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Mistakes For A Very Small Layout
John has very kindly sent in another article to share:
You’re reading this from somebody who tried four times to make a very small layout, and failed miserably every time, in my opinion. I work in N-Scale, a great size for small or large creations, but very small seems to be something else completely to make it look realistic and not a toy. My layout was less than 2×3-feet, just enough using a radius of 45-degree 9-3/4′ curves in Kato N-Scale Unitrack. It was an oval with one siding, and was based on the TV show “The Honeymooners”, which I still think was the greatest comedy ever created, even after all these years.
The mistakes I made might help someone else, and they’re recorded below:
– In the first creation, I had so many trees on it that it looked like a Tree Farm. So in the second try I added more structures. So now it looked like a Tree Farm with Buildings. The third and fourth attempts didn’t remedy the situation.
– Don’t put in too much. A very small layout naturally does not allow a lot of space, so choose wisely. Stay in scale, and pick structures, landscape, and figures that blend in with the track without overdoing it.
– Put trees, especially smaller ones, in the foreground, and don’t use a lot of them. Save the background for tunnels and larger trees, and for trees in clumps.
– Though it’s easy to lay the track, don’t be in a hurry. Take your time and add detail, but not enough to overpower the rest of the layout. Driveways, flowers, freight loads (if you’re using a freight house or station), fences, and vehicles are all examples of adding detail, especially on smaller layouts.
– Do things backwards – have roads that fit whatever structures and scenery you want to use. If you try to match houses to the roadways, it could be asking for trouble. Try out all combinations before gluing them down, and take a few days to study them to find what works.
– Don’t let scenery take over. N-Scale is known for letting scenery get too much for the trains in some cases. The trains are the main thing, and have the trains run through the scenery, not the scenery through the trains.
Remember simplicity. Making anything over-complicated on a very small layout (or even a large one) can result in failure.
These ideas might make a relatively tough job much easier, but remember; the only “critic” is you. This is your creation, and no matter what, if you get enjoyment out of it, that’s the name of the game and nobody can tell you different.
NOW to make that very small N-Scale layout, and it will be different this time!
4 Responses to Mistakes For A Very Small Layout
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I went for a small initial layout as my first. I used a plan I developed many years ago and went for building an exhibition layout. The layout is Z scale and 6ft by 2ft (181cm x 61cm). It is packed with trackwork although much of it is for show and little used. I agree with John that simplicity is best and my next layout will be much simpler and, probably N scale though that will mean very tight curves to get it to fit in the car.
If you are interested, you can see my ‘small’ layout at http://tiny.cc/breitenfurt/ . There are also photos of a lot of interesting layouts by going to my exhibitions pages. Some are very small but in larger scales.
Chris, 2×6 is real big for a Z-Scale layout, and even big enough for you to switch to N-Scale. But in N, the 2-foot width is only wide enough for 9-3/4″ curves, OK for 2-axle diesels but too tight for 3-axles. 11″ curves, which let you run 3-axle engines, would bring the track right to the edge of the layout table or whatever. What you would do to avoid this is add an inch or so to the edges with anything – wood, plastic, etc. Then you can run two trains – 11″ curves on the outside loop and 9-3’4″ on the inside loop.
After reading the latest newsletter and the article about John’s small layout that had too many trees etc I thought you might be interested in my T Gauge layout.
I work as a volunteer at the Workshops Rail museum and last weekend we held the Queensland Model Railway Show at the museum. After last year’s show I made a promise to myself that I would build a layout for this year’s show. It wasn’t what I had originally intended but I built a T Gauge layout inside a briefcase and called it “Briefleigh”. John’s tale was a reminder of my thinking when I built the layout. I deliberately used trees and bushes sparingly with a few buildings to indicate the village. I put in one larger building which is a model of enough of the museum for viewers at the show to recognise it as such. It generated an enormous amount of interest and comment at the show and was also on ABC TV news.
Thanks for your comments John. My point was more that I overdid the complexity both in the trackwork and the environment. However, as a really small layout,a fellow exhibitor built a Scale layout which in N scale would be about 2’6″ square. It is less than a foot across and consists of just two loops. There is a lot of detail and it was very popular with the public. You can see a few photos at the foot of http://trains.manvell.org.uk/exhibitions/20091107-Elgin/index.htm . The cover is to keep off the dust.