further to the modelling a real place, this was our initial design, we had bought the station THEN found out that it was the Harry Potter, The Heartbeat TV series that it was a preservation station
just prior to tearing it all out and turning it 180 degrees, the whole area is fixed glued down
the replacement, notice bottom print of satellite of the station - this exists now so is really helpful, there are grids on it and see the grid on the new frame work for size reference,remembering everything so had to widen so the tracks actually fit! All this flat surfaces can be bared in the even of a real need,
foam joins normally carefully avoided in pictures, loose greener usually hides joins, any thing purely scenic can be removed quickly baring a few exceptions the foam wall by the water feature had to be pinned in place and is glued in places too to protect it from damage but it does not restrict access to the skeleton of the layout, this also involved the whole scenic area rising and losingmost of the original hand painted backscene which was now not required so just sits under scenery, joins are usually placed away from important parts of photographic interest means it is easier to not damage them in the event of removal, this also leaves strong frame work to lean on if ever necessary. there is also a buffer point at the back allowing for vegetation in 3D form which offers better photographic results only an inch or two required, for this long term benefit. Also as there are no low relief buildings here so there is no limitations on angles so that low relief buildings do not restrict angles for photographic opportunities,to my mind low relief options are best as long shots where angles can best benefit or close to the edges of layouts where they can mostly be avoided altogether, however when not a prototype station this is less important and elsewhere i too have loads of low relief,plus low relief half relief with tracks etc can be done quite successfully just photograph carefully, I have seen people cut good resin buildings in half to achieve this...faints....
its All in the eye of the beholder, and end of day never forget the most important fact.....it is YOUR layout, and need only fit YOUR desires and NoT other peoples,never be bullied to fulfill other people requirements, just make yourself happy, otherwise you will not be happy, and life is too short. I have seen simple layouts, old Duplo designs, punk steam sci fi designs,all bring joy to their owners and others, and this hobby is about joy and finding the parts of it YOU like and enjoy. Anything less is madness.
