Does this happen to anyone else?


Jim 68cuda

Jim 68cuda

Well-Known Member
Maybe you're in the planning stages of your layout construction, or maybe the track has been laid and you've been running trains for years. But theres this one area of the layout that you have no idea how you want to scenic. But you do know, you want something with alot of visual interest. Finally, you get an epiphany. In your mind, scenery and structures come together for the perfect solution. Then you try to test fit your plans together, or draw it all out, and you suddenly realize you aren't even close to having a fraction of space you really need to make your plans work.

I have my plans for rebuilding and expanding my HO layout, and there was this one area at one end of the layout that I wanted to develop. I got in my mind a certain look with specific structures I have on hand to create a small group of buildings to represent the edge of a small town. But, even with small structures, I realized after a test fit, it wouldn't work. I hate when that happens. I'm now trying to figure out a solution, since I now know exactly how I want the area to look.
 
Murphy's 478th Law: No matter how much space you have and plan for, it will not be nearly enough for what you have planned! Best of luck! Happy Holidays! ;)
 
Space the Final Frontier...

Jim I find I always end up with something that grew organically. I think that's half the fun To know what you're aiming for but having to figure out how to make it work. That's were the art of it comes in.Oh yeah, sometimes you just got to forget it and go with something else! Good luck with it and show us some pictures, I've been a fan of your layout for a while now.
 
Hi Jim,
Yes, that seems to happen a lot, as the minds-eye has a unique way of making things fit whatever the space.

Try reducing the number of buildings in the scene so they will fit or even cutting them down/kit-bashing them if you have to so they will fit especially if your going to stay with your actual scale, say HO or find smaller buildings so you can fit more in.

DPM, in HO has quite a selection of building fronts that can be bought in a bulk package if that's of any help?

If this going to be at the extreme end of the layout and you want to appear as farther off in the distance how about using a smaller scale, such as N for a forced perspective of a distant scene.
 
Been there, done that. Is't one reason I have so many scratch built structures. Everything looks good on paper until you get the track laid andtry to fit in structures.
 
Jim - As a modeler that sometimes thinks on a rather grand scale for certain urban scenes and while I indeed start out knowing the "look" that I wish to create, I fully appreciate that I will be required to use considerable kitbashing/scratchuilding effort to selectively compress my structures in order to obtain a fit.

A scene I particularly liked was Art Fahie's City of Amherst. It was done in N scale and I model in HO. In equivalent size, his available space was quite a bit deeper than what I had available, but I did desire the same sort of "look" to my urban scene.

Amherst.jpg

(Art Fahie's City of Amherst)

I knew how I wanted my urban scene to appear so I obtained a photo of Amherst that identified the makers of all Art's structures, purchased the key structures and cheap but similar other ones, in HO scale, made photocopies of each and started modify them to fit my space. I didn't intend to create an exact replica of Amherst, only a similarly congested, busy, impression. The end result, based on the final cutting and fitting of the mochups, had the actual finished kitbashed models looking like this:

IMGP0756-01-1.jpg

(NYW&B's City of Jacksboro)

So...if you know what buildings you want to include, the following is my recomended approach. Make photo copies out of catalogs of each building and scale them up to full size, or simply make roughly drawings of them to scale. Create 3-D cardboard, or even paper, mochups of each structure and see how they can be fitted into an outline of the space you have available for the scene. Then start by cutting down and fitting in the scene's key buildings with minimal loss of character. Once that is done squeeze in various others in between them to fill out the scene. Sometimes even radically cutting up a building will allow it to fit in even if alone it looks too narrow, or too shallow, to be realistic.

I've recently been working in this manner on another extension to my layout (again an urban scene) and have found that 2-D flats met my needs, rather than the originally intended shallow depth 3-D buildings. While this technique does add additional modeling time to the project, using mockups ultimately saves the hobbyist money and heartache in the long run and allows you to see exactly how things can be worked out to complete the scene.

NYW&B
 
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Thanks for all the input. I'm glad I'm not alone. The space on my layout that led to starting this thread, is on the end of the layout that is closest to the door and the first thing that would be seen in the foreground as visitors approach the layout. I wanted a scene that would give the feeling of standing in the center of a small town and looking down Main Street to where the Street becomes a rural Highway. Part of the problem in trying to compress the scene, is that it would be clearly visible on three sides. I am reconsidering the choices of structures, the number of structures and also the possibility of separating out a siding and industry, and moving it to an another area. I have the depth I need to make the scene work. I just don't have room for buildings on both sides of a main street.
 
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NYW&B said:
Jim - As a modeler that sometimes thinks on a rather grand scale for certain urban scenes and while I indeed start out knowing the "look" that I wish to create, I fully appreciate that I will be required to use considerable kitbashing/scratchuilding effort to selectively compress my structures in order to obtain a fit.

A scene I particularly liked was Art Fahie's City of Amherst. It was done in N scale and I model in HO. In equivalent size, his available space was quite a bit deeper than what I had available, but I did desire the same sort of "look" to my urban scene.


(Art Fahie's City of Amherst)

I knew how I wanted my urban scene to appear so I obtained a photo of Amherst that identified the makers of all Art's structures, purchased the key structures and cheap but similar other ones, in HO scale, made photocopies of each and started modify them to fit my space. I didn't intend to create an exact replica of Amherst, only a similarly congested, busy, impression. The end result, based on the final cutting and fitting of the mochups, had the actual finished kitbashed models looking like this:


(NYW&B's City of Jacksboro)

So...if you know what buildings you want to include, the following is my recomended approach. Make photo copies out of catalogs of each building and scale them up to full size, or simply make roughly drawings of them to scale. Create 3-D cardboard, or even paper, mochups of each structure and see how they can be fitted into an outline of the space you have available for the scene. Then start by cutting down and fitting in the scene's key buildings with minimal loss of character. Once that is done squeeze in various others in between them to fill out the scene. Sometimes even radically cutting up a building will allow it to fit in even if alone it looks too narrow, or too shallow, to be realistic.

I've recently been working in this manner on another extension to my layout (again an urban scene) and have found that 2-D flats met my needs, rather than the originally intended shallow depth 3-D buildings. While this technique does add additional modeling time to the project, using mockups ultimately saves the hobbyist money and heartache in the long run and allows you to see exactly how things can be worked out to complete the scene.

NYW&B
Click to expand...


A truely impressive scene. Thanks for sharing!
 
Gary B said:
Space the Final Frontier...

Jim I find I always end up with something that grew organically. I think that's half the fun To know what you're aiming for but having to figure out how to make it work. That's were the art of it comes in.Oh yeah, sometimes you just got to forget it and go with something else! Good luck with it and show us some pictures, I've been a fan of your layout for a while now.
Click to expand...

Wow! I didn't know my layout had any fans. That kind of helps motivate me into getting to work on the layout rebuild. Thanks.
 
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Jim - Anyone layout that includes a scene from 'North by Northwest' should have a fan or two.

NYW&B WOW! That is an impressive scene!!!!!
 
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