HO scale curbs and sidewalks

I plan on putting a cityscape on my HO layout and do not like the commercial products I have seen and would like to scratchbuild my own curbs and sidewalks. Any suggestions on how to do it would be appreciated.

I have used strips of Masonite painted with a rough finish tan/grey paint ($3.99 at Home Depot). After the paint dries for a day, take a metal ruler and a dull Exacto knife and scribe across the strip at equal intervals to simulate the expansion joints in the concrete. A sharp Exacto used with a light touch can be used to make "crooked" cracks, then use a wash of thinned out brown water color in spots to simulate stains and water marks and to add depth to the cracks and joints. I use 1/8" x 1/8" inch Plastruct angle on the edge of the Masonite painted with the same paint to make the curbing.

I've used a lot of different materials on my N scale urban layout that should work in HO. Styrene sheets cut and scribed with an Xacto knife, first roughed up with fine sandpaper (wear a mask) which gets rid of the plastic shine and gives the surface some "tooth" for paint. . Wash in soapy water, spray paint a weathered concrete color, then use washes to weather and bring out the cracks and joints. Bricks and cobblestones are fun, using commercial styrene sheets, sometimes brick or stone scraps from building kits. I use HO scale bricks for N scale cobblestones. You can make old style flagstone sidewalks with stone sheets or scribe your own. Then there's spackle, plaster, etc. The commercial stuff looks a lot better with the above treatments and I also save sidewalk pieces from kits.
Walk around and take some pictures, or look in books and magazines for the kind of city area you're modeling. Have fun!

I pour my sidewalks by building forms and pouring tinted plaster of paris. When it's dry, I smooth it out, scribe some lines on it, and hit it with a wash of alcohol/india ink to bring out the scribed lines.





Tom

Tom, you sidewalks look great!

Tom, I agree with Otto- your sidewalks are awesome. Thank you for your tips

I've used Evergreen scribed styrene painted in the appropriate colors, for example "aged concrete."

George,
Can you post some pictures of your sidewalks?
Thanks,
Al

Tom, Those are some nice sidewalks!
Mind comeing to my place to help my with mine?