Building a Military Base for a Model Railroad

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February 8, 2016

A reader asks:

“Has anyone built an air force base model for their train set? And where can I see pics of them?”

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3 Responses to Building a Military Base for a Model Railroad

Brian says:

February 9, 2016 at 7:45 am

Hi,
It would depend on what scale you are modelling. Corgi used to have cardboard models of hangars, Nissen Huts, Control Tower etc in N gauge, but these have been out of production for some time.
I started building an airport into my N gauge layout and was going to incorporate a military camp as well as civil. I even went to the extent of buying and building various aircraft in 1 : 144 which is close enough to N and then found that I would need a room twice as long as the 5 meters I have to be able to make a respectable looking airport/camp. Some of the bombers have a wingspan of nearly 300 mm!
I am now cutting right back to a few smaller fighters and training aircraft and have halved my runway length. You may find the airport buildings in some retailers back cupboard, or there are some websites that you can download plans (some good some bad and some terrible!) to print and make from cardboard. These could also be scaled to whatever size you want. I did scan the Corgi Building before I built them, and they may be in the archives somewhere – I could search if you want them. Good luck!

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Robert Alvarez says:

February 17, 2016 at 11:41 am

Hi!

I just happened to see a couple of weeks ago a layout with an airport, (military I think) at the Railroad museum in Madrid, Spain. It’s quite old and, well, you can decide for yourself. I don’t know if you can find pics on line but I will be returning to the museum soon and will try to remember to take some photographs of it.
The Museum is called MUSEO DEL FERROCARRIL DE MADRID DELICIAS.

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Dennis says:

February 18, 2016 at 2:40 pm

Hi,

I actually built my HO scale layout around a military airfield!!! Being a scale model airplane builder first, I wanted to get into model railroading and display some of my aircraft on the layout. I decided to use 1/72 scale aircraft, buildings, and personnel for my airbase for two reasons:
1. HO (1/87) and 1/72 scales are very close in size comparison.
2. There is far more military aircraft, vehicles, and personnel available in 1/72 scale.
I then decided on a 1950’s era for my layout. Hence, not only are my locomotives, civilian vehicles, buildings, and people of that era, but my airbase displays military aircraft, vehicles, and personnel from that era as well (see photo). My base depicts an early 1950’s flight training field, although it could easily double for a late WWII base as well. Good luck and happy modeling….

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