Chalky landscapes

[Julia]

My layout is set somewhere in the darkest depths of Kent, and as such there is a predominance of chalky embankment faces (calling them cliffs is a bit to grandiose). Whilst I find lots of guides on creating all manor of interesting rock types, I find very little by way of hints and tips for creating chalky landscapes. Has anyone else created this sort of landscape? Does anyone have any hints or tips for this?

 

thanks

 

J

[PhilH]

Real chalk? (for rock faces obviously!)

[10800]

Hi Julia

 

I would go for a plaster base (on whatever structural sub-base you put it on - bandages, chicken wire etc). Chalk can retain steeper slopes than some other rock types and is more 'blocky' in texture - not much in the way of visible layering except where there are bands of flints.

 

But there's no substitute for looking at photos of the real thing (and also the real real thing) and emulating what you see as best you can in texture, colour, form etc.

 

 

[eastwestdivide]

Let us know if you get any good results. I tried polyfilla-type stuff for N gauge chalk cliffs/quarry faces, and I'm not 100% happy with it.

Here's some inspiration from Frindsbury/Strood:

[bertiedog]

Smooth finish Pollyfilla ceiling plaster, paint on to polystyrene foam carved to shape, it is flexible and grips unlike plaster on it's own, and takes paint perfectly.

[Chris Nevard]

I've seen real crushed chalk stuck into plaster with excellent results. I guess giving it a good extra soak of diluted PVA after will ensure it stays where you want it. Then add ground foam and static grass (clumps even) to make it look like it's been exposed for some time. Google Street View from a motorway where it cuts through a chalk hill could be a good source of prototype inspiration.

[zarniwhoop]

When I was a kid, I build a 'hill' with a chalk cliff as one of its faces. I think I was playing along with 'Blue Peter' (probably mid 1960s). That was just papier-mâché over balled newspaper and maybe some card formers. and (probably) poster paints. I kept it for a few years, and it still looked ok when I eventually disposed of it. The thing about chalk cliffs is that they're basically smooth, so comparatively easy to replicate.

 

And as someone else said, for slopes on chalk you can get away with steep gradients. In real life, the earth is a middling colour, but lots of chalk often shows through on any slope created in the last twenty years (e.g. for new roads - not sure if you have any recent slopes on your layout), so this is one case where a white base below the flock and static grass will actually do the right thing. In fact, even on old slopes the chalk can show through behind the grass in dry spells.

 

ĸen