In the second part of our model rail scenery blog series, we discuss tips on how to incorporate realistic water, rock landscapes, and roadways into your train scenery layout. We also provide you with recommendations on easy and affordable products you can use to achieve a realistic look. If you missed our first blog post covering tips on greenery and plants you can find that here.
Realistic Water
When it comes to adding water elements there are numerous choices - from lakes, ponds, streams, and waterfalls - the options are endless and you can find what works best for the scene you are trying to portray. Woodland Scenics', by far, offers easy-to-use and safe products that provide realistic water effects. A couple quick tips to achieve a great result include:
- Create the Illusion of Depth in Water
- By using an undercoat in your lake, pond or streams simply apply undercoat towards the middle of your waterway to achieve this result. This makes the perimeter lighter and gives the appearance of shallow water.
- Create the Effect of Flowing Water
- By simply applying the Woodland Scenics' water effects and smudging with a brush you can create a rippling water flow in your model that brings your water to life.
To see a couple of these tricks in action check out the following video.
Rock Landscape
The addition of rocks to your scenery helps add a bit of texture similar to the way adding trees will. Most model train layouts include some form or rocky landscape whether you are creating mountain sides or adding rocks along waterways.
An easy way to create custom rocks is to cast plaster in rubber molds. This is an affordable way that allows you to create many types of rocks from just one rock mold - depending on how much plaster you add to the mold will distinguish the size of the rock. You can then paint them many different pigments depending on the style of rock landscape you are going for.
An even easier option is to buy the pre-made ready rock that is already molded. These are painted and ready to be added instantly to your layout.
Lastly, we offer a number of affordable easy to assemble rock kits that will get you started in designing the rock layout you are looking for.
Roadways
Roadways should be incorporated in your train scenery as it helps bring in an additional human element to your layout. You can do this by adding in lifelike parking lots and even country dirt roads complete with potholes!
One option is to sculpt your own roads, which offers a bit more customization, but requires a lot more time, effort, and materials. We have the necessary plaster to create streets and roads and corresponding colors that mimic asphalt and concrete. If you are looking for something much more easy we offer options such as ready-made paved roads and even complete kits for busy street systems.
We hope this gives you some additional guidance into creating realistic scenery for your train layout. These are just a few tips and tricks to help you get started. If you have any further questions don't hesitate to reach out to us for guidance and advice. You can reach us at 815-462-4720 or [email protected]
