A thick foam base

Test fitting the track

I should mention right off the top that this project is idiosyncratic and doesn't represent a technique I'd recommend anyone try. It's just an idea I've been thinking about for awhile, and I've wanted to give it a go. It might work out ok, it might not. So far, so go though.

Bottom layer temporarily taped to layout table

I don't like working with wood as a layout base and have used foam on both the Loonar Module and LOL II with good results so far. The basic idea is to take sheets of foam used for home insulation and glue them together in layers to make a slab for a layout base. They're lightweight and easy to build on, although I think my designs still lack something in ruggedness, and installing wiring is a bit of a rigmarole. 

Weights are applied while the glue dries

Why so thick? A couple of reasons: one structural, one aesthetic . 

First, to give the base a proper level of stiffness. I think a single layer is too weak, but several glued together seems quite sufficient. The layers are bonded with both transfer tape and Lepage's wood glue. This has worked quite well, and even some questionable testing has suggested it would be strong. I'm thinking that using two adhesives is a bit of overkill and just wood glue should be sufficient.

Second, I think the bases of free standing, island-like little layouts benefit from being thick to visually balance the models on top. The old Alta Vista TC modular layout used thin birch panels for bases. Strength-wise, they worked just fine, but they always looked too thin to me. Good grief, they were used to support a downtown with skyscrapers and were only an inch or so thick :-) It just didn't look right. Now, the LOL had a fairly thick base, but it was made from wood and was quite heavy once the layout was done - moving it upstairs to the living room for showing off was a major pain. It wasn't until I was installing tall, full prototypical height trees on the Loonar Module that I began to realize that a thick base prevented the layout from looking top heavy and insubstantial with respect to the items being placed on top. It doesn't look too bad now that it's done, but given that I've been looking at it for a few weeks I think it could be 2" to 3" thicker to visually balance those 70' to 80' trees.

Slab before rounding one end

On this layout there'll be deciduous trees ranging from say 35' to 40' upwards to 80' tall on top, so in HO scale let's say they'll be about 6" to 12" tall in round numbers (assuming no landscape elevations). I made the base 6.5" thick, which is 3.5" thicker than the Loonar Module's base to visually balance that tree height. 

Slab with rough cut circular end

I've been working on the base during breaks from working on the ELM book. I couldn't stand to do any fiddly model work as I was trying to get away from equally fiddly computer work, so cutting and gluing big foam slabs seemed like just the ticket for a mental change of pace.

Showing the recess for hiding wiring

The slab's sides need further smoothing and squaring-up. I'll do that once the track is attached and I'm ready to install the fascia. 

No doubt someone has gone down this road before, and maybe even abandoned it as a bad idea. I'll see. Hey, I try to keep up with what's known in the field: I sometimes go out to the garage to sit in the time machine and read what the dictionary might say on this subject :-)

Ok, I think I've breathed in a little too much foam dust so it's back to writing for me ...