Real photos or models? ?

[METRO]

N scale is pretty easy, they're small, and it's very easy for the eye to pick up on that through simplified details, slighty oversized rails and such.

HO scale can fool me from time to time, there are some really tallented people out there that can make their layouts look very photo realistic. I find that layouts set in the southwest are usually the ones that have me taking a long look at the page to see if it's prototype or model.

In O scale and S scale the illusion of reality is that much easier to pull off and on some of the newer O scale layouts I've seen the amount of detail one can put on those trains is truly amazing. Now if I only had a spare warehouse somewere and the ability to control the speed of time, I think could build something like that haha.

Cheers!
~METRO

[tatans]

I picked up a magazine called Model Railroader and scanned a bunch of the photos, and I always try to see if I could be fooled if the photo is of a model or the real thing(or if I could be fooled that it is a model) Some of the photos are immediately identified as a model setup right away and others it's a real toss-up as to real or not real., on p.111 at a quick glance it is tough because the faded backdrop of trees is very professionably done as is the trestle and train, other photos in the magazine at a glance let you know at once it's a model. I think the shiny locomotives with out of scale handrails and no weathering and far, far too much activity in a scene and too much stuff all over the place give the "model" look away, also it may be the lighting with more than one source of light on the model, these are comments not to be construed as criticisms of work, the article on tall grass is the very best grass scenes I have ever seen on any layout ever, p.76 cannot be distinguished from a real scene, fabulous. Now a question to raise the hackles of some model railroaders, can any of you people out there by glancing at a photo of a locomotive tell if it is HO or N scale ? ? ? There seems to be some indicator that stands out that the model is N scale and I cannot figure it out, is it the wheels? the scale? the shape ? ?I'm not sure, or am I nuts? any one else able to tell the difference ? ? ? Hey c'mon, it's the weekend guys.