Build journal: Mountain Dash Rally Track
About a month ago, I was inspired by some downhill racing accounts on YouTube. My daughter and I loved watching the videos together, so we decided to build our own track.
We're a few weeks into the build and I'm happy with our progress. I've added some fun elements to the track to moderate the speed and make the most of our 8' x 4' footprint
At this point, I'm obsessed with the project and want to give it a truly realistic look. I've never done anything like this before, so this community has been a big help.
checkout our progress photos so far and tell me what you think. Hope to update with more photos soon. 
I wanted to add an update with photos. I used some plaster cloth and spray paint to complete the mountain look. I added some rocks and trees. May add a few more accents here and there. I also painted my orange track. I hope it doesn't slow things down too much.
Thanks again for the help and encouragement! 
Discussion
Okay, speaking from a model railroader background, if you want to make 'realistic', start checking out those kinds of forums on Facebook and YouTube. There is a LOT of information on how to build scenery there, and almost all the builders are more than eager to tell you their little tips and tricks behind the scenes on how they did something. Stacking foam board is a great one - cheap, easy to carve and shape, and weighs almost nothing. Here's a hint already: get a box of shop towels from Costco, soak them in a mixture of glue and water (generally a 50/50 mix - protect your work area!), then drape them over the foam board and shape them into the positions you want to make hills, valleys, etc. Let them sit there and dry, and you have a strong base for your painting and modeling on top of that. (I would recommend you also plan where you are going to put any buildings, and make flat spots here and there for those.) Also, check out the forums here, and take a look at the way people have scenicked their own tracks, and ask questions.
Above all, HAVE FUN!
Wow. Thanks guys! Really appreciate the suggestion for the scenery. Definitely will consider that approach.
For "base level construction" I use this glue.
it dries hard enough to sand, and its "water proofish" (I wouldn't make a boat with it...lol)
then use plain elmers white for textures and details on top of it
That way, if your details don't come out right, you can wet the white glue and disolve it,
leaving your base construction relatively un effected
and I use uncoated brown paper (bags and sheets) instead of shop towels
dr
I updated some photos in the original post but I'll add a few here as well. I've made some great progress on the scenery. Pretty much finished with that portion of the build.
Next I plan to assemble a few buildings. I purchased some "photo real" 1:64 scale buildings that I plan to put around the bottom. These include bleachers, garage, gas station and few others.
- very nice, great work! — dr_dodge
- Nice work that's looking really good! — Milestone_Racing
- Amazing work done by you and your daughter, great job. — dcdautos
Here's an article I wrote about scenery with the towels and glue. I used the technique for my slot car setup and it worked great. Easy to deal with and easy to cleanup too. www.redlinederby.com/topic/making-mountains-building-up-the-scenery/3927
and browse the Scenery topics in the forum for more great examples and links. www.redlinederby.com/forum/collection/diorama-scenery-modeling/53
Very nice so far! If I may ask, how many track packages did you buy? Seems like not much comes in a box for ~$35ish dollars... maybe 3-4 to do the job on a track like that?
Thanks!
FredD
F'D Racing
- I only used two crash racers sets. I also used some hot wheels single lane track (12 pieces/6 per lane) for the first hill. — FirstTakers
- Thanks mate! Great job... thanks for the info. — Stoopid_Fish_Racing
Yo yo yo, this is looking like it's gonna be a tight spot when it's done.
gonna need to build up a good street car once this place is locked down for some street racing. Keep it up and keep us posted.
That looks awesome!
I wouldn't worry about paint slowing them down as it will be the same for all cars. Looks so much more realistic being black.
Great work and can't wait to see it done.
Cheers!
Here's another update. Getting very close to the finish line.
I've added in some buildings and a tunnel at the end.
Still need some finishing touches and then I'm gonna work on the best ways to film the racing.
What do you think?
- looks very good, hows it run? — dr_dodge
- Thanks! It runs great. Made lots of adjustments over the last month to optimize it for most cars. Still has a few crash prone spots but that makes it fun. — FirstTakers
nice!! welcome!
nice foam work so far
a sturdy 4+ x 8++ is a great footprint for a mobile track, too
lookin' frd to build pics!
dr