how do you model your scenery
My dad showed me how to use the Hydrocal & paper towels method when I was a kid, which I used on model railroads and for things like dioramas in high school. I got some experience making Styrofoam scenery in college when I was into science fiction miniatures wargaming (mostly 15mm and 25mm minis, which are close enough to HO and S scales respectively that I could transfer a lot of skills from model railroading) though it was all “recycled” cheap packing-material foam with latex housepaint (good for quick & dirty wargaming standards) rather than using insulation foam or foam intended for model use.
My current project is an urban layout in a very flat area so I won’t be building any mountains. The “scenery” as such will be concrete streets and buildings, although the prototype I’m modeling features a lot of trees (even today, an aerial view of downtown Sacramento is a canopy of green with buildings sticking out of it–only Paris has more trees per square mile) so I guess that counts as scenery modeling. I’m building streets and foundations from cardstock and styrene, with styrene sidewalks, on a base of 1/8" foamcore. Non-paved areas will be plaster or Sculptamold applied directly to the MDF subroadbed.
Yeah, I’m a newbie, but I consider myself a pro. Who in the brain trust thought this up? FRED
My roommate and I are amateurs, however, club members who have seen our work have commented on the fact that it looks quite professional.
In some skills, I am proficient, not professional.
There are however, skills that I need alot of work
in and practice is the way to improve on them.
My scenery at the time is slow to go as I am kind
of practicing all the methods to see which I like best
and what I can do easily with my time I have to model.
For example, I can do awesome trackwork and structure
detailing. BUT… I absolutely SUCK at doing trees and ballast.
Just started up again last year in 2002 with the hobby, planned an outdoor garden RR then got booted to the garage when the missis’ didnt want me ripping up the yard. So now I’m building a 1/2" scale g guage indoor layout. Imaging HO blown up 5 times, things I could get away with in HO just dont cut the mustard in G gauge. The level of detail required to make trains and structures look “real” not superdetailed, just believable, is a tremendous jump from HO. So now I consider myself starting over from almost scratch as an enthusiastic amatuer, give me a couple more years and then ask me if I’m a Pro.
Is this subject heading “scenery modeling” supposed to be with this poll on “are you a newbie”??
they dont jive together…
I use any tecniques and materials avialable to achive the desired results.Some times it the classic hart shell scenery method. OThers it plaster over wire screen. Just what is ever handy, avialable, and best suited for the job I guess