OO Scale Paving

[BernieTheBolt]

Hello everyone, first post on here and despite being technically middle aged now I’m quite a newbie at this.  I’ve been working on my first layout for just over a year now (a Network SouthEast based one to reflect when I was young) and have arrived at a stumbling block with regards to paving.

 

I’ve tried ScaleScenes sheets mounted to 2mm greyboard and textures from other sites which I’ve edited to suit.  I’ve also tried cutting up 1mm card and adding to the greyboard, with not very good results.  In this instance PVA distorted the colour (turning things blue in places) and painting over using an acrylic wash gave a very messy finish.  
 

I’ve arrived at the conclusion that for me, paving in card doesn’t work, and while card models are good for buildings it doesn’t work for me as a base component.

 

So I’m now looking at embossed materials for this task - the three that are readily visible are Slaters Plastikard, Wills Sheets and laser board from Scale Model Scenery.  I’ve worked out that using Slaters 0414 sheets I would need 8 sheets at RRP £3.73 each, using Wills SSMP221 I would need 10 packets of four sheets, RRP £5.75 and with SMS LX232, 10 sheets at £7.99.  If there’s any other trusted brands and products out there than can be recommended I’d be really grateful, and if anyone can describe the pros and cons of each of these I’d be appreciative too.  There’s quite a big variation in the cost of each product and while I don’t mind this to achieve a decent result I’m mindful of ‘getting what you pay for’ and going for the most expensive which could take me away from a better product which would help me.

 

Thanks so much in advance, and glad to be on board here.

 

Best,

Alex 

[AY Mod]

Welcome!

 

The Slaters sheets would need backing to bring the level up, Wills are hard work to cut (comparatively). However, I'd ask if you really want paving as, apart from town pavements, in your era there would be an increasing amount of tarmac pavement which can be achieved with Fab Foam edged with plastic strip for kerbing.

 

https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/techniques/top-tips-on-how-to-model-roads-and-road-markings/

[Miss Prism]

I cut paving stones from 40thou plasticard.

http://www.clag.org.uk/green12.html

 

Don't ask me exactly how I did it now, it was too long ago!

 

 

[BernieTheBolt]

Thanks so much for those, and I appreciate the moderators approving the account so quickly, as well as the replies I’ve had.  Really gratefully received.

 

I’ll look into the foam method and plastic sheet - it’s got to be better than card.  I know a lot of modellers produce great results on the printed texture type of thing but for me it’s not good.  Thinking about the replies above will be a great help, thanks so much : ) 

[AY Mod]

31 minutes ago, BernieTheBolt said:

I’ll look into the foam method

 

A little further information in the full article attached below.

 

 

spread_42 (2).pdf spread_44.pdf

[wombatofludham]

I used these from eBay to give a concrete slab appearance footpath.  Painted matt grey and weathered, they look OK and you can get curved corner sections. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121664947912?var=420670228527

For tarmac I used grey Tamiya texture paint which dries to a grey, matt gritty finish.  To simulate cracked concrete I also used a caramel coloured crackle medium, suitably weathered.  Both again from eBay.

If you want larger areas, perhaps simulating the 1980s style brick paving, you can also get large sheets of laser etched MDF paving board from here

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374701965166

 

I've not used it as it is too modern for me (I need less dating hard landscaping to cover 1968 to 1992 and brick paving was an 80s trope) but I have used other things from this supplier with no problem.  Again painted it should look nice.  If you use Posca paint pens to paint it you could even do multi-patterned paving which was very popular in some parts of the country during 80s and 90s regeneration schemes!

[BernieTheBolt]

Hello and Good Morning, thanks so much for these, particularly the full article and links - so helpful and I’d have had no idea if it wasn’t for registering at this forum.  This looks excellent.  I’ve buildings of different ages and looking at current Street View and some older photos can see that tarmac paving was very much in evidence  - with the odd bit of old paving here and there.  This is the case with both Victorian and 1930s buildings (the areas I’ve looked at are St.Helier Estate and streets around West Croydon) so yes, lots to work with!  
 

Thanks again and really appreciated here, cheers : ) 

[DayReturn]

Invest in a Sihouette or Cricut cutter.  Use the free download application to design your paving in as much detail as you want, including cracked and broken slabs, kerbstones, gulleys, tree grills, litter, etc., using the precise dimensions of where you are going to lay it,  change your mind and alter it, cut a trial on plain card, try it out in place, (the card might be all you need, otherwise … ), cut onto 20 thou styrene, try it out in situ to double check, take it out (all one piece), paint and decorate it, and fix it down again permanently.

 

 I put something up a while ago for a simple van body that uses the same technique, but there’s a whole section on vinyl cutters here somewhere.

[DayReturn]

1 hour ago, DayReturn said:

Invest in a Sihouette or Cricut cutter.  …. cut onto 20 thou styrene, …,

Same idea but in the vertical plane.  Every brick, quoin, lintel as per the original.  (Italian decorative white bricks, English bond.

[Right Away]

Welcome to “our” world.

Whichever kit/material you decide on, it’s what follows that will make your creation really “pop”. Kerbstones, drains, the rendition of gutters and  weathering/discolouration all go towards a realistic look. Road and pavement repairs can also give a lifelike appearance and ensure there isn’t too much uniformity of surfaces.

When you’re out and about, grab some photos with your phone camera for reference, but as Andy mentioned, be aware of how things evolve.

Good luck.

[BernieTheBolt]

Many thanks again for the replies and I’m amazed at the result from the cutter.  I didn’t know the cutters could do embossing - I’d imagined them doing straight through cuts only.  I’ll have a look around the forum for the discussion on cutters - I’m finding my feet navigating around at the moment.

 

Appreciate the welcome and I can see where this is such an engaging and absorbing hobby - so many ways to do things and so much to add and detail.  Much obliged all! 

[DayReturn]

Tbh I used the same depth of cut for the embossing as for the edge cuts on this one.  Maximum reliable cut depth won’t go through 20 thou styrene so you have to finish the edge cuts by bend and snap, or with a knife, or a judicious combination of both.  But IIRC you have 20 depth settings (I’ve used the lightest ones to cut big wagon letter shapes on waterslide transfer paper), and you can specify different settings for each colour of your original CAD drawing, to get shallow and deep cuts on one job.  I’ve also made a scriber tool to use alongside the cutting tool.  The collet for that will also take a pen etc.  There are two tool holders on the machine.  Lots of versatility for sheet work.  I first bought it for carriage side mouldings and wagon sides, but once you know it’s there, you can think of loads of trivial and ambitious uses for it.  It can also use registration keys to cut print work and double sided, but I haven’t advanced that far yet.

[DayReturn]

4 hours ago, BernieTheBolt said:looking at current Street View and some older photos can see that tarmac paving was very much in evidence  - with the odd bit of old paving here and there.  This is the case with both Victorian and 1930s buildings (the areas I’ve looked at are St.Helier Estate and streets around West Croydon)

Hmm … I could say a few things about Merton and Croydon and Sutton boroughs, but here is not the place!  As with St Helier Estate, so outside my door.  Once upon a time we had proper interwoven paving on our pavements.  In the eighties that got stylised and replaced with 30cm square (I think) easy-maintenance blocks, which easily migrated and easily broke and after not long, looked shambolic and hazardous.  So about 10 years ago they just tarmacked the pavement.  Across the road, a new private development included proper paving and planters; a stark contrast to the budget-side of the street.  Meanwhile at the same time the posh streets of Wimbledon Village got real boulevard style paving.  I calculated that my street pays 3times more council tax per metre of street than the fancy avenues by the Common!  Off topic except that you may want to assess the council tax bands of your model street before settling on its features and furnishings!

[Neil]

I use a scraper board tool to scribe 40 thou plasticard. It's painted first with Halfords grey primer, followed by a thin brown/buff coat of Humbrol and when it's dried for a couple of days a thin wash of matt black.

 

[The Johnster]

Thin, about 1mm, layer of plaster on sub-surface, scribed to represent gaps between paving stones, use wet knife/whatever you are using to prevent plaster dragging.  You can include drain channels and even 'EL' markings.  When plaster's gone off, work dark colour and possibly green bits to represent moss/algae into the cracks, and paint over in paving-stone grey, darker colour to pick out 'EL' &c.  There will be no repeating of patterns, and corners can be easily managed, especially the curved kerb-stones, so the thing should look right for a traditional stone slab pavement of the sort that largely doesn't exist any more  

 

Haven't got as far as this for Bridge Steet or Lechyd Terrace at Cwmdimbath yet, in fact this missive has triggered a bit of guilt response in that it's a job I really ought to crack on with, in fact the road surfaces in the village need a bit of a seeing to in general, but I'll post photos at such time as my long awaited round tuit becomes available...

Edited September 17, 2023 by AY Mod
Race reference removed.

[DayReturn]

2 hours ago, Neil said:

I use a scraper board tool to scribe 40 thou plasticard. It's painted first with Halfords grey primer, followed by a thin brown/buff coat of Humbrol and when it's dried for a couple of days a thin wash of matt black.

 

It looks wonderfully dismal!  You missed out the grey circles of chewing gum though, and the unmentionable…

[The Johnster]

Dried white doggydoo.  Wasn’t our childhood wonderful!

[BernieTheBolt]

On 17/09/2023 at 15:29, DayReturn said:

Hmm … I could say a few things about Merton and Croydon and Sutton boroughs, but here is not the place!  As with St Helier Estate, so outside my door. 

Yes indeed, I’ve lived in two of those boroughs and now in a totally different corner of London.  I’m thankful for the detailed reply about St. Helier, up until a few years ago I frequented a certain football ground near Bishopsford Road and hope to get into that again soon.

 

In a railway sense those areas conjure up lots of atmosphere, mainly my memories as a kid of the blue/grey and NSE days.  By that time a lot of the suburban work was on 455s but I spent many journeys on CIG/VEP units on the main.  That’s how I settled on the era for my layout.  There’s easier ways into the era now with RTR EMUs and things like the CLASP ScaleScenes building, only two examples but unimaginable a couple of decades ago.  
 

I can see exactly the element of street detailing (and I saw an example of the white dog’s business on the ground in Thamesmead a few years ago - it certainly was a blast from the past)!  I’m also grateful for the attachments and tips, excellent work and glad to be here on the forum.

 

Thanks again, top stuff : )