Model Railroad Scenery: Tips on How to Build Great Scenery

The foundation of your railroad is the benchwork. Train hobbyists have two options for benchwork: creating your own or buying a premade benchwork kit. Purchasing a benchwork kit has several advantages. Precut and predrilled, benchwork kits are stronger then a sheet of plywood on top of two sawhorses. Kits also have the option of being easily taken apart, which makes moving them to a different space in the home or taking it to a show much less work.

Building your own benchwork is more difficult and does take more time however, you have the opportunity to achieve your ideal image for your trains. Step one is to prepare a design for your layout.

To do this, you'll need to figure out how big your benchwork will be. Is it a possibility you may be expanding it at a later? How much space in your house do you have to place a train layout?

Next step is to think about the shape you want for your benchwork. There are several choices such as circular, square, oval or rectangular. Usually the legs of the table are 28 inches but they can be altered to meet your designs specifications.

The most critical thing in benchworking is making sure that your benchwork is solid and will support the weight of your model railroad. {Keep in mind the best platform is 3/8 inch or 1/2 think plywood|The best platform is a 3/8 inch or ½ inch thick sheet of plywood.}. The benchwork must be strong and have the ability to support the weight of your railroad model. If you would like your benchwork to be portable, here's a tip -- cut the plywood into several pieces prior to you assemble your benchwork.

Perspective is a significant ingredient when constructing your model railroad scenery. The goal is to make your layout appear larger than it is. Try using assorted levels of scenery to help with this.

For example, placing taller trees in the front of the model and smaller trees to the back or on the tops of hills will help create this illusion. When choosing the items for the scenery, remember the theme you selected for the landscape. For instance, a logging train line could be running through rugged snow covered mountains on its way to a near-by lumber mill.

There are unlimited options for landscaping features in your model railroad scenery: tunnels, farm lands fields, bridges and roads. You can also include towns or villages filled with houses and buildings.

Don't forget about the fine details of your scenery such as sign posts, stop lights, fences, hedges, hedges, pedestrians and animals. It's even possible to include waterways, streams or waterfalls.

Constructing model railroad scenery is an art form. It takes persistence, thought and attention to detail to make a realistic model. The only limitation to design possibilities is the imagination. So enjoy building your model railroad and take pride in designing dramatic and lifelike scenery and landscapes.