I agree. On the right layout, I feel they add a nice level of whimsy and playfulness. That was my mindset, here, with their use on this layout.
And I esp. agree with Mike about the beautiful winter-work by Suzukovich, that his winter scenes remind a person of when we were young and didn't care about how much snow fell, except that in my case, living in Pittsburgh area, we were always happy with snow piling up as much as it could (even though it didn't stay white for long).I remember, one time, during the 50's, it accumulated up to 34". We kids were able to make tunnels to crawl through to each others yards (n Duquesne Place, PA.)
FrankM.
Frank, Mike, Randy, Jim, Woodson , Lee, Adriatic. Thanks for the comments and others for the likes, believe me I have nothing compared to what you guys have but you are also my inspiration especially frank.
Randy I actually thought about making them myself. There is a guy on YouTube who makes gaming scenery how to videos. I saw his video on making trees and was surprised how easy it was. Still plan to make some of my own.
Jim thank you for the complement. The layout has evolved over the years, Its finally almost where I would like it to be. The problem is there is not anymore room for expansion or for me to everything I want to do. That's the biggest reason for a new layout in my garage. Also there is a lot of technics that I want to use to create a more realistic look. Current layout location limits that ability.
Frank I didn't know you had a winter portion on your layout. As usual more stories and little reminders of growing up in Chicago in the winter. Of course now that I have seen the white birch trees, I needed to order some as I think it would complete the look I am after.
I remember those care free days too. For me the more snow, The more sidewalks I shoveled to make extra money and yes we dug tunnels too, snow ball fights, sledding, Football/Soccer, hockey and yes even baseball. Our favorite was skitching( grabbing onto a bumper of a car or CTA Bus. kind of like skiing without the skis). Of course when I got older and had to work in it or plow my driveway it became a different story.
Someone asked me why winter theme. I spent almost 25yrs in the Army. From 1987 through 2009 I was either deployed or in the field training. Most of my career was spent stationed in Germany(92-94 and97-09). My last 7 years I lived on the edge of the Black Forest. For me there was just real beauty in my area when there was fresh fallen snow. When it was snowing, everything would be quiet and peaceful. How fresh snow would change a war torn landscape into a thing of beauty. It wasn't unusual for me to jump in my truck and park by the farm feilds above my house and just sit there and enjoy the quiet ( when I wasn't deployed). For me it was my escape from reality and for a short while just forget where I was at. So I guess with the layout I'm doing the same thing.