A Little Privacy

Some of my favorite projects are the ones that I can knock out in a few moments, even if they don’t add much to the overall look of the layout. That’s the advantage of modeling a smaller railroad like The Hills Line. You can detail to your heart’s content.

Case in point, I needed a short stretch of modern chain-link style privacy fence between Advanced Electrical Services and Pyramid Services in Iowa City. To date, no one makes a version in HO scale, but my needs were so minuscule that spending the type of money that a commercial product would charge would not justify the cost. Time to see what I can cobble together.

I started with the posts from a leftover Walthers Chain Link Fence kit. I know that I’m now contradicting my previous paragraph, since I’m using a commercial product. I had them lying around from a larger project involving both the Mid-American Energy Substation and the Madison Street Services Building, so the cost has been fully amortized.

I printed out a small template to space the posts evenly in my space, then attached the rails. I used some .025 piano wire to provide a stiff support and attached them to the posts with CA and some accelerator.

The chain link itself was made from window screen mesh, since I’ve never been successful using anything else. 3M Super 77 spray adhesive was applied to the screen, then attached to the fence structure. The entire assembly was spray painted with Rust-Oleum Aluminum.

To model the privacy slats, I found an appropriate image online and printed it out to size. I was able to line up the printed links on the image with the screen mesh links to help improve realism, or at least my perception of realism.

The entire fence was weathered with an India Ink and rubbing alcohol wash applied with an airbrush. Barbed wire was modeled using sewing thread, since the fuzziness does an excellent job simulating the barbs. The completed fence was installed on the layout, giving me a little sense of security from a simple project.