General Discussion (Model Railroader)

NOTE: For the latest version of this clinic, see my personal web site (the link is in my signature).

Okay, the last forum clinic on Designing for satisfying operation was well received, so it's time for a new clinic, this time on building realistic scenery. I have a specific philosophy I use when building model scenery so it is more realistic, and I'll share some of that here. Plus, I have lots of techniques I use for the scenery I do.

But let's start off with an example scene from my HO Siskiyou Line. I'm modeling the prototype SP in sourthern Oregon, so I am aiming for a specific look for that locale that's correct. Here's the scene:



If you know southern Oregon, then this scene will ring true to you as looking "right". Plus, I'm using some tricks that are not used by many in the hobby to make the scene "pop" and seem more real than most model scenes. We'll start with some important philosophical points first, and then move into specific techniques with this clinic.


NEXT TOPIC: Philosophical point 1 - Proper scenery COLOR

"You may fire when ready, Gridley"

Scenery (mountains, grass, trees, etc) has always been my Achilles Heel.

I got a 9"x10" micro-layout that needs grass, rocks, trees,etc. the perfect testbed, and will be eagerly reading along...

Look at real life, never look at model railroads for overall scenery. Don't model models. Take the techniques that others present and see how they would apply to real life. I even sit there watching commercials on TV with scenery for ideas.

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/albums/105/

Just a thought
Harold

with the exception of the rolling stock and the semiphores your scene looks like anywhere here in the northeast. when i am driving around and i see a scene that i would like to model i try to imagine what it would look like with rails instead of blacktop. since i'm at the scenery stage i'll be watching here for some tips.

Joe,

Do you plan your scenery around your track or your track around your scenery? Or do you kinda have them both in mind when you start to plan?

Space Mouse:

I have the rough scenery in mind when I am designing the layout. Since I model the prototype for the most part, I already have some general idea what is where on the prototype, which makes it easier than a pure freelance would be.

But it's an interative process. In other words, I design the track plan, then go through the track plan and mark in scenery elements (rivers, mountains, cuts, fills, roads, towns, and so on). As I mark in the scenery elements, then I may alter the track plan to accommodate the scenic elements.

Depending on how much I change something on the track plan, things may ripple around the track plan as still more adjustments.

After I'm finished making adjustments to the track plan then I take another pass at scenery elements, which may result in more adjustments to the plan, or adjustments to the scenery elements, and so on.

One biggie with track planning is to not put any two tracks of different elevations very close together without allowing room for intervening ground slope. If the tracks are too close together, the only resort is a retaining wall of some sort, and the prototype did not do this sort of thing real often, depending on the prototype you may be modeling or basing a freelance upon.

QUOTE: Originally posted by retsignalmtr with the exception of the rolling stock and the semiphores your scene looks like anywhere here in the northeast...

Yes, you're right. That's why I believe the techniques I'm going to share have fairly broad appeal outside of just modeling southern Oregon. Oregon has more conifers than the east, but otherwise the terrain and vegetation looks similar in many places.

However, I'll be discussing how to model areas that have more vegetation, so the techniques won't be as applicable to modeling the drier areas of the west (For that, the Desert scenery article in the latest MR ought to help).

I'll be talking about how to model more well-watered regions.

QUOTE: Originally posted by hminky Look at real life, never look at model railroads for overall scenery. Don't model models. Take the techniques that others present and see how they would apply to real life. I even sit there watching commercials on TV with scenery for ideas. http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/albums/105/ Just a thought Harold

I was at Walmart tonight and I saw a magazine I had never seen before and I picked it up and it opened to a page and there were those very pictures that you point to in this post.

Good Job.

QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse QUOTE: Originally posted by hminky Look at real life, never look at model railroads for overall scenery. Don't model models. Take the techniques that others present and see how they would apply to real life. I even sit there watching commercials on TV with scenery for ideas. http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/albums/105/ Just a thought Harold I was at Walmart tonight and I saw a magazine I had never seen before and I picked it up and it opened to a page and there were those very pictures that you point to in this post. Good Job.

That is a very good suggestion. If you can,take a lot of pictures
of the area you want to model ,and compare them to what you are doing.

Joe I have visited your site manytimes for inspiration, advice and just to admire your work, the willingness of experts like yourself to share your knowledge and help the learners amongst us to improve is one of the reasons I think this hobby and the people involved are so great.
Many thanks to you and those like you for all you do for our hobby.

Be safe and have fun,
Karl.

TOPIC THIS POST: Philosophical point 1 - Proper scenery COLOR

A rather obvious key to realistic scenery is getting the proper color of the scenic elements.

For this, you need to do some careful observation. Grass is not always green, rocks are not always gray, dirt is not always brown, and water is not always blue.

Photographs of the region you are modeling can be a great help here. Take a close look at the kinds of scenic elements (rocks, trees, bushes, grass) and their color.

For example, conifer trees generally exhibit a much darker green vegetation color, so to make sure they stand out properly on the model, they should be several shades darker green than deciduous trees.

One common mistake on model scenery is to make the colors too intense. Muted colors, and subtle color variations go a long ways torward making your scenery look more realistic. Ironically, the best thing that can happen to some model scenery is a year's layer of dust! The dust will blend and subdue the colors, actually making the scenery look better!

One clever way to check the coloration on your scenery is to take some black and white photos of your scenery and also some color photos of your scenery. Then show the photos to your non-modeling friends and ask them which photos look more like the real thing to them.

If they pick the black and white photos, that's a strong clue your coloration may be off.

NEXT TOPIC: Philosophical point 2 - Proper scenery TEXTURE

Hi Joe,

As a newbie with a "clean" newlfy constructed 4x8 bench and having just purchased my first HO engine, (C&O GP9), I am especially interested in any enlightenment that you will be shedding.

Thanks
Bob

Joe,

I have just browsed your site and examined mine more closely. Color is indeed a big key. I have realized that I seem to have way too much brown and green on my layout. Not enough color variation. I am sure I wll be referencing your site often during the construction of my new layout. Some of your scenery is more "real" looking than real scenery!!!

Thanks for the great tips and I am looking forward to more.

A few more comments on proper color ...

When we get into discussing the how-to side of doing model scenery, you will notice I use techniques that introduce subtle color variations into the scenery.

For example, indoor lighting is far dimmer than outdoor sunlight, so I use coloring tricks to make the indoor lighting look more like sunlight. When I do a decidous tree, once it is all done, I take a can of pale yellow spray paint and lightly mist the tree from above. This causes the parts of the tree that face UP to have a hint of yellow green as compared to a darker green on the parts of the tree that face DOWN.

This trick simulates sunlight and makes the model tree that's under dim indoor lighting look a lot more like it's outside under sunlight. It's subtle tricks like this that really make your scenery "pop" and look real.

TOPIC THIS POST: Philosophical point 2 - Proper scenery TEXTURE

Proper scenery texture is a concept that's not as obvious as proper scenery color -- yet if you get this concept down, you will understand where you can cut corners with your scenery detail and your scenery will look more real than ever.

Again, make careful observation of the area you are modeling, this time for the textures that are common. Photos can be a big help here since you can study them at your leisure.

Many modelers overlook proper texture and as a result you can look at a photograph of their layout scenery and it instantly screams "MODEL!"

The transition in the 1970s from lichen to ground foam was a big step in the right direction with regard to texture, because the lumpy TEXTURE of ground foam is more like leaves than the filament texture of lichen.

However, many modelers get one grind of ground foam and use it everywhere for everything ... grass, bushes, deciduous trees, conifer trees, dirt. If you pay attention to texture, of course this results in the wrong texture for some of these things. And some things, like grass, have a texture more akin to filaments rather than lumps, which means NO KIND OF GROUND FOAM will do for the texture of grass. Only a very short trimmed and manicured lawn can be simulated with ground foam, all other kinds of grass need to use something else if you want the proper texture.

The other thing with texture is to understand that you can take shortcuts in your scenery, especially in the back half of a scene toward the backdrop. As things recede into the distance, texture fades away and mostly color applies. You can use very simple low-texture methods in the back of your scene and as long as the color is good, the scene will look great.

We can see a practical example of understanding texture by looking at modeling a deciduous tree versus a conifer. Deciduous trees tend to have broad, flat leaves, while conifers tend to have small, pointy needles. In terms of texture and modeling at the typical modeling scales of O, HO, and N scale, this means we use coarse ground foam for representing deciduous tree foliage, but use fine ground foam to represent conifer tree foliage.

As we get into the specifics of how to model various things in your scenery, keep in mind these two guiding philosophies of color and texture. If you can get your arms around these two concepts, your model scenery will imediately improve, and you'll be on the road to getting a layout that looks more realistic than ever.

NEXT TOPIC: Back to the beginning - Building terrain (Or, Filling the holes in the benchwork)