In the March 2011 issue of MR, Cody Grivno wrote on how to model conifers.Around the 5th paragraph, he mentions how you don’t want to use scented hairspray- or do you? I’ve seen (in specialty shops) hairsprays with scents such as Pine and Sagebrush. I’m almost certain you could find any tree scent your looking for with a little digging.(or planting)
Imagine as you approach the secluded sawmill in the woods, you smell the aroma of freshly felled and cut pine trees, just lingering in the air. As you walk away to follow your train, the smell fades but a hint stays in your nostriles.
They make “pine tree scent” spray around Christmas time for those with artificial trees who want “the smell of a pine tree freshly cut for Christmas.” Personally I think it is GROSS smelling and WAY OFF BASE as far as “smelling like a pine tree”.
Besides, I don’t think the smell will last long enough for you to smell it after a few days anyway.
One has to be careful about using scents, especially if the layout is in its own room. The potential for that scent to be overwhelming is a distinct possibility. I once toyed with dabbing some creosote (love the smell) on my layout, but quickly realized a drop or two was way too much.
One concern with using the christmas tree type sprays to me would be getting the spray on the track and / or having it affect things like ground cover or weathering on buildings near the trees.
There was a company maybe 20 years ago who sold scents for model railroad. IIRC it was kind of like a little potpourri burner where you put a few drops of scent on a round gizmo about the size of a coin, and it would warm up a little bit and make the liquid heat up and create a smell. They had a scent for pine trees (for use in forests or lumber mills), coal smoke, and even a “manure” smell for stockyards. [+o(]
As I recall it was moderately successful, but the maker or distributor got into some legal trouble and the product went off the market after a few years.
Olfactory Aires was I think the name of the outfit that for a brief time advertised pretty heavily in MR about a line of odor producing products appropriate to a railroad
And Great Model Railroads had an article about an older guy with a G scale railroad that ran through a city scene – you’d hear the sound of music from the dance hall, but he had a small heating plate and would put on some oiled onion pieces near his restaurant. Apparently it smelled great. he also had a popcorn machine in the room …
I happen to think ambient noises – rushing water for a brook, birds or crickets for rural scenes, factory noise, traffic noise – can add as much or more realism to a layout as sound in locomotives, because the sound systems and speakers can be large enough to do the sounds justice. Not too loud however but deeper bass tones can add a great deal of impact even if soft in volume
For certain scenes I think odors could add to that mental impression and the scent of pine or fresh cut wood would be a great example (and yeah we can all think of rail-side odors we do NOT want to encounter or capture in our homes).
When i was a kid you could get little cone shaped brown things that when lit with a match would smolder for hours and create a pine odor. Almost like incense. If they still make them maybe, with proper precautions, they would create the odor you seek.
No way - No how - No thank you. The only place I want to smell wood is either outdoors…or burning in my fireplace. I don’t care for 99.9% of perfumes or colognes; nor to I like air fresheners/disguisers/maskers of any type. They’re just too overwhelming. I do make the exception with deodorant though. [8-|]
I agree. Most artificial scents turn my insides out instantly. If I encounter a lady wearing perfume or a man with aftershave I am immediately affected (please don’t ask how - let’s just say I hope there is a washroom close by when it happens).
Natural scents don’t bother me thank goodness. Maybe I could put a few fresh cut pine boughs under the benchwork! Otherwise, I’m afraid that my layout will have to do without smells.
