Shoulders

[RMF419]

I have a Carrera track and was wondering what you guys use to make shoulders.

[UglyBagofWater]

One of our locals 3D prints shoulders. Makes the 7mm wide for 1/32 (Carrera factory is 10mm).

I also use 5mm (1/4") black EVA foam. Easy to form to odd twists, especially on banked turns, and makes a great wall (get the grey to make it look like a concrete barrier).

[RMF419]

Thanks will look into that.

[CNCTrackDesign]

The Carrera inner/outer shoulders or aprons are a worth while investment. The only thing I would note is that your track will look better if you paint over the FIA curbing on the outer aprons. This is not difficult to do, but it does take some effort. You need to break the sheen on the yellow or red/white painted edge, without changing the surface finish. This is best done with a white bristle scrub brush and a very aggressive de-greaser. I used Rhino Blue, but a more popular one is ZEP Purple, cut 25:1 with water. Once the sheen is dulled you can tape the edges and tongues to avoid paint build-up, (the tongues often fit quite tightly), and dust with a grey or dark primer. The two best spray paints that I found to match the Carrera track surface are RUST-OLEUM textured paint for plastic, black #223717 or Krylon semi-flat black #1613. If you don't break the painted sheen, you will end up with fish-eyes in the paint, see picture 003. A couple of images with painted outer borders are attached, see 1010004 and 021.

[noddaz]

Looks good! I like the "runoff" area you worked into the design!
Scott

[AFSgtkdub]

With this hobby there are many ways to get the job done. This is how I did mine. I have the Carrera borders. I used a 95 cents bottle of flat black acrylic from hobby lobby. First cleaned the track pieces with damp cloth. I Thinned the black with water. Used a 1/2 inch wide brush, and like the late Bob Ross used to say, “just paint happy brushstroke”. In some red/white areas I applied 2 coats. Other areas I used a light coat just to make it look like tire marks. For me? It was simple, and I like the affect that it sort of gives my track multiple shades of black. Durability? It’s been on most of my borders for over 15 years...

[TuscoTodd]

That flat acrylic looks great on there!