FORUM CLINIC: Building realistic scenery

[jfugate]

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

[vsmith]

"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...

[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

[retsignalmtr]

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.

[SpaceMouse]

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?

[jfugate]

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.

[jfugate]

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.

[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.

[locomutt]

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.

[ukguy]

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.

[jfugate]

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

[rbjordan]

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

[Anonymous]

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.

[jfugate]

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.

[jfugate]

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)

[Anonymous]

Joe

Have you done a mini clinic on backdrops yet? If so can you post a link to it please? I'd like to know more about placing vanishing points and blending the backdrop into the scenery (or is it the other way around?).

[jfugate]

Gary:

I haven't put together anything in great detail (yet) about how I do backdrops, but will probably do so eventually. I do discuss some details here at this link:

http://mymemoirs.net/model-trains/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=58

I'll also be discussing backdrops as part of this clinic, because they're a part of the scenery. However, I'll assume you aleady have a backdrop in place and that it's painted a light solid blue color. This series *will* take it from there and discuss how to finish off your backdrop and blend it in with your scenery.

The link above amounts to a preview of some of that material, but I'll expand on this info more in this forum clinic as well.

[sparkingbolt]

Hey, Joe.

I grew up in Coos Bay, with 3 years in Myrtle Point before that. Now I'm in Bend. We've made our share of trips to Roseburg and Medford. I must say your pictures take me back over the mountains with a touch of nostalgia even. The green trees and yellow dry grass are dead on for the heat of the summer. I think I can hear the grasshoppers and crickets, and the Rogue in the distance!

I'm loosly modeling Coos Bay, in the summer. Those techniques will apply.

You wouldn't know where there's a picture or 3 of the S.P freight station in Coos Bay before they tore it down?[V]
Great tutorial. Dan

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by sparkingbolt

Hey, Joe.

I grew up in Coos Bay, with 3 years in Myrtle Point before that. Now I'm in Bend. We've made our share of trips to Roseburg and Medford. I must say your pictures take me back over the mountains with a touch of nostalgia even. The green trees and yellow dry grass are dead on for the heat of the summer. I think I can hear the grasshoppers and crickets, and the Rogue in the distance!

You wouldn't know where there's a picture or 3 of the S.P freight station in Coos Bay before they tore it down?[V]
Great tutorial. Dan

Dan:

I think I may have a couple of photos somewhere of the freight station (negatives only) ... I'll check around.

As to the look of my scenery, I'm modeling July as to the look of things -- right when summer gets into full swing. The yellow grass and the contrasting green of the vegetation is the look I am aiming for. Glad you feel I've captured it faithfully. That's the idea.

Although I'm specifically modeling western Oregon in July, most of the techniques I'm going to share can be used to model any area with some vegetation. Those who are modeling the more arid parts of the west will find some of this won't apply, and some will.

[cwclark]

I would like to add my two cents worth on modeling "trees' for scenery...like most different parts of the country, there are different varieties of vegitation as stated above...I like natural trees instead of the plastic tree armature types sold in kits...I use natural vegetation...most of my trees are made by using the blooms of the crype myrtle tree and purple sage brush because these two plants have a very complex branch structure...first, I cut them from the tree, pick away any left over berries, and leaves, and let them dry a few days..then I paint the branches in various shades of brown colors to seal them and preserve them, I then use light and dark green Woodland Scenics "foilage" and hot glue the clusters to the branches being careful so that the glue bead is hidden in the branches and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb...once i've completed building a few dozen or so, i'll awl a hole in the layout and plant them with a drop of white glue at the base of the trunk...it's pretty easy and i can build about 10-15 trees in an hour using this technique....here is a picture of the three stages of scenery on my layout..this is the making of a prototype scene in Flatonia, Texas http://community.webshots.com/photo/137793353/192007432hwlpLA Chuck

[Anonymous]

Here's a link on the backdrop subject-

http://info.detnews.com/hotbox/hotboxstory/details.cfm?id=222

It may offer some help.

Doug

[jfugate]

I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of using natural materials for scenery and that works especially well for deciduous trees. However, that's harder to do for conifer trees and grass, since nature doesn't seem to do those structures in miniature with anything.

But we're going to get into all this as we progress through the techniques I'm going to discuss.

Great tips, and other links by the way!

[cwclark]

I do understand that Joe...I guess i'm lucky but i'm modeling a part of the SP in mainly the western and central part of Texas and there aren't many conifer type trees in that area...Oak trees are the main staple here and the crepte myrtle makes one of the most convincing versions of an oak tree i've ever seen...i'm still going to stick to this clinic to hear you out because i like to learn something new every day...The more i think about it, i am going to model a section of Houston and there are a few conifer trees in this part of Texas..mainly some pine trees..I do have a set of those trees that some pass for pine, but in reality, they are basically nylon bottle brush filaments woven through wire tightly twisted and painted green...there has to be a better way.......Chuck ;)

[jfugate]

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

First, the disclaimer:
This series is not intended to be an extensive survey of different ways to build model scenery, but is how I build scenery for the Siskiyou Line. I've been building model railroad scenery for nearly 40 years, and I've tried lots of different methods. The methods I'm going to cover work for me because I've found them to be both easy and fast, yet produce "great" looking scenery. These are not necessarily the best methods for everyone, but they work for me!

Okay, on to forming rough terrain.

I prefer to use cardboard strips and hot glue to form a basketweave of the terrain I'm building. (I am not a big fan of foam board for my scenery base -- I don't like the problem of holes for wiring, etc, and I am leery of the flamable nature of foam -- again, this is my opinion, and yours may differ, which is fine.)

I cut 3/4" wide strips from old corrugated cardboard boxes, and hot glue them to the layout in a crosshatch, basketweave sort of pattern, with 4-6" between strips.

The hot glue makes the work go fast, and I use sprung clothes pins to clamp the hot glued overlap joints between the strips so I can keep moving. You'll need 20 or 30 clothes pins to keep this process going. Once you run out of clothes pins, the hot glue on the first of the clothes pins will be cool enough you can remove the pins and reuse them.

Hot glue can give you some nasty burns if you are not careful, so I like to use a rubber dishwashing glove on one hand (I'm left handed, so I wear the glove on my left hand) to protect me from the hot glue.

Once I have the basketweave terrain with the cardboard strips done, I put 2" wide masking tape over the cardboard strips. This provides a solid scenery base upon which to paint the plaster mix (discussed in the next post).

The masking tape application goes fast, and you can immediately get an idea how your scenery is going to look from it. Now is the time to alter things if you don't like how they look. The farther along you go in the process, the harder it gets to change your mind.

That's the other thing I really like about this method of building scenery. It's easy for me to change my mind after I see how things look. In the best case, I can just cut and twist here and there, maybe using a bit more carboard and masking tape, to alter a terrain contour.

Or the worst case is I have to rip out some cardboard strips and masking tape, and try again. In either case, alterations are easy to do at this stage. (Try that with foam board.)

In a pinch, you can also paint this masking tape scenery with some light brown latex paint and have some quick stand-in scenery until such time as you have a chance to do the "plastering" step.

NEXT TOPIC: Applying the scenery "plaster" mixture

[cwclark]

the plastering step is messy...use a drop cloth so the miss'us doesn't tongue lash you too badly...I start with newspaper cut into 2" strips, dip them in a plaster of paris / water mixture and lay them across the shell until the entire cardboard skeleton frame is covered...once that is done, i'll use styrofoam cut into rock formations or pre-made plaster rocks made in rock molds and place them in random patterns against the newspaper / plaster shell and fill them into the mountain side shell with more plaster...i'll then paint the entire mountain in a flat latex white...after it dries i'll take a 50% water / 50% india ink solution in a fine mist spray bottle and spray the mountian in all recesses and depressions (or where ever there are shadows cast by the lighting)...staining the mountain colors in is next...Joe can take it from here unless he has a favorite way... Chuck

[Anonymous]

Am enjoying this clinic as I did the last one and Joe's DVDs. Getting lots of good info. Hope it doen't die.

J

[jfugate]

No desire to let this topic die ... I'm hoping to post to it roughly once a day with each new how-to posting.

Hope people find this info useful. [:)]

[jfugate]

TOPIC THIS POST: Applying the scenery "plaster" mixture

The plaster step can be messy, which is why I like covering the cardboard strips with 2" masking tape. The tape application goes fast, and makes the plastering step really easy because you can literally "paint on" the plaster over the masking tape. There's no holes in the "pre-scenery" for drips to fall through!

In preparation for the plastering step, you also want to get some 1.5" masking tape (HO) and put it down over the track to protect it from plaster splaters. I don't ballast my track until after the plastering step is done, but it's still nice to keep the plaster mess off the track.

I use a special mix of patching plaster, portland cement, and vermiculite (powdered mica mineral). I like this mix because it's lightweight, has a natural gray color (as opposed to a bright white color) and it's kind of "rubbery" and a bit "fluffy", making it fairly easy to poke holes into with an awl. I like to use the awl for planting trees, because it's quicker than drilling holes, and it doesn't leave little plaster dust hills around the hole (more on tree planting later).

The mix also has a bit of a grain, which makes it nice for getting a "gritty rock" look if you're hand carving rock faces. I find the slight grit makes it easier to get convincing hand carved rocks in a pinch without using rock molds. More on this in a moment.

Here's the formula:
1 part portland cement
3 parts patching plaster
4 parts vemiculite (fine)

Make sure and use a fine gind of vermiculite (looks like coarse sand) or your scenery will be full of lumps and look more like "popcorn ceiling texture". Here's an internet link to fine vermiculite: http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/us/en/product/m11988/1

Mix this to a consisency of thick cake batter and then paint it on. You should have a working time of about 20 minutes.

I prefer to use two coats. I paint one coat on mostly to cover the tape and to establish a solid base to work from. Usually the first coat has a lot of imperfections and unnatural brush marks, etc. I'm mainly trying to just cover the tape on the first coat (about 3/16" thick) so I don't worry much about how it looks.

After the first coat has set up (preferrably a couple of hours later) apply a second coat. The second coat varies from 1/8" to 1/4" thick and this coat I pay attention to how it looks, and I especially try to eliminate any unnatural brush strokes or globby inperfections in the first coat. I want the second coat to be fairly smooth and natural looking.

The second coat is where I do any rock work. I used to use lots of rock molds, but I only use them occassionally now. Western Oregon scenery doesn't need a lot of rock work, but when it does, I find I can hand carve something convincing just by mixing a slightly thicker batch and applying it over the undercoat, then globbing and shaping it with a common smooth kitchen butter knife. Make sure and allow for the thickness of the rock when you plan any rock cuts next to the track. Give yourself an extra half inch from the scenery base to your track clearance points to allow room for the rockwork and for any equipment to still have clearance to get past your nice rockwork.

This plaster mix does have one drawback you need to be aware of: it shrinks. Regular plaster doesn't shrink much, but this mix does, so it has a tendency to crack. But I so like the lightweight and soft properties of this mix, along with it's great natural color that I put up with the cracking. Just mix up a small thin batch and go fill the cracks. I find I get one crack about every two-three feet, I just patch them in a couple minutes and that's that.

Now that we've plastered the scenery, I like to work from the back to the front as to the final details. This means we start with the backdrop in the next installment of this clinic.

NEXT TOPIC: From blue painted board to sky backdrop

[simon1966]

Joe, I for one really appreciate you putting the time and the effort into this type of clinic. So far I have gained something new from each of the lessons that will be used in my future projects. Thanks for sharing your expertise.

[Anonymous]

And I will second that. I really appreciate your willingness to share your talents. I am learning a lot. Thanks, Joe.

John
Austin, Texas