IM only a 14 year oldmodel railroader and need scenery tips BAD!

Hi SReeves14
First off scenery is easy to do it looks complicated but I can assure you it is easy.
the first thing to do is to get dad to get you a big piece of builders plastic.
So you can protect the area the one thing scenery can do is get messy…
The first item on the agenda should be to paint the bench work top a naturalish green or earth tone.
If you have pre ballasted track and it is not fixed down mark where it goes in pencil thae add about 1/2 inch each side to the marked area paint this brown.
where the rerailer is mark in a short section of road each side paint that flat black drill holes in the table to get the wire under the table and run the wire under the table only bringing it up on top again where the train controler is.
your track can be fixed down now.
Now get a depot assemble that painting it before assembly put that just up the track a bit
from the level crossing. now take the road to the depot add a car park and you have started scenery just start adding bits like level crossing signs and things that would be around a depot slowly.
You could also get some packing box cardboard and start cutting bits of that and stack them up 1,2&3 layers high to get the undulations in the ground and finishing them off with plaster put a good dribble of PVA glue and primary school paint into the mix put more colour in than you think you need it will lighten as it drys it will take longer than normal drying with the aditives but it will not crack easy and will stay in placealso most important if flock falls off or it gets chipped it will not show white.
Just take small simple steps and it will all come together.
This will sound good but do a rough plan of what you want to do that way you can follow logical steps without doing something and the saying oops I should have done that first before doing this
regards John

What Up? Plenty of model railroading could be done on A hamburger flipping Budget. My first railroad was a piece of plywood,a trainset,and plaster covered paper machee mountains. I probably had more fun making mountains than playing with the trains. Go get yourself a piece of plywood and get tour track down, then start building. As for scenery tips, wadded up newspaper covered in paper towels soaked in plaster woks great and is really cheap. Add some color and dirt with glue and you will be on Your way. Don’t forget a building or two.Good Luck.

Hi SReeves14
Forgot with a little bit of for thought packing box card can also be used for hill formers
regards John

Id start at the library…or borrow mags and books off fellow modellers…join a MR club…

Sounds like you need to do some work before you start scenary, do it properly and you wont give up in frustration…

Hi there, and welcome to the group.

I’m going to suggest a different direction to take. Rather than start on a layout with it’s planning, space considerations, and expense, why not start small? Sort of a practice run. Scenery is one of those areas where practice and experience will make a difference in the long run. Although everyone wants to get trains running on a big layout, by starting out on a diorama you can gain experience working with the materials, develop your artist’s eye concerning the look of scenery, and not spend as much money in the process. You’ll still be able to run trains on the carpet while you’re doing this. Plus, if you feel that you’ve really done a lousy job, you’ve only messed up a small diorama, and not your permanent layout. You can just start over on another diorama.

What I suggest is you plan a small scene, with a freight or passenger station, or maybe a small industry that you like. Go down to one of the office supply superstores, and buy a sheet or two of foamcore board. It’ll only be a couple of dollars for a few sheets, and they should be something on the order of 20 inches by 30 inches, if I recall correctly.

Okay, put one of the foamcore sheets on a handy table. If you’ve already got a building or two that you like, put them down on the board, along with some pieces of track, and a few pieces of rolling stock and one of your engines. Move the buildings and track around on the board until you’ve got a logical, and interesting arrangement. The rolling stock and engine are there so that you know about how long you need to make your siding. Don’t worry yet that you don’t have a turnout. We’ll fix that eventually. Right now, just figure out from your idea of the track arrangement, whether you need a right hand or left hand turnout. While the buildings and track are there, try to visualize what kind of scenery you’d want on this diorama. Will it be flat or have a small hill? Will there be trees? A stream? If you want them, wh

Here is a link to Joe Fugate’s “Forum Clinic : Building Realistic Scenery”
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=32122

and to “Compilation of Widely Useful Threads”
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36405

I hope they help.

There’s plenty of free material out there! There’s planty of weeds that make pretty good trees, with a $2 can of green spray paint. Lichen can be found most anywhere in the woods, and can be spray painted or dyed using RIT fabric dyes. ( I filled a large trash bag full of lichen in a couple hours of walking in the woods near my house. ) Twigs from trees can make pretty realistic tree trunks.

Check out construction sites nearby. They often throw away or burn construction materials ( 2x4’s, foam insulation board, plywood, etc. ) that would work for you benchwork.

Plastic drinking straws make pipe loads for flat cars. Small sticks from real trees can make log loads for pulpwood cars. Small diameter PVC pipe can be used for culvert pipes for loads or scenery.

Keep your eyes open, and use your imagination for other free or cheap materials to use.

Have fun, and good luck!

Rotor