Posts Tagged ‘scenery’

One of the most notable aspects of model railroading is the aesthetics that surrounds the whole set up. Modern train scenery is the name that is given to the enhancements that makes the model train appear to be in a life-like, miniature environment. There are plenty of accessories that can be purchased to accomplish this effect such as model trees, hills, houses, tunnels, cars, animals and many other items. All these components are important because they are able to easily transform a simple train set into a beautiful, three-dimensional work of art.

The first thing to consider when building the scenery is to set up an appropriate landscape, which usually consists of natural elements such as, patches of real (or synthetic) grass and trees that provides an adequate amount of greenery. The landscape can also include buildings and other structures such as windmills, tunnels bridges, and many other items. All these components can either be bought ready-made or can be created from scratch using various materials.

For the serious hobbyist, custom making the scenery is one of the most enjoyable aspects of this hobby; it gives one the chance to personalize the landscape without being restricted exclusively to commercially manufactured components. In fact, one does not really need to have artistic talent in order to create scenery. Even the simplest creations can have a lasting impression.

For the more adventurous, there really is no limit to what can be used for the scenery. To create a rugged, mountainous appearance for instance, cardboard egg cartons can be used to create the appearance of realistic stone. Small rocks can also be integrated into the scenery to represent boulders. The rocks used should match with the model environment in order to have consistency. For instance, the use of granite or crystals may not be considered suitable for mountain scenery.

For trees, one can select small branches of miniature trees of various shapes, sizes and colors. The tiny twigs can be used to represent tree trunks whereas poly fiber can be used to represent leaves as well as other shrubbery. Some spices such as thyme and oregano may be added to further enhance the natural look. In addition, talcum powder could be used to create the appearance of snow.

Cardboard is appropriate for creating or building structures. For an added effect, tissue paper can be used to create textured surfaces, which adds realism to the structures. To secure these structures, one can even use a golf tee or simply glue it onto a flat base to give the structure additional balance and support.

There are plenty of other objects that can be found around the house, which can be used such as wires, toothpicks, pieces of strings and many others. With a little bit of imagination and ingenuity, the scenery can be completely transformed into a life-like, miniature environment. Blending handmade items with pre-bought items would probably give the best results. After all, some items such as cars and other intricate items are more difficult to replicate using household material. The end result, however, will be something that can be admired and provide the best possible model train experience for many years to come.

Technorati Tags: build, model, scenery, train

Model railroad track plans are not complete without scenery.  “But wait”, you say, “I got into this hobby for the cool locomotives and the history.  I am not an artist, and I don’t have time to spend hours and hours on scenery.”  So what do you do? Well short of hiring your own craftsman or relegating your layout to the incomplete category, you can take advantage of an entire industry that serves this hobby, namely kits for model train scenery.

While there are some drawbacks to kits, like high cost, not being able to find what you want in the scale you want, or having scenes from different manufacturers not matching in color or scale, there are also quite a few advantages.  First, they are quick.  You pay for the kit, take it out of the box, and set it in your layout.  Done.  Second, there are lots of choices.  Companies like Woodland Sciences sell everything from individual pieces to complete scenes and everything in between.  Most items also have video online so you can learn the techniques for painting or using them in your model railroad track plans.

One thing to be careful of when you look for your scenery kit and that is the scale.  Descriptions do not always make it clear which scale you are ordering, so make sure you search out that information before making your order.  You don’t want to end up with a 3 inch tall G scale character in your H0 scale layout where it should be ¾ of an inch tall.

If you want to save some money, consider an economy pack of figures instead of buying individuals.  For instance, you can get 100 figures in a similar theme (e.g. farmers) for about $1 each.  If you buy individuals or say a set of 5, you could pay up to twice that much.  The disadvantage is that you are not able to select which figures you get.  Another way to save money is to go to an auction site like Ebay and search for what you want.  You will be surprised at the array of choices.  Model train swap meets are another place where you may find what you are looking for at a low price, or even be able to swap something you have, for something you need with no money changing hands at all!  Be careful of trying to save money by going to your local hobby shop and buying scenery that was not designed for model railroad track plans.  These kits may look nice and be less expensive, but they are probably not the exact scale you need to make your layout accurate.

Also consider how much finishing you want to do if you order a kit.  Complete, ready to go kits are available which, as explained above, you can just take out of the box and set up.  Others will require some finishing like painting or weathering.  Decide what fits into your budget, what your interests and skills are, and choose accordingly.

The typical model train enthusiast enjoys making their layout look realistic.  In order to do this, you must have accurate, quality scenery. You can spend hours making that scenery yourself and even developing techniques to teach others. If that is what you love, there is no reason not to, but if you are more interested in other aspects of the hobby, include scenery kits in your model railway trains plan.  Follow the guidelines here to ensure this aspect of the hobby doesn’t derail your Model Train Layout!

Technorati Tags: Kits, model, plans, railroad, scenery, track, train

When you first take up the model train hobby, you will probably want to go with pre-built scenery and train kits.  As your knowledge, excitement, and model railroad track plans grow though, you will eventually want to branch out and expand your skills and knowledge to build your own scenery.  While that topic could and does fill entire books, this article will get you started with some basic knowledge.

The best advice you can get is that when you first embark on building scenery for your layout, get some advice from someone with some experience.  This is not absolutely necessary, but it will save you a lot of frustration and mess.

If you don’t know anyone who does have experience, there are many other resources out there to help you get started with your model railroad track plans.  Numerous books (both online and paper), online videos, and DVD’s can help with instruction.  If you don’t want to start with the whole ball of wax, making your own ballast, buildings, rivers, mountains etc., you can decide to purchase some of these things and learn to build them one at a time.

For instance, you can purchase pre-made buildings, painted or unpainted.  If you have the skill, you can paint them yourself, or you can buy software where you design the artwork, print it out, and glue it on to the building face.

Ballast (the bed the track is built on) can be built from scratch, or you can buy it already pre-made, or something in between.  This is one thing that can be kind of messy, but it is relatively easy to do yourself.  You paint your base board an appropriate color, scatter glue in the area where your ballast will go, then scatter the ballast on the glue and let it dry.  Voila!

Mountains and hills are another popular piece of scenery for your model railroad track plan.  These can be manufactured from foam, paper mache’ or chicken wire with plaster impregnated fabric wrapped over it.  These options vary in the amount of money, skill, time and mess they require, so you should study each and perhaps even try them out to see what works best for you.

Water features are another you may want to add to your model railroad.  These are not generally done with real water, although there are some very sophisticated layouts that do.  Again, there are options for purchasing or making your own that you will want to research.  Water features are one of the most difficult items to make look realistic, so you may want to stay with the purchased product to start.

Bridges, tunnels, cars, people,  and signs are other things you may want to add to make your layout as realistic as possible.  Weathering your trains and scenery will also add realism.  These things, like those described above can be approached incrementally, so that your learning curve is not so daunting.  It can be very rewarding studying, learning, trying failing, trying again and succeeding to make your own scenery.  As your knowledge grows, your ultimate model railroad track plans may include your own authentic world.  That is when you know you are truly hooked!

Technorati Tags: layout, model, railroad, scenery, Started, train, Yourself

Well I finally did some scenery work to the layout! Wow that shit feels mad good too! I actually have not done any scenery work like this na long ass time! i was starting to wonder if I would be able to do it again, well i was!! The desert is still strong on the layout. I have to buy some more ground foam to do some more areas so look out for the new videos in a few days!!

Technorati Tags: 02.24.09, Created, Desert, Division, layout, rail, scenery, scrapyard, SoCal

Aigth so here is me at work and then to the layout and then vibing out like a sick as dude, The layout is coming along nicely, I am having fun hooking this shit up too! … Train layout work quest big Al mayo Monsterrailroad Ho scale train Model Railroader railroading hot skills BNSF MTH athearn genesis jack in the box BLMA Billboard modern day Union pacific NS Noroflk southern parkerlegend monsterrailroad

Technorati Tags: 10.10.09, completed, from, layout, Mayo, scenery, showing, work