How to reduce scenery cost?

[Greg Claytor]

This request is actualy for a slot car track, but every model railroad
I've ever seen has had beutiful scenery, so I thought this would be the
place to ask.

On a recent trip to my local hobby store I found some great looking
trees, buildings, junk heaps, lighting, etc. I was amazed at the cost of
this stuff!! $15.00 for a friggin' tree! And I wanted to build a forest.

Is anyone aware of any mail order houses that are reasonable, or does
anyone have tips for constructing an evergreen forrest i.e. pines,
redwoods, etc. Oak trees would be acceptable as well.

Last request, can anyone recommend a book on scenery construction?

Thanks in advance,

Greg Claytor
gr...@svpal.com

[Martin Gruebele]

In article <3h6gs9$7...@borg.svpal.org>, gr...@svpal.svpal.org (Greg

Claytor) wrote:
> On a recent trip to my local hobby store I found some great looking
> trees, buildings, junk heaps, lighting, etc. I was amazed at the cost of
> this stuff!! $15.00 for a friggin' tree! And I wanted to build a forest.
> Is anyone aware of any mail order houses that are reasonable, or does
> anyone have tips for constructing an evergreen forrest i.e. pines,
> redwoods, etc. Oak trees would be acceptable as well.
>

There are a few sources of reasonably-priced trees available; PLASTRUCT
has several grades, as they make supplies for architectural modelers who
don't require hyper-realism and don't want to spend a fortune.

As far as forests are concerned, I've had good luck modeling the first
few rows with "real" trees ( lichen glued to painted wire frame branches,
about $1 per tree), then raising the ground level, painting it dark, and
just glueing on lichen or "tree fluff" at the same canopy level. The fluff
can be had in fairly cheap bags from Woodland scenics and similar
suppliers.

I'm sure you'll find suggestions in the FAQ on scenery.

Martin Gruebele
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
grue...@aries.scs.uiuc.edu

[U32...@uicvm.uic.edu]

Dave Frary's "How to Build Realistic Model Railroad Scenery" is a great
book.
You should also see his articles in Model Railroader over the past several
years, as well as many other articles on construction methods that
appear in MR.
One suggestion I would make is to buy Hydrocal in bulk; see if you can
find a local distributor. I bought a 100 lb bag for about $30; compare
to price of Woodland Scenics and you can see what a saving that is. -
Roy Plotnick

[Ken Majewski 240-7333]

In article <3h6gs9$7...@borg.svpal.org>, gr...@svpal.svpal.org (Greg Claytor) writes:
> This request is actualy for a slot car track, but every model railroad
> I've ever seen has had beutiful scenery, so I thought this would be the
> place to ask.

You haven't seen my layout. :-)

> Last request, can anyone recommend a book on scenery construction?

Scenery for Model Railroads by Bill McClanahan is good. He describes
techniques for making individual trees (both deciduous and evergreen)
and entire forests. He also describes some nifty rock formations
too. This is a Kalmbach book and should be available at most hobby shops.

--
Ken Majewski maje...@lfs.loral.com
Expect me when you see me! --Gandalf

[Joe Russ]

>find a local distributor. I bought a 100 lb bag for about $30;

Tews Lime and Cement in Milwaukee has a 100 lb. bag of #1 molding
plaster (works just as good as Hydrocal) for around $14 a bag - or at
least they did the last time in inquired about it in November of '94.
--
Joe....@mixcom.com
WI$E Div., NMRA
Be WISE, join the NMRA!