outside use

the weather is pretty variable in the uk but i wondered whether one could set up an external track in the garden, possibly raised up on stilts at about 1 metre - if there were some way of treating the track, like perhaps with glass fibre, a thin coat of course so that the plastic would be weatherproof. just a thought.

[Super]

I am no expert but I would think the only thing that may harm anything placed outside is the harmful Ultra Violet rays of the sun which has varying affects of plastics, discoloring breaking down its properties and sometimes making it brittle.. This affects any white plastics more-so than the colored items but even they are susceptible. If you have browsed listings on the Japan Auctions much you will see lots of tracks that are discolored as well as white trains that become brownish from the UV rays. This can even happen indoors where layouts or storage boxes get the full rays of the sun through a window. I don't know if the product you are referring to can block the UV rays but when I was looking into products for coating automobile headlight lenses real UV blockers were on the expensive side. That all being said and the fact that large Lots of used blue track can be purchased cheaply, I would say why not have a Layout outdoors, just don't leave the trains out in the sun when not running. There are many videos of outdoor Tomy Layouts even some in the winter snow some by members here like PlarailMike and Wartsilaone. Love the videos of your Linked YouTuber MegatropolisInertia, in fact his were some of my earliest I had watched along with Ucwepns that really got me thinking about diving into this hobby. I must set some time aside to re-watch my favorite MegatropolisInertia videos. Are you going to give an outdoor Layout a try?

https://www.youtube.com/user/plarailmike/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/wartsilaone/videos

I remember seeing a video on YouTube of a semipermanent layout set up for Plarail Advance trains, so it can be done! Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about weather proofing the track and instead, just buy some large lots on eBay with the idea that you'll occasionally have to replace them. That's just my 0.02 of whatever currency you choose.

I am no expert but I would think the only thing that may harm anything placed outside is the harmful Ultra Violet rays of the sun which has varying affects of plastics, discoloring breaking down its properties and sometimes making it brittle.. This affects any white plastics more-so than the colored items but even they are susceptible. If you have browsed listings on the Japan Auctions much you will see lots of tracks that are discolored as well as white trains that become brownish from the UV rays. This can even happen indoors where layouts or storage boxes get the full rays of the sun through a window. I don't know if the product you are referring to can block the UV rays but when I was looking into products for coating automobile headlight lenses real UV blockers were on the expensive side. That all being said and the fact that large Lots of used blue track can be purchased cheaply, I would say why not have a Layout outdoors, just don't leave the trains out in the sun when not running. There are many videos of outdoor Tomy Layouts even some in the winter snow some by members here like PlarailMike and Wartsilaone. Love the videos of your Linked YouTuber MegatropolisInertia, in fact his were some of my earliest I had watched along with Ucwepns that really got me thinking about diving into this hobby. I must set some time aside to re-watch my favorite MegatropolisInertia videos. Are you going to give an outdoor Layout a try?

https://www.youtube.com/user/plarailmike/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/wartsilaone/videos

thanks super - just thinking about it, i thought that hot and cold might distort the track if left out, didn't consider uv. thanks for the links.

Perhaps use wooden tracks instead. They should last longer and apply wood stain pain or something like that to withstand whatever mother nature throws at it.

Perhaps use wooden tracks instead. They should last longer and apply wood stain pain or something like that to withstand whatever mother nature throws at it.

unfamiliar with wooden tracks - are they the same dimensions? by tomy?

[Super]

An example.

there are connectors available on ebay that will allow you to connect plastic tracks to wooden tracks.

Could you maybe treat the plastic tracks with some form of varnish or sealant to make them UV proof? Another things to consider is you'll need 'drain holes' in case of rain

unless the tracks is set up on an angel, it is difficult to drain the rain or water. One should study the gutter as an example.