Scenic Tips & Tricks

Notice the small piece of Popsicle Stick in the center right of the photo below. Before I inserted that piece of Popsicle Stick, a diesel engine was ever so slightly grazing the red bridge as it passed by.

Now, after wedging the stick between the rail and the bridge, the diesel has just enough clearance so it no longer touches the bridge.

Like the other threads you have initiated Arnold, this will be very educational.

Moonlight or sunlight, and smoke can be a great combination for dramatic scenic videos:

Arnold

Forced perspective is another scenic tip/trick. It enables us to have HO structures in the background and O Scale ones in the foreground, as shown by this photo showing the O scale Woodland Scenics Morrison's Doors Factory and the smaller red HO theater behind it and to the left:

Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Moonlight or sunlight, and smoke can be a great combination for dramatic scenic videos:

Arnold

That is a great effect, but it looks peculiar to see an 0-6- pulling a consist of streamlined passenger cars.  

@Forty Rod posted:

That is a great effect, but it looks peculiar to see an 0-6- pulling a consist of streamlined passenger cars.  

I guess I need to run heavy weight Madison cars with the B6 steam switcher.

Scenery materials can be used to keep structures from appearing like they are sitting unnaturally on top of the train table. Here, I think I used Woodland Scenics Iron Ore Fine Ballast (love the reddish brown color) so the red theater blends in nicely with the green ground cover:

For water scenic effects, consider Mod Podge.

Part of my layout is only a couple of feet from the furnace, so I didn't want to use a product that is highly flammable or gives off fumes th as t could be dangerous.  Mod Pidge was a good choice for me. Here, I simply brushed several layers of Mod Podge over blue paper that I painted blue gray color (kind of like slate):

Here, I again used layers of Mod Podge over plywood, which I also painted a slate (blue gray) color for the meandering stream running through my layout:

IMO, the Mod Podge creates a very nice glistening effect to simulate water.

Arnold, what is Mod Podge? It looks very good but I’ve never heard that  term.

Some times used as a puzzle glue, also.

Art supply stores have similar matte medium and gloss medium. It looks milky, but dries clear.

@Arnold D. Cribari Great topic.  I'm enjoying these tips immensely.

I've read about and seen videos using different methods and products for creating water effects.  Some have mentioned that over time the "water" yellows or turns cloudy.  For those of you who've used Mod Podge, how long has it been on your layout and have you noticed any of this kind of discoloration over time?

Thank you for the photos of the Mod Podge. Does it have a smell upon application?

I’ve seen a lot of different chemicals used to reduce the surface tension when fixing scenery or ballast. I’ve always used windex. It’s cheap, non toxic and comes with an applicator.  Just spray the area from a few inches away.  When used on ballast you even end up with clean track.

For gluing ballast, I use a 3 to 1 mix (water to white glue) shaken well, then add a few drops of dishwashing detergent to break surface tension.

I use small, plastic hairdressing bottles with an angled nozzle at the top which makes for a very easy and precise application over the ballast. The bottles are available on the big A and at local drug stores for a few bucks.

@SteveH posted:

@Arnold D. Cribari Great topic.  I'm enjoying these tips immensely.

I've read about and seen videos using different methods and products for creating water effects.  Some have mentioned that over time the "water" yellows or turns cloudy.  For those of you who've used Mod Podge, how long has it been on your layout and have you noticed any of this kind of discoloration over time?

No discoloration of the dried Mod Podge that I applied to the layout over 2 years ago.

I used several coats if it, but my feeling after using it is that the more coats the better.

There may be more advanced water effect techniques but I'm very happy with the Mod Podge.

Another thing: I made several stabs at creating the water, mainly because I wanted to get the color of the water to my liking. My preference, as mentioned above, was for the water to have a slate, blue gray color, with a little green added along the edges of the body of water where it would be shallower.

Too much blue was not to my liking. I believe shades of brown might work.

I believe the color of water comes from the reflection of the color of the sky in real life.

The color of the water on a layout is a very subjective thing, IMO.

The color of my water in my layout came from acrylic paints. The Mod Podge goes on milky and dried clear with no color, which is good, IMO.

Arnold

@Tranquil Hollow RR posted:

Thank you for the photos of the Mod Podge. Does it have a smell upon application?

I think it smells good. I liked the smell, which is one main reason it was so pleasant to work with.

I found out about Mod Pidge on this Forum. It was very important to me that it was safe to work with a few feet from my oil burner and furnace in my basement.

@Terry Luft posted:

I’ve seen a lot of different chemicals used to reduce the surface tension when fixing scenery or ballast. I’ve always used windex. It’s cheap, non toxic and comes with an applicator.  Just spray the area from a few inches away.  When used on ballast you even end up with clean track.

Excellent tip, thanks.

@Richie C. posted:

For gluing ballast, I use a 3 to 1 mix (water to white glue) shaken well, then add a few drops of dishwashing detergent to break surface tension.

I use small, plastic hairdressing bottles with an angled nozzle at the top which makes for a very easy and precise application over the ballast. The bottles are available on the big A and at local drug stores for a few bucks.

The hairdressing bottles is a great tip, especially if the water/white glue mixture won't get clogged in them, which often happened when I used the typical spray bottles.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

No discoloration of the dried Mod Podge that I applied to the layout over 2 years ago.

Thank you for sharing your experience and tips for working with Mod Podge.  I look forward to trying it.

Your welcome, Steve.

The more advance scenic technique in making a body of water on a layout, which I did not do, is to have the bottom of the body of water lower than the top of a train table. Since I did not do that, it would be great if a scenery expert would chime in and explain how to do that. Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Here, I again used layers of Mod Podge over plywood, which I also painted a slate (blue gray) color for the meandering stream running through my layout:

IMO, the Mod Podge creates a very nice glistening effect to simulate water.

What's interesting to me now as I look at the above photos is that the body of water in the photos looks lower than the table top  because the track is a little elevated. It's elevated because I used cork roadbed.

I was not mindful of this when I made the body of water with acrylic paints and Mod Podge. Arnold

One more thing: the major reason I know something about  scenery is that after subscribing to OGR Magazine for 3 decades, I've read thousands of scenery tips and tricks in the magazines, saved every magazine, and periodically thumb through them.

I find it to be very pleasant bed time reading.

I bet the moderators are going to like this post. LOL, Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Your welcome, Steve.

The more advance scenic technique in making a body of water on a layout, which I did not do, is to have the bottom of the body of water lower than the top of a train table. Since I did not do that, it would be great if a scenery expert would chime in and explain how to do that. Arnold

Well, I'm certainly no scenery expert, but my current plan includes a drop bottom access hatch (accessible from underneath) to reach the middle of the layout that is unreachable from the perimeter.  The sides of the cut-out for the hatch will be the angled banks of a more or less round pond.  The top of the hatch door that closes flush to the bottom of the bench will have a "water" treatment.  Where the stream enters and exits the pond, there will be cutouts from the 3/4" foam board atop that part of the layout.  As far as how to make the scenery aspect of it look realistic, I'll leave that to the experts to talk about.

Let's say you use lock-ons and tubular track like me.

And, let's also say some of the wires attached to the lock-ons are white or light in color, and are exposed.

The tip I offer, to make those wires look better and have them blend in better with the scenery, is to consider painting them brown, and put a bit of green scenery material (like lichen) on top.

I find the brown colored wires do not stick out like a sore thumb, and look like roots or branches.

Will post some photos later to demonstrate the above. Arnold

Here are a few photos:

In the last above photo, one needs to look very closely to even see the brown painted wires. Before I painted them with a  few dabs of acrylic paint, they were white and IMO looked bad. When brown in color, they are hardly visible and IMO enhance the scenery by looking like the branches of a green shrub or bush.

My scenery IMO is not the best, but pretty good and I find it very enjoyable to improve it over time. Arnold