In all seriousness, if you haven't done any of that stuff over the past 37 years, why start now? If I were you, I wouldn't even bother.
Rich
Alton Junction
Scenery means diddly squat if your trains derail every few feet. Get your layout up to 100% derailment free operation then start adding your scenery.
The results will be a derailment free layout with nice looking scenery.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
In spite of the best "professional" advice to get your track down, wired, and tinkered with so operation is bulletproof first before even thinking of doing any scenery, I myself found it motivating to at least commence a couple of signature scenes that I was hoping would look nice, even as the track was still being laid elsewhere and before even basic experimental wiring had been installed. This included not only regular scenery creation but also my first efforts at bridge scratchbuilding, using static grass, and pouring (and sealing!) Magic Water.
What I would say is that it gave me enough of a rewarding foretaste of what the future might hold to give me the willpower to keep on with the boring parts.
Dave Nelson
I have only very little space available for a layout - in fact, not more than 3 by 5ft. for an HO scale narrow gauge layout. Naturally, one can´t expect a lot of operation on a layout that small. Basically, it´s just on oval of track with a stub-end siding.
End of last year, I finished laying the track and the basic wiring was done, so I could run a train over the layout.
Nothing thrilling at all! The begiining of this year saw the start on scenery, which, at the end of January, looked like this:
Still not at all thrilling, the lack of scenery really made this layout into a dull thing anyone would lose interest in after a couple of minutes.
Fast forward - in those 6 months since the above picture, the layout has undergone quite a transformation!
It´s still the same old, rather boring "operation" but I do enjoy watching the train run through the scenery, making the layout a lttle more "thrilling"
The layout is far from being complete - a lot of details are still to be added, the biggest addition being the catenary.
I really enjoy this layout, despite its limitations in terms of operation. Scenery, at least to me, is equally important than operation, which by itself, would not sustain my interest much more without anything "nice" to look at.
Stu,
I have a rather larger area for my layouts, so was blessed with enough space to both work on track and do scenery without getting in the way of each other. Sounds like you won't have that working in your favor. But my most recent expansion built on techniques I learned on the first part of the layout, most importantly how to build lightweight liftouts from extruded (pink or blue) foam, shaped and overcoated with Sculptamold.
What I did with my Cascade Extension was to build the benchwork, based on L-girder/cookie cutter but adapted to my needs, then build most of the scenery on it as a series of liftouts. http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/219241.aspx?page=1
I didn't have much funding for the track I needed at first, but I was able to lay a main for a nice long run and a terminal at the end, so it was operational and had roughed in scenery fast. When the Purchasing Dept could do so, additional track was procured, the sections removed where it could help with tracklaying and wiring, and then they were reinstalled. As things were finished up with track,the scenery got more detail once it was staying in place, more or less.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Only one time did I get to the scenery stage - and that didn't get beyond a little plaster hillside. Otherwise I have never finished the track laying and wiring stage. For many reasons, the layout gets torn down before scenery. But to be honest, I'm mostly interested in running trains so I strive to do all the benchwork, tracklaying, and wiring before any scenery.
Paul
dominic c I would get the trackwork done first. Here's the thing, and it happens to me. If you try for perfection with the trackwork, you might find yourself never finishing it. And if you have a lot of engines that even compounds the time. I love doing scenery! But if you do that first, it might get in the way of doing trackwork. One thing I would do before anything, is to get the room looking the way you want it. That would include the backdrop before the benchwork. Joe C
I would get the trackwork done first. Here's the thing, and it happens to me. If you try for perfection with the trackwork, you might find yourself never finishing it. And if you have a lot of engines that even compounds the time. I love doing scenery! But if you do that first, it might get in the way of doing trackwork. One thing I would do before anything, is to get the room looking the way you want it. That would include the backdrop before the benchwork.
Joe C
Hmm. I agree. Since the benchwork and most of the roadbed is in, I guess it's time to learn to paint around corners. Still, thanks Joe!
Stu
Streamlined steam, oh, what a dream!!
Okay, I admit it, I suck.
I've been in this hobby for 37 years. I've done HO, N, even a bit of Fn3. I've ripped both steamers and diesels to shreds and reassembled them, mostly successfully. I've torn the same 4' by 6.5' sheet of plywood down a dozen times and rebuilt it as a new 'layout'. I've been to train shows, i've rail fanned, i've been in model railroad clubs.
Yet, I've never done a lick of scenery. I've never built a layout building, carved a plaster rock, or even planted a ruddy little model tree. I have never taken a layout past the lumber/track/wires stage. I am a complete neophyte when it comes to un-uglying a scene.
So my question is this: now that I have the time, resources, and interest to take a layout past its hideous early stages, what comes first? Do I get my operations nailed down perfectly? Do I dabble with the scenery beforehand? Do I get a backdrop in place to make the Growlery look less like the back aisle at Home Depot?
I realize this is a 'do whatever you want' question. I'm curious how other more experienced modellers have proceeded. Thank you all for your guidance!