1. Trees
2. Static grass, vegetation
3. Automobiles
4. Figures of people
5. Signs on buildings and windows
6. Miscellaneous equipment and crates
7. Super detailing scenes
8. Other
Modeling the B&M Railroad during the transition era in Lowell, MA
It isn't any one thing that brings a scene to life. It's all of those things. Really good scenery is made up of layers. Not all of the above are necessary for a good scene but none of the above elements by itself is going to make for a good scene if there aren't enough other elements. These details can be overdone to the point of making a scene look cluttered. There is no magic formula for determining what the right amount of detail there should be. I go by what looks right to me. When I achieve that, I quit adding stuff.
All of the above.
Rich
Alton Junction
For my layout I think is was the lighting. When I added vehicle headlights it really came alive.Still when I have visitors and I turn on the lighting it always brings WOWs.
I have added random lighting to all my structures using Arduinos and that really works for me. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.
RR_Mel For my layout I think is was the lighting. When I added vehicle headlights it really came alive.Still when I have visitors and I turn on the lighting it always brings WOWs.
John-NYBW It isn't any one thing that brings a scene to life. It's all of those things. Really good scenery is made up of layers. Not all of the above are necessary for a good scene but none of the above elements by itself is going to make for a good scene if there aren't enough other elements. These details can be overdone to the point of making a scene look cluttered. There is no magic formula for determining what the right amount of detail there should be. I go by what looks right to me. When I achieve that, I quit adding stuff.
I agree with John.
Then, even when altering a little scenery to freshen things up and take a photograph to see how it looks, sunshine through the window plays a part.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
If realism is your goal, weathering is the one big item you didn't mention. I would start with the main thing, the trains themselves. The first thing I would start with are the wheels and axles. Most are rusty or mud splattered. Older solid bearing trucks are black and oily at the journals. Next would be couplers wher, old, dark rust would prevail.
Next would be the carbodies. Airborne dirt settles on everything and rain returns it to the surface of the earth, subduing the colors of everything. The sun also plays a very important role in the absence of rain, in fading these colors, so this should be reflected as well.
Another favorite of mine is signage, not just that on buildings. Just think of all the signs you see along our roads and highways. Street names, speed limits, directional signs, buried cable markers, etc. How about house numbers, mailboxes, trash receptacles, vacant lots, full of weeds and brush? Do your roads have storm drains, utility access covers, potholes and other imperfections?
These are just a few of the many things in our imperfect world that are missing from our modeled world.
Good question and I am at that stage of my layout. I find that adding the normally ignored details do the most. Building up layers helps, on mine I zip texture over plaster cloth, then three colors of turf one at a time, next three layers of static grass, 2mm, 4mm ,6mm All of these things done in a random manor. Next are trees and then shrubs are backfilled in, trying to do schubs first just did not work as I couldn't fine the holes for the trees but at times I removed the trees and inseted toothpicks and then added shrubs and reinserted trees but this only happened in really crouded areas. Now I am adding details, lineside small structures, signs, people and junk. Forgot about a very important step after all track is up and running and that is ballast after the rails are painted. I use matt medium because once dry it will not turn white when adding all the water based other scenery, nor come loose (but if you soak it the ballast will come off the turnouts if you need to reuse one as it), also it adds a dull matt to the ties and ballast like very suttle weathering.
There are some folks who don't like to add figures because they think it takes away from the realism when you see people posed in action positions that never change. But I don't see how having no people brings a scene to life. It's a personal choice, of course, but I think figures add a lot if they're fairly realistic and put in logical places.
Jim
RR_MelFor my layout I think is was the lighting. When I added vehicle headlights it really came alive.Still when I have visitors and I turn on the lighting it always brings WOWs. I have added random lighting to all my structures using Arduinos and that really works for me. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.
Mel! You forgot to light the passenger cars!
I do agree with you about lighting. Even if some of the other modeling aspects mentioned have not been started yet or totally completed, lighting - to me - brings a warmth and "occupation" to building, structures, and trains.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Like Jim, I think figures add a lot to most scenes if used carefully. Dock workers on a car float, truck drivers in the cabs of Jordan vehicles, even couples seated on benches at the station, all really bring a scene to life.
I typically spend a month working on even the simplest four-walls-and-a-roof structure kit. I make the whole thing light-tight because it will almost certainly be illuminated. I specifically look for structures with large windows, and I cut open loading dock doors so I can see inside, perhaps building a shadow box scene. Many buildings have rudimentary interior walls and floors, which allow individual room lighting (and room darkness). Don't forget figures inside of buildings.
My scenery took a great leap forward when I started using static grass. I'm also an advocate of mixing scenery sizes and colors pretty randomly, because it produces a more natural look.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
WilmJunc So, I’ve been working on my layout for about 16 years and making very slow progress for a myriad of reasons. I am finally to the point where all the track is down and painted, structures are built and placed, base ground cover has been applied (no more plywood showing), and track is ballasted (I will start providing some photos). My question is, at this point what are the priority items that will really start bringing the layout to life and make it look realistic? I’ve listed some items below and I’m interested in opinions. 1. Trees 2. Static grass, vegetation 3. Automobiles 4. Figures of people 5. Signs on buildings and windows 6. Miscellaneous equipment and crates 7. Super detailing scenes 8. Other
Other - as in a well done backdrop can really bring a scene a lot of realism.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
The lighting makes a photograph work. If it's of a model, then the model must also depict, realistically, something resembling a real scene. So, there must be activity, including human activity or animal activity if it's in an urban setting or on a farm, even if just clouds forming and drifting, a mechanical device or several, some signs of weathering and erosion, signs of decay,...
The more time one invests in fleshing out a scene, improving details, positions of details, adding human activity, and getting the scene lit properly, these are what bring hit home for me.
I would say that if it's in a city, maybe some street signs. (street names), some faded morals of the past of the buildings have been around for a while, lighting of city streets. If it's open stretches of road maybe a billboard here and there. Trees, grass, an occasional animal, also can help.
Sean, the unknown train travler,
Excellent suggestions here. I agree on the weathering. It is a personal choice and I try not to get too carried away with it, prefering to generally stay in the "used but maintained" look.
Before:
ACY_3454_PS1 by Edmund, on Flickr
— and after:
ACY_XM_PS1 by Edmund, on Flickr
I have a little more detail work to do here such as oily streaks around the journal lids. Shiny chrome/silver wheel faces are the first thing I eliminate on rolling stock.
I do stage some activities for my little people but after a few months I scoop them all up and reassign them to another area or to storage.
This paving crew was busy for a while but now they are resting in a box for the next job:
Pave_crew-1 by Edmund, on Flickr
Likewise this dedication party for the U.P. 4141:
UP_4141b by Edmund, on Flickr
I was amused to find out after I had staged this scene that the actual event, which I found photos of afterward, was pretty durned close to the way I portrayed it.
Lighting and functioning signals are a plus, too:
PRR_Motor-lineup by Edmund, on Flickr
Union_Sta_departure by Edmund, on Flickr
Sometimes I get a little adventurous and start up my fog machine
IMG_3607_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
IMG_3599_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
FUN Stuff!
Regards, Ed
RR_Mel For my layout I think is was the lighting. When I added vehicle headlights it really came alive.Still when I have visitors and I turn on the lighting it always brings WOWs. I have added random lighting to all my structures using Arduinos and that really works for me. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.
I think the reason night scenes lit only by the scenic elements on the layout are so dramatic is that it limits what the viewer actually sees and focuses attention on those few elements.
At some point, I would like to conduct night operations operating solely from the scenic lighting and maybe a headlamp. The idea of a passenger train coming into a station lit by the platform lights and doing a little switching of cars seems very appealing to me. Unfortunately I'm a long way from having sufficient scenic lighting to do that.
After setting up my old N scale layout for the holidays, I realized it needed some heavy attention to touch up all around. I found using some very dull and blah paint colors and scattering some trash, empty barrels, crates, and discarded ties around the track and along the right of way, it really brought some realism back to the scenes. Then my cats invaded the layout and that was that.......
tstage Mel! You forgot to light the passenger cars!
John,
I wasn't implying that they should be "all lit up". There should, however, be some subtle lighting in the aisleways in the evening hours as a minimum. And, perhaps, the best solution is to just have an overall gentle aura of interior lighting for your passenger cars. Otherwise, you would need to control individual car lighting electronically and that could get pretty complicated and tedious to adjust if you have a long string of cars.
tstage Mel! You forgot to light the passenger cars! Tom
That got by me, the picture is quite old (2010) and been on my Blog since 2011. Back then my passenger cars were illuminated but no interiors.When I can work on my layout again I’ll take a new picture, lots of changes since then. Vehicles everywhere and dozens of structures, all lit up.I do have some light on my night scene, I have a pair of 41K 25 watt LED Floods to simulate moonlight. I turn off the overhead lights and turn on the moonlight for night operations. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.
John-NYBWI wonder how realistic it is to have fully lighted passenger cars. Passenger cars aren't lit up all night long.
I strive to keep the lighting subdued as much as possible.
Union_Sta_departure5 by Edmund, on Flickr
The "public" areas and aisleways are lit. Another thing I try to do is have a lamp in each vestibule. These were kept illuminated throughout the night.
PRR_Conductor by Edmund, on Flickr
I like to open a Dutch Door here and there, too, as I always remember the conductor looking over passing trains or "highballing" the operators at towers, when there used to be towers... and operators.
Dining car crews tried to catch a little fresh air when they could, too:
PRR_diner by Edmund, on Flickr
Window shades help reduce the amount of light "spillage", too:
Pullman_10-1-2_Lake-Dunmore by Edmund, on Flickr
RR_Mel tstage Mel! You forgot to light the passenger cars! Tom That got by me, the picture is quite old (2010) and been on my Blog since 2011. Back then my passenger cars were illuminated but no interiors.When I can work on my layout again I’ll take a new picture, lots of changes since then. Vehicles everywhere and dozens of structures, all lit up.I do have some light on my night scene, I have a pair of 41K 25 watt LED Floods to simulate moonlight. I turn off the overhead lights and turn on the moonlight for night operations. MelMy Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.
That got by me, the picture is quite old (2010) and been on my Blog since 2011. Back then my passenger cars were illuminated but no interiors.When I can work on my layout again I’ll take a new picture, lots of changes since then. Vehicles everywhere and dozens of structures, all lit up.I do have some light on my night scene, I have a pair of 41K 25 watt LED Floods to simulate moonlight. I turn off the overhead lights and turn on the moonlight for night operations. MelMy Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.
Nice, Mel. I was thinking, too, that you might want to include a least one car with a burned out headlight and/or taillight - just to add a iittle subtle realism to the night scene.