How to - Origami

Well, it’s not exclusively about the tiny engines, you know? It’s also about imagining that landscape that our trains run in—the histories behind the engines. The social time, the topographical scenery, the weathering and coloring are all just as complex and involving as the trains for most of us model trainers.  In addition the joy of coloring, detailing and constructing these landscape features takes in a whole new dimension to our model training hobby.  Try these ideas:

Fit your trains to your landscape:

We model train enthusiasts are usually fairly good readers and there is nothing more irritating to us than noticing a 1950’s era American car on the cobblestone streets of European city by a typical 19^th century whistle stop.  This sort of a hodge-podge set up where the features are picked in a apparently random way can really undo our suspension of disbelief. There are countless possibilities for you to choose from when it comes to landscape and scenery.  So if you are going to realize an authentic European feel to your tiny model train city then choose villas and flora and fauna that match this motif.

Begin by placing the larger buildings and planning out the roads:  

It’s great to have paths that vein your topography. Then you can determine the tiny landscape features, people and cars and trucks.

Consider including nature into you metropolitan border:

Metropolitan areas are not just sidewalks and buildings, they have trees and parks and stray dogs and cats as well.  You might try to consider having some kind of a river leading into your city.  Some of the best designs I’ve seen include a central lake area in a city with a tributary that runs out and under the oval train tracks. This gives you the most variety of accessories and track plans.

Don’t forget to include the little details that draw out the realism of a townscape:

One of the major aspects that really make a town plan come alive are little details like stop signs, sidewalks, pot holes, cracks and other forms of weathering.  This all has to do with the kind of village you are creating but there are always chances for introducing higher levels of realism to your design.  The more effort you use on these small details the stronger the magic of your fiction will be.

This is a great aspect of the model training world that you can involve the whole household in. Lots of grown ups still have the childhood joy of pigmenting and shading.  There is a great pleasure in linking pieces together and adding little weathering details to high rises and sidewalks. Now’s the opportunity to get that wanna be cartoonist in the family included with your cherished hobby.  There is also the added benefit that younger members of the family might accidentally learn a tiny bit of history. This is a rewarding way of creating lasting family recollections and customs.

Here is more information on Model Train Track. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.

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