Barry Melek Electric Train Sets

Scale Scenery Layout

Making or Buying Model Train Scenery

Realism in model railroading is difficult to achieve in your backdrops and scenery items if you don't tap into your creative talents. Intricate detail is the most fun part of modeling for some people, but some items are difficult to produce on your own.

Using natural items to create train scenery almost always produces more realistic elements than trying to create by cutting, shaping, and molding. Many modelers won't use anything except natural items to make scenery, and even though that might make things a bit harder, many things you can easily find around your home can work wonderfully in your setup.

Model Train Scenery: Rocks

Because stone is a natural element, you will see it in most every outdoor scene. Using small stones to represent boulders is one of the most common choices of modelers. Of course, using the right stone is important. If the stones you find aren't exactly the right color, you can mist them carefully with spray paint to achieve the desired look.

Model Train Scenery: Powders

Dirt from your yard will not look like dirt when placed on a small scale model layout. It will consist of grains that are too large to look realistic. Baby and talcum powder are more realistic for dirt and sand.  A fine mist of paint can serve to feather in color and keep the powder from blowing away. White powder is excellent to represent snow.

Model Train Scenery: Tissue

Toilet paper or other tissue can be used for stucco on a building or a drive-in movie screen, or even a snowman, among other things. Use a spray adhesive for attaching the tissue to a surface.

Model Train Scenery: Rubber Products

Used thin latex gloves can be cut and fitted for many different things. Umbrellas or raincoats are just a couple of ideas. Choose appropriate colors for what you are making. For instance, yellow is great for a rain slicker.

Model Train Scenery: Sticks and Twigs

Twigs and small sticks that you find lying around in the yard are extremely versatile for natural scenery elements. If you make your own trees, twigs make the trunk and small wires can be attached for limbs. Herbs are often used to supply the leaves for trees made this way. When you have the trees as you want them, dust powder on them for snow in winter scenes.

Model Train Scenery: Paper

Wax paper is another versatile ally that can be used for a number of things. It can represent the surface of water when painted an appropriate color, or will serve as the base of a road made from finely crushed painted nuts.

Foil paper and paper bags both have uses in train modeling. Foil can be used to line the inside of buildings to reflect light out through windows and keep the illumination from coming through the walls.

Some items you will find aren't worth the work to produce yourself. Any pre-manufactured parts that look real without a whole lot of work on your part can be purchased from model scenery suppliers and they work well in your model train scenery. You will never find everything that you want made and ready for your particular setup. On the other hand, many of the scenery elements you make are more believable than what you can buy.

About the Author

Edward Davis's love for model railroading started when he was 7 years old, from a train under the Christmas tree. Now, all grown up and a full-fledged hobbyist, he loves sharing his knowledge of the model train hobby. He is a writer for the Model Train Hobbyist website, where hobbyists like himself can find scale model trains and brand names such as Bachmann Model Trains.

HO Scale Thomas & Friends Sodor Scenery Switch Tower $48.84 This hand-painted HO scale Thomas & Friends Sodor Scenery Switch Tower is for railroading adventures as big as your imagination. This Switch Tower model features a durable plastic construction.Switch Tower Sodor SceneryPerfect for HO Scale Thomas & Friends Sodor Scenery layoutRecommended for ages 8 years and olderMaterials: PlasticModel: 45237

Scenery $22.71 This valuable new addition to the Aspects of Modelling series will give modelers of all abilities, and particularly beginners, all the necessary skills and abilities to perfect one of the most important and satisfying aspects of a model railway layout, the scenery. Beginning with the basics, this volume shows how best to construct the environment through which the railway operates, and shows how to build cuttings, embankments, bridges, tunnels, rivers, and road--in fact, all the things that go into re-creating a particular scene or location. Beautifully illustrated throughout with vivid, detailed pictures that are ideal for reference, this practical guide provides essential advice for anyone starting out in railway modeling, and also gives many useful hints and tips for experienced modelers on how to enhance a re-created railway scene and achieve the very highest level of accuracy in every layout. This is one title that every modeler should have on the library shelf.

Basic Scenery for Model Railroaders: The Complete Photo Guide $14.08 This book covers simple techniques needed to make realistic scenery for a layout of any size or scale. Each chapter includes step-by-step color photos, illustrations, and diagrams that demonstrate the basic steps to adding prototypical scenery elements to a layout. Features a variety of "one evening" projects.

How to Build Realistic Model Railroad Scenery (Paperback) $33.89 One of model railroading`s best-known scenery modelers offers new techniques for adding realism to a layout of any size or scale. Featuring today`s newest products and equipment, this third edition of one of Kalmbach`s top-sellers will attract modelers with contemporary images of diesel locomotives and urban settings, plus updates to Dave`s trademark scenery ?recipes.? Hundreds of photographs bring the techniques to life and make it easy for modelers to get started quickly. ? Includes new chapters on Western scenery and desert modeling, and city scenery and urban settings ? Ideal for beginning, intermediate, and advanced modelers planning a layout

Woodland ScenicsWS 928 Mountain Valley Scenery Kit $94.75 Bring your train set to life The Mountain Valley Scenery Kit is great for modelers who want to add scenery and build a tunnel on a new or existing 4 x 8foot layout. Designed for HO scale and easily adapts to N and O scales. Kit includes the materials instructions and patterns needed to add trees grass weeds rocks mountains a tunnel ballast and more. Over 24 products are included...even paint and glue Easy to follow stepbystep instructions. Train set track buildings and vehicles not included. Warning Choking hazard not intended for children under 3 years old.

HO scale train layout model lamppost lamp $48.74 hight quality HO scale model lamppost lamp for HO layout, hand made. All style can be 6V, 12V and 16V to meet the customer need

Woodland Scenics WS 928 Mountain Valley Scenery Kit $76.53 Bring your train set to life! The Mountain Valley Scenery Kit is great for modelers who want to add scenery and build a tunnel on a new or existing 4 x 8-foot layout. Designed for HO scale and easily adapts to N and O scales. Kit includes the materials, instructions and patterns needed to add trees, grass, weeds, rocks, mountains, a tunnel, ballast and more. Over 24 products are included...even paint and glue! Easy to follow step-by-step instructions. Train set, track, buildings and vehicles not included. Warning Choking hazard not intended for children under 3 years old.

The New Scenery Tips & Techniques: Projects and Ideas That Bring Your Layout to Life $23.26 Compiled from Model Railroader, this completely revised edition includes intriguing ideas on creating realistic ground cover, trees, bushes, rocks, water and other scenery details. Full of outstanding photos, diagrams, and instructions; ideal for beginning model railroaders.

Lionel Fastrack Model Railroads: The Easy Way to Build a Realistic Lionel Layout $26.27 As model railroaders began demanding ever-greater realism, Lionel responded in 2004 with its FasTrack system featuring an integrated roadbed, scale-sized ties, and a less-obvious center rail. Veteran hobby author Bob Schleicher follows up his "The Lionel FasTrack Book" with a closer, more detailed look at Lionel's revolutionary O-gauge system. This guide gives enthusiasts a deeper sense of how to take advantage of the FasTrack's ease of use and unprecedented realism in large-scale model railroading. The book includes 150 color photos and track diagrams for 10 scenicked FasTrack layouts ranging from 6x6-foot tabletop models to an 11x30-foot scale-size empire. Schleicher also provides instructions for building tables to support the layouts, advice for creating both rural and urban scenery, and an appendix of recommended suppliers.

Woodland ScenicsWS 1207 The Scenery Manual $26.51 The most popular model scenery resource in the industry From the layout base to scenery to the final details learn the secrets to using more than 600 products to model realistic layouts. Made with the Best Quality Material with your child in mind. Top Quality Children s Item.

Bachmann Your First Layout Track Pack - HO Scale $109.99 It's never been easier to get started in model railroading! Bachmann's Your First Layout Track Pack contains all the track you need to build the layout featured in the included DVD, Building Your First Model Railroad. Hosted by actor and model railroad enthusiast Michael Gross, the easy-to-follow video will quickly get you on track for fun with the World's Greatest Hobby! Backmann E-Z track system. Snaps together and stays together on floors, tables and carpets. No nails, screws or special tools needed. 45-piece Track Pack includes: World's Greatest Hobby Building Your First Model Railroad DVD, hosted by actor/model railroader Michael Gross nine 9" straights one 9" terminal/rerailer one 9" rerailer twenty 18" radius curves two 3" straights two switches - left two switches - right two Hayes bumpers four switch wires (green)one terminal wire (red) Bachmann HO scale E-Z Track® features: clear tie spacing low-profile spike heads modeled from AAR track engineering dimensions

Playing with Trains: A Passion Beyond Scale $3.95 Why do grown men play with trains? Is it a primal attachment to childhood, nostalgia for the lost age of rail travel, or the stuff of flat-out obsession? In this delightful and unprecedented book, Grand Prix legend Sam Posey tracks those who share his "passion beyond scale" and discovers a wonderfully strange and vital culture. Posey's first layout, wired by his mother in the years just after the Second World War, was, as he writes in his Introduction, "a miniature universe which I could operate on my own. Speed and control: I was fascinated by both, as well as by the way they were inextricably bound together." Eventually, when Posey's son was born, he was convinced that building him a basement layout would be the highest expression of fatherhood. Sixteen years and thousands of hours later, this project, "the outgrowth of chance meetings, unexpected friendships, mistakes, illness, latent ambitions, and sheer luck" was completed. But for Posey, the creation of his HO-scale masterpiece based on the historic Colorado Midland, was just the beginning. In "Playing with Trains," Sam Posey ventures well beyond the borders of his layout in northwestern Connecticut, to find out what makes the top modelers tick. He expects to find men "engaged in a genial hobby, happy to spend a few hours a week escaping the pressures of contemporary life." Instead he uncovers a world of extremes-extreme commitment, extreme passion, and extreme differences of approach. For instance, Malcolm Furlow, holed up on his ranch in the wilderness of New Mexico, insists that model railroading is defined by scenery and artistic self-expression. On the other hand, Tony Koester, a New Jersey modeler, believes his "mission" is to replicate, with fanatical precision and authenticity, the way a real railroad operates. Going to extremes himself, Posey actually "test drives" a real steam engine in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, in an attempt to understand the great machines that inspired the models and connect us to a time when "the railroad was inventing America." Timeless and original, "Playing with Trains" reveals a classic, questing American world. "From the Hardcover edition."

Bachmann HO Scale 12-piece E-z Track Layout Expander Set $90.47 This Bachmann HO Scale 12-piece E-z Track Layout Expander Set allows you to add to the track with our train sets or create new configurations of turnouts, branch lines and double-track mainlines on your existing railroad.Made by Bachmann TrainsModel: 44494Materials: Plastic and metalRecommended for ages 8 years and olderSet includes 12 pieces of track expandersDimensions: 4 inches long x 12 inches wide x 16 inches tallFour pieces of 9-inch strait trackFour pieces of 18-inch curved trackIncludes manual turnout-left, manual turnout-right, and two Hayes bumpersQuick and easy assembly on floors, tables and carpets without the need for special toolsOffered in steel alloy with black roadbedDimensions: 16 inches long x 12 inches wide x 1 inches tall

Woodland Scenics WS 1207 The Scenery Manual $21.41 The most popular model scenery resource in the industry! From the layout base to scenery to the final details learn the secrets to using more than 600 products to model realistic layouts. Made with the Best Quality Material with your child in mind. Top Quality Children's Item.

8-Piece N-Scale Railroad Layout All Tall Pier Set Train Accessory by Hawthorne Village $46.23 Ready to take your N-scale layout to new heights? Now you can expand the configuration of your train displays with this dynamic 8-piece all tall pier set. Each tall pier tower arrives with a coordinating base and bracket and features a snap-together system and assembly instructions. This heirloom-quality Bachmann N-scale train accessory makes the perfect addition to your collection and is available from The Bradford Exchange Hawthorne Village Division. Each piece of this tall pier set is expertly crafted of durable plastic by master artisans with precision detailing. The pivoting track brackets swivel and the pier bases accommodate floor or carpet use and are designed for easy removal. Strong demand is expected for this N-scale layout so order now! Easily attaches to your existing N-scale track display; assembly instructions providedCertificate of AuthenticityN scale

Stanley 68046071 Premium Quick Square Layout Tools $23.45 Rafter layout square with black body and yellow graduations for maximum readability in all light conditions. Extra thick body for use as a saw guide with a 0deg; to 90deg; protractor scale

Layout $26.44 This is an updated version of the popular first edition of this book, in which Ambrose and Harris introduce the fundamentals of layout within the field of graphic design. It provides a guide to the effective arrangement of text and image elements within a design scheme, which enables students to learn how to create powerful forms of visual communication in both print and electronic media.

Scenery Of Farewell $6.49 Scenery Of Farewell

Alvin TD253 Temp. Kitchen Cab. Layout $23.83 Contains counter and corner elevations appliances sinks and bowls. Scale: = 1'. Size: 97/8 x 97/8 x 0.03 .

Colorful Education: Sae Myorenji Fine Scenery PVC Figure 1/8 Scale $47.99 Colorful Education is a magazine serial for "DENGEKI HIME", a PC game monthly magazine, issued by Media Works in Japan. The story has been created by the magazine readers' contribution. Sae Myorenji is a popular character of the readers.

Woodland ScenicsWS 929 N Subterrain Scenery Kit $78.96 Build a 12 x24 N scale diorama. Learn SubTerrain s five easy steps no mess or comlicated calculations. Create realistic terrain features with Plaster Cloth rock castings and a Tunnel Portal. Make trees and landscape with various ground covers Ballast Talus and other scenery products. Warning Choking hazard not intended for children under 3 years old.

Stanley Hand Tools Premium Quick Square Layout Tool 46071 $27.86 Rafter layout square. Durable black body with yellow graduations for readability. Durable aluminum construction. Extra thick bodyuse as a saw guide. 0? to 90? protractor scale. 10.25 base length. 6.75 rule length. Length: 8. Width: 0.7. Height: 10.1

Stegosaurus Layout $34.99 Stegosaurus Layout - Wall Decal

Triceratops Layout $34.99 Triceratops Layout - Wall Decal

Diplodocus Layout $34.99 Diplodocus Layout - Wall Decal

Giganotosaurus Layout $34.99 Giganotosaurus Layout - Wall Decal

Raptor Layout $34.99 Raptor Layout - Wall Decal

Interior Drafting and Design Templates store layout $8.16 A variety of inking and drafting plastic templates made for the needs of architects and interior designers. Brands include Berol Rapidesign, Pro Art, and Pickett. Unless otherwise specified, scale is 1/4 in. = 1 foot.

Stanley® - Premium Quick Square® Layout Tools $10.4  Extra-thick aluminum squares. Stanley® Quick Square® Squares feature easy to read yellow graduations. Available in black color. Can be used as saw guide with a 0° to 90° protractor scale. 

Flange Wizard® - Magnetic Circle Layout & Burning Guides $93.3 Accurate welding and cutting accessories. Comes with a sliding soapstone holder. Features 360 degree scale on the magnetic base. Great for cutting circles up to 30" in diameter. Used to cut a round plate as a circle burning guide.

Layout: Layout $26.4 No Synopsis Available