4 Tips for Building Realistic Looking Mountains for Your Model Railroad
The emphasis on natural scenic landscapes in any model railroad is quite apparent. Even if you have the Best Model Train Set, a layout without beautiful landscapes will hamper beautifying your project. What better way to make scenery beautiful than by adding mountains? After all, everybody loves the mesmerizing beauty of hilly terrains. Now, as a model railroader, you might find the task of creating mountains quite tiresome.
Even if you have the Model train building kits, you might find that constructing model railway hills takes a lot of time. But by following a certain number of steps, you might be able to finish the job competently and quickly. In this blog, you will find a comprehensive guide to creating beautiful mountains in your model railroad layout.
Tips to Follow to Achieve Authentic Looking Mountains for Your Model Railroad
The steps mentioned in the following part of the blog will require you to buy high-quality Model train building kits. These steps are not that difficult to follow.
Creating the Scenery
Before starting your work on constructing the model hills, begin observing the reality. By following the reality, we mean, start looking at pictures of different hill ranges to gauge their intricate details. It would be better for you if you could observe them in real life. After watching them, start sketching their basic structure. We are asking you to perform this because you need to understand the difference between the sizes of the mountains and the Trains sets.
Moreover, it would be best to make the hills proportional to the entire layout, including the station and the surroundings. Most model railroads make the mistake of creating mountains that are proportionately larger or smaller than the whole layout.
Creating the Mountains
Having the Model train building kits is not enough for creating realistic-looking mountains. You will have to put in a lot of effort to achieve your desired result. First, you need to form different shapes of the hills by using Styrofoam or N or Z gauge. But creating only the mountainous rocks is not enough; you need to create a wooden base. In any model Train store, you will find items that will help you create vertical bars or frameworks for developing the bottom of the mountains. Usually, most people use Styrofoam for this purpose as well.
After creating the massive rocks for the hills or mountains and laying out the base, you need to add texture to your mountain ranges. One of the easiest ways to give an instant texture to the hills is by adding plaster cloth. Any reasonable model Train store sells plaster cloth. But before laying on the plaster cloth, remember to apply it with PVA glue. Any other glue might hamper your entire process by making the mountains too soggy.
After constructing your mountains successfully, do not forget to dry them for 48 hours. If you do not allow the hills to dry, your entire model railroad layout might get destroyed.
Adding Scenic Vegetations
Now, creating the mountains is not enough for making your model railroad look authentic. It would be best if you made them beautiful by adding vegetation. You can either create the vegetations by using any Model Train Store or do it by using the materials available at your home. Most importantly, you need to add static or scattered grass to make the hills look beautiful and authentic.
If you visit an excellent Hobby Train Store, you will find a static grass applicator. These applicators allow you to color the mountains pretty easily. One of the most straightforward tips for achieving the perfect green in your hills is by painting the surface yellow. Then by adding green slowly into the mixture, you will gain the realistic-looking green.
You can add different elements from any model Train store for giving some authentic visuals around the hills. An easy way to make your mountains more lively is by making the background sky grey or light blue. Many people make the sky extremely lively and thereby fail to create beautiful mountainous scenery for their layouts.
Adding Shrubs and Trees
After constructing the mountains for your Trains sets successfully, you need to add some foliage for completing the look. Now, many people prefer to add lower-level plants for quickening the process, but you can add taller plants too. But always remember, never make the plants or trees too big. If you make them disproportionally massive, the entire illusion of your model railroad will be shattered.
You can use fibers to make the foliage look realistic. Any reasonable model railroad store will sell you Model train building kits with natural-looking trees. Most people do not spend their time creating more giant trees to complete their sceneries.
Hills or mountains are fantastic in making your model railroad look realistic. Even if you have the Best Model Train Set, your model railroad might not look believable without beautiful sceneries. By adding hills or mountains, you will change the appearance of your model railroad quite instantly.