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by: BillMurphy
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Obtaining all your supplies is just the start when it comes to model railroading. The next step is to do the landscaping with the help of foam spacers. They can be shaped to the design you'd like and then sealed with a fiberglass or hardener to protect them. A wire frame can be used to reinforce a larger landscape and some modelers will even bring in sand, dirt or stone for a more realistic look.

It is worth noting that the addition of real-life materials can actually diminish the authentic look that you may be trying to achieve because of the extra texture that is added. Most of the dirt isn't fine enough to give the look of "earth" in a miniature unless it is coated with a finer powder or dust. You will need to keep the scale in perspective and work up to the tallest items such as mountains. This will help to form the valleys and lakes or stream areas to make them seem more natural.

After doing the base, you can start to have a little fun. By painting all the surfaces, you will cover any extra glue and then you can begin to start to place items like stones and coverings. You can stipple on some grass with a fine brush to make it seem a little more realistic being careful to plan as you go.

For example, if you are adding a water feature, have a ragged edge infringing on the side of it instead of taking grass right up the edge of the water. In real life banks are washed away and tree roots are exposed from nature. By mimicking this, your project will look more realistic and please your viewers.

Laying track can be done in several ways, the simplest is to glue the track to the bottom directly " the most realistic is to form a true bed of crushed or powdered stone, with actual wooden 'beams' upon which your track is 'spiked' but this is very uncommon and time consuming. Software to help with design and layout can help with more ambitious projects as well " but thought to maintenance and accessibility should be given during this phase since cleaning and repairing track sections is the most likely maintenance to need to occur over time.

Last but certainly not least is the creation of vignettes or 'small scenes' " it is this which most model railroaders really live: to recreate in miniature the thousands of small scenes that make real life so endearing and turn our model railroads into wonders.

Choosing themes such as small cities or train stations that fit into your theme and building appropriate houses and edifices or buying them and placing correctly is critical " as is maintaining the proper scale. The human eye can note incredibly small differences in scale and proportion so staying true to your scale and theme is vital for a successful landscape.

There is much more we could discuss about landscapes but most likely you are ready to start playing " so put on your engineering caps and start thinking. Turning on the light is probably a good place to start - have fun!

About the Author

One of the critical parts of your landscape that's also one of the toughest to make look real is model railroad water. Get some helpful ideas for creating realistic water at TheModelRailroader.com

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