Scene augmentation The little things on a layout tell the story/Bob Walker T
here is a gathering of O scale folks in the Chicago area affec- tionately known as the “March
Meet.” It is held every year the second weekend in March at a large suburban hotel and has become a really big event. In my humble estimation, it is attended by well over one hundred vendors and well over a thousand attendees. The meet restricts the sellers to “scale” only goods, with no tinplate or other scale’s merchandise permitted. With so few shops carrying an extensive amount of O scale materials, many attendees treat this gathering as their annual shopping spree for the year, and carry appropri- ate funding for same. (I’m sure I am not the only one there with an overstuffed billfold.) I and my friends joke with each other about who is going to get all the good On3 deals. Several years ago, we (Donna and I)
walked into that sea of tables and hu- manity, overloaded with goodies, with great anticipation. Suddenly, I felt a small hand fondling my wallet–it was Donna. “Fork over a little of that cash honey, I’m looking for a project.” Now, she’s done this in the past, and
the layout has always been better for it, so I parted with some green. We parted ways, each pursuing our own specific in- terests. “Meet you at Andy’s table at noon for lunch,” and off we went. I fig- ured she would buy some interesting figures, and interesting details to paint. As always, I was not to be disappointed.
The key to this “scenic augmenta-
Scratchbuilder’s Corner
I was not totally wrong, but the fig- ures she purchased were not human. She had found a pair of American ea- gles (in the proper scale no less), and was determined to create an aerie (nest of an eagle or other bird of prey, built in a high, unaccessible place). She spent an entire day painting those birds, then making the nest. She went out in the yard and scooped up some dead pine needles and split them into tiny shreds with a razor blade. The nest was formed by pressing her index finger into the pile of freshly hair- sprayed material in the palm of her hand, that formed the dished out pile. The pile was trimmed round with scis- sors. She then placed them in a tall tree near the end of the big Ophir tres- tle, about a foot from the edge of the layout.
Donna was unsatisfied with the 12″ tall trees I had installed there, so she made some really big ones (18″ and 21″) for her aerie. The eight really tall trees in the area bring the scene off better than those puny twelve inches trees would have. Sharp eyed guests marvel at them, and I call attention to those big birds to the less observant.
tion” idea, is to put it close to the edge of the layout. We want folks to notice all these fine details and marvel at the uncanny attention to detail. In my case, it’s a blatant attempt at misdirec- tion, from the stuff I screwed up. With all that foreground detail, it makes the whole layout appear more detailed than it actually is. It is not what is there, it is what the observer thinks is there.
Not all these foreground shenani- gans need to be top of the line “scratch- built models,” but just plain old scenery. I make great use of Woodland Scenics No. C1211 “Realistic Water,” making puddles and such around the layout. A word of caution here. Make sure you know where the liquid will go, and that it will stay where you want it. I have had some unintended conse- quences that were less than humorous at the time but laughable in hindsight. I have scraped more than one hard- ened puddle of drool off the fascia and floor, and even had to clean off a sec- tion of track where I was a little too ex- uberant with the stuff. Weeds are a good thing on the lay-
out. Even the big Class 1’s have weeds around. There are more weed making materials out there than you can imag- ine. All the good stuff sold by model railroad scenery suppliers only scratches the surface of what can be used to make weeds. Donna, like a lot
Many times it’s the details or a small scene that grabs a layout visitor’s attention. The eagle’s nest by Donna Walker (above) shows how a little ingenuity with some pine needles unveils a
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scene from nature. Meanwhile, the hobo scene (above right) tells a story of comradery and shared existence. The guitar, the small dog and the campfire are the important elements of the scene.
JANUARY 2014
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