect was a little too dark as it didn’t allow the rubber tracks from the tires to show. 

Once the paint was done I laid the Magnabraid in one continuous piece around each lane with just one power source tap. It comes with glue on the back and was super easy to lay down. They key is actually getting a routing bit that allows the main channel AND recesses for the two braids to be done at the same time. My braids are deliberately flush with the MDF wood. Braid hasn’t failed me once in 8 years of continual use. Each lane was powered up before the next step of scenery. On my track each lane has its own variable 0-18v power source and is power direction is reversible as well so I get two tracks in one as we can race in both directions, even each lane going different directions! It also means we have a ridiculous amount of amps in each lane and no lane power issues can impact another.

The chicane replacing the two back to back Goodwood chicanes is clearly visible on the right
   
   
   
   

[Farrout1]

So, track designed, height decided, pieces routed, sight lines checked, pieces screwed to table, lane colors painted, track surface painted, braid laid all in the first month of weekends from Jan 1 to Feb 4. 

Then the scenery started…………. I really wanted a lot of rock work and I wanted the absolute highest quality I could create. So I asked Bill S in our Farrout Slot Car Club to teach me (search FSCC Farrout on Facebook).  It had to look a little like looking up at a pass into the Alps or the Dolomites or overhangs in the Monte Carlo rally mountain stages. 

Sooooooo how do you do it?  Easy!  Sort of. Maybe. You are going to cast Hydrocal into rubber molds for the rocks and then apply it to a backing. Create a latticework of cardboard as the backing and just hot glue it to table base and the track itself. 

   
   
   
   
On this image we can see how I was deliberately creating a part of the track that was hanging out from the side of the mountain. This section is also one of the first things you see when you approach the track
   

[Farrout1]

I used about 15 different rubber rock molds to do all this!  You can get away with a lot less by turning them in 90 degree angles and using part of the molds only. I had molds as small as few inches square all the way up to 20”x30” (1/2m x 3/4m). You mix the Hydrocal with water and a quick chemical reaction happens generating a lot of heat happens. You slap it onto the latticework and 90% of the time it sticks!!  Once you feel the heat it is set. Easy!  Just had to do that about 1 billion times to make all the rocks. I think I did count and i think it was about 150 mold applications. 

Now you have gaps between the different molds and you use what is, effectively, very fine papermache to fill the gaps. I used Sculptamold. It is AMAZING how many and big mistakes of all sorts you can make disappear at this stage because, once the paint goes on, even I could not tell where the joins where anymore. 

Here we can see one area in center of the track. I think it used 12-15 different mold applications. Note also the two sections where the road construction team had to build supporting walls from big blocks of hewn stone where the mountain simply could not support a roadway.
   
This is a focus on the main tunnel where the track goes under itself. Note the gaps and holes between the various molded rock pieces and hewn rock walls. All filled in with Sculptamold later on.
   
Look from right to left here and you can see the molded rock brick wall that is going into the platform above the tunnel and then, to left of tunnel, is the first test painted area. Never had to go back to that section as Bill did a part of it for me to train me! Amazing contrast between white plaster and painted final product.
   
A good view of the gorge and just how thin 1/2” of MDF is. Later we will add rock “bricks” to create a bridge effect here
   
Note that I never bothered to protect the painted track, the plaster dust etc just wipes off with some water and a rag.