N Gauge Layouts – Tips and Tricks
for Making Scenery At Home
Assuming you are going to build your own; the following are some tips to assist you in designing beautiful scenery for your N gauge layout:
Theme and Concept
The most critical step in building the scenery around your layout is to plan the theme and concept of the layout. Plan each step critically and take time to develop the overall concept. The train that you are using in your layout will serve as the center of your design. The theme that you are trying to create should be in accordance with the train that you are using in your N scale layout. A logging train will look best in a forested layout, whereas small towns or farmlands may be more suitable for passenger trains.
While you are planning the scenery for your model train layout, make sure that you keep the era in mind. You layout should be based on the era that you trying to depict in your layout. Everything from the trains, cars, people and even billboards should be according to the era that you want to build.
You can build the whole layout based on a single season, or you can build different seasons in a single layout. You can show different seasons in different areas in your layout to make your layout more engaging. The key point is; this is YOUR project so you need to decide what you like best… not someone else.
Layout
Visualize how you want your viewers to interact with your layout. Do you want your viewers to enjoy the entire track all at once or do you want them to enjoy the track in a series of different scenes and scenarios.
You can also use your model train layout as a platform for telling short stories. For example you can show a boy trying to find his dog around the train track, or a man trying to fix his car near the station, or a family trying to catch the train in a hurry.
There is a lot that you can do with your model train layout to keep it engaging and interesting. All you need to do is to plan in detail all the elements that you need to add in your model train layout. Foam Board
Foam board is one of the most versatile and cheapest materials that you can use for building your model train scenery at home. Foam board, commonly called pink board, can be easily bought in large sheets as insulation. It is easy to work with and inexpensive, which makes it ideal to be used for building terrain in a model train layout. It can be use to make mountains, railroad tunnels, and cliff sides. You can easily find cutting tools for foam board and you can glue it together easily with white glue.
Go For the Natural Look
It is not necessary that you buy readymade accessories for you layout. The best way to give your layout a realistic look is to use natural things when building your model train layout. For example; to make ground cover you can use natural sand instead of artificial sand. This will not only save money but it will also make an excellent ground cover for your layout. One thing to watch for is chemical or elements in materials that could corrode or rust tracks. Track rust or electrical wire corrosion is definitely something to avoid when running model trains.
To make ground cover you can also your tea and coffee grinds to get the effect of sand or dirt. Lichen and moss can be used to make real looking shrubs and bushes. You can make a tree out of small tree twigs. It is all about how you organize and use your resources and how creative you can get with the materials that you have.
By using the resources wisely and preserving every little thing, you can create beautiful scenery for your N gauge layout at home without spending too much money. Once you have a layout you can start enjoying the challenges that model railroading has to offer. If you don’t want to start from stratch, there are many places (including eBay) where you can find completed or partially completed N gauge layouts for sale at reasonable prices.