Good lighting helps Flemming Örneholm hide the compact covered corner in his background. Coved corners help to reinforce the feeling of great distance that’s produced by a good backdrop. Large layouts with plenty of real estate often use wide, gently curved panels to make these inside corners disappear. But modelers with small layouts can’t afford […]
Scenic baseA layout’s scenic base is the foundation for all of its scenery, including roads, grass, trees, and rocks. An inexpensive scenery base can be made using a lightweight support structure, such as cardboard strips glued together, covered with layers of plaster-soaked gauze or paper towels. Another type of base you can use is made […]
A precast concrete bridge spans a small creek on the Florida Midland RR. Lance Mindheim describes how he modeled this bridge using anchor-bolt cement and styrene sheet molds. Replicating the color striations, texture, chips, and cracks of concrete with paint and styrene is tricky at best. On the flip side, the texture of most concrete […]
Gravel-covered siding. Gravel from an adjacent lot can mix with ballast on a siding. Paul partially covered this siding (lower right) at the freight house on his home layout. He embedded the rails of the spur (at left) into the parking lot. On some secondary lines the space between the ties is filled with dirt […]
Feather-topped palm trees are a signature element for any model railroad set in a tropical climate. Author Joseph Kreiss scratchbuilt numerous coconut plams for his HO scale Big Island Rail layout, set in Hawaii in the 1970s. When you can’t live in a tropical paradise, perhaps the next best thing is to model it. That’s […]
For additional scenery tips, don’t miss Essential Model Railroad Scenery Techniques from Kalmbach Books. No muss! No fuss! Just add the ingredients, mix thoroughly, and pour yourself a hillside full of trees. Believe it or not, it really can be just about that simple. I came up with my scrambled-trees technique when I wanted to […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader associate editor Cody Grivno shows how to paint turnout points using a microbrush. […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader associate editor Cody Grivno shows how to paint turnout points using a microbrush. […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader Associate Editor Cody Grivno shows how to drybrush static grass using acrylic paints. […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader Associate Editor Cody Grivno shows how to drybrush static grass using acrylic paints. […]
Cripplebrush Valley Models HO scale cast-rubber urban scenery Price: $20 (oil drums), $50 (urban outcrop) ManufacturerCripplebush Valley Models264 Saddlemire Hill Rd.Sloansville, NY 12160www.cripplebush.net Comments: Cast-rubber scenery details have been around for several years now, but most model rock formations that are found in nature. Cripplebush has introduced two castings that model urban industrial settings. The […]
In the November issue Model Railroader managing editor David Popp describes how he added ballast and scenery to the Waterbury Industrial District on his N scale New York, New Haven & Hartford layout. In this part David gives you tips for installing ground cover of varying textures, making gravel roads and paths, and installing static […]
