I am soon going to do my first (serious) attempt at scenery, including waterways. I am thinking I should do a “practice” diorama. Have you ever done a practice diorama and have it turn out so well, you’d wished you had just dove into doing on the layout in the first place? I am thinking I may be wasting my time doing a practice one.
Brent
Once built a trestle into an Ntrak module- loved it so much, I could hardly stand it when I had to sellt he module (space)! I say do a diorama and be ready to use it as a shelved display of an engine or something… that way you can justify keeping it, though it won’t be on the layout…
Before I did my first water feature, I did several test-ponds with Envirotex, painting the base, adding tint color to the “water,” varying the depth and so on. These weren’t intended as “dioramas,” though, simply small 2-inch holes in scrap foam for testing purposes.
When I did my first “real” fake water on the layout, it came out very well. In fact, it’s still the best water area on the layout.
I put off doing water for a long time. It was all completely new to me, and I was afraid I’d mess something up. It’s not as hard as you think. And the worst that can happen is that you have to rip it out, patch it up and try again. More likely, though, you’ll be surprised at how good the results are, and you’ll wonder why you were so timid about doing this in the first place.
Practice is the best teacher, so I’d recommend it 100%.
Besides, if it comes out as well as you think, why can’t you intergrate it into your finished layout? Just insert and blend the edges.
While we’re on this subject…I’ve been considering doing a diarama while I’m Layout-less. How big do you usually make some of these? 3’x10-12", or 4’x12-14"? Or is it totally up to me? Not that I want to incorporate it into any future layout right now, but just to practice my scenery skills and make something really cool.
Yes!!! You got it. If you are going to do a diorama, even a practice one, it wouldn’t hurt to hedge your bets by making it a practice run at the real thing…the real thing you intend to have in your planned layout. That way, if it turns out better than you had hoped, and is worth retaining as an effort and use of resourses, just place it in the intended space on your layout and blend it in with soil and greenery. You can use spackle or drywall mud…sculptamold if you wish…anthing to hide seams. But, if you do it a first time on your layout, and it turns sour, you must either excise it or cover it somehow. For a water course, covering it is going to be difficult and still have it looking natural.
-Crandell
Scenery is readily removed, particularly if one uses cardboard-strip-supporting paper/gauze soaked in plaster as a base. I say forget the practice diorama and do it “for real.” If disappointed, tear/cut it out and start again.
Mark
Ok, think I’ll give this a try “for real”!!! [:D]
Winter is setting in up in the North East and I’ll need something to do. Seeing how I already have 90% of the supplies I need to do this it seems like a good place to start. This going to be a 24"x 60" module from the right side of a modifiect HOGG layout I designed as a shelf layout. What say you?
I would lengthen the tail track at the top right to the edge of the module. To be usable at all, it needs to be at least engine plus one car. If each tail is at least engine plus one car, limited switching ops are possible, and the diorama becomes more than a scenic practice piece.
With no runaround, and spurs facing both directions, 2 locomotives are required to service all tracks.
just my thoughts
Fred W
Thanks for the input Fred. I will certainly do that. I think that track was connected to a piece of flex track for that upcoming corner and I just removed it when I copied that section out of the entire plan, but yeah, that makes sense to extend all the tracks to the edge of the module.
There is no apparent need for the switchback. Serve the industry with a spur directly coming off the main track using a right-hand turnout, resulting in a more prototype-like scene rather than a (I’ll be gentle) model-railroad-like scene. The unnecessary turnout would be best used to create a short run-around track along the main.
Mark
Sorry to hijack your post batman, I owe you one. [:)]
Anyhow, to clear up some of what the module is doing I’ve posted the mainline and the staging of my planned layout. The module is on the right side, I’ve removed the switch and the small tunnel segment, now the switch on the right hand side will only feed the undertable staging. Nothing is written(or drawn) in stone so this is subject to adjustments. Thanks.
Only once in the state of New Jersey. I believe its illegal in the other 49.
Hills and valleys are easy to tear out and replace, water can be a little more difficult to remove…and may be harder to ‘get right’. It might not hurt to test different methods of doing water (acrylic gloss over paint, Enviro-tex, E-Z water etc.) and see which works best for you before doing the water part.
BTW if you haven’t yet done so, take a look at Woodland Scenics risers under the track. It’s easier to raise the track a couple of inches while building the layout than to go back and hack a hole in the plywood base to make a lake or river. [:)]
No worries. Just post lots of pictures. I love pictures. [:)]
Brent