Creating Realistic Landscapes for Model Railways (eBook)

Tony Hill (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2014 | 1. Auflage
160 Seiten
Crowood (Verlag)
978-1-84797-850-9 (ISBN)

Infos

The landscape through which railways run is often the inspiration and reason why people choose to model a particular line. Therefore creating a realistic setting in which to operate your railway is an essential aspect of modelling, yet it is often overlooked or left until the last moment. Creating authentic and believable scenery without spending a fortune or buying it 'ready made' is a skill that, with patience and understanding, can be achieved by anyone. In Creating Realistic Landscapes for Model Railways, highly skilled landscape modeller Tony Hill shows you, through step-by-step photo sequences and clear instructions, how you too can re-create a realistic landscape for your model railway. With chapters on modelling trees, grass, water, fences, rock, walls and hedges, this book will tell you everything you need to know to design and create a unique and special setting in which to operate your model railway. Superbly illustrated with 395 colour photographs.

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INTRODUCTION

Over the last few years modellers have started to look for more realistic scenes in which to show off their prized models. Creating a realistic scene requires an ability to translate that which the eye sees into a model, with the added bonuses of patience and time. This book aims to enthuse and perhaps also give a wider view of our creative hobby.

Modelling is a very similar discipline to painting a picture, except that we are working in three dimensions rather than two. The following chapters deal with almost all aspects of a landscape that a modeller will come across, starting with ‘the big picture’ and working down to the finest detail. It is of course up to the individual modeller how far that detail is to be taken.

There are many ways of creating a good model, but at the risk of repeating the obvious it all starts with observation. I will start with a general view of the world around us, as it appears in the UK; with this as a starting point, modellers in other parts of the world will be able to observe their respective landscapes appropriately.

Each chapter will start with a discussion of the materials and tools required. This will be by no means an exhaustive list, but more of a guide. Suppliers come and go, but I will list those that I am currently using at the end of this book. I have no affiliation to any, except as a happy customer.

A really classic view, this is Monsal Head in Derbyshire, which is very often held up to be the most picturesque and evocative railway line in England. Having walked the old line a couple of times, I marvel at the engineering skills and undaunted vision of the Victorian engineers and surveyors who could see a way through this fabulous landscape.

RESEARCH

It has always been important in creating realistic landscape models to have a good knowledge of the specific area that is to be replicated. Take a good look at your chosen subject and note the colour of the top-soil: this will normally give you a good indication of the underlying geology and how the land was cut by glacial movement, then by sea, rivers, rain and wind.

Chalk, for example, is formed by the compaction of millions of crustaceans under the sea. The sea retreats and leaves an undulating landscape that is fast covered by soil/sediment brought down by streams and rivers. Vegetation then starts to grow, and shrubs and trees start to colonize the areas. The sea starts to fight back and with the help of rain and wind erodes the chalk, creating areas such as the White Cliffs of Dover. Underneath the chalk in this area there is a seam of blue clay: this acts as a skid and, when the conditions are right, there is a cliff fall that exposes fresh white chalk, capped with a dark reddish brown soil.

Fresh chalk shows quite white after a fall, but it will soon become discoloured and turn a yellowish/green shade capped by light, then dark, brown soil covering. This is the real thing.

This is the model: it shows ‘fresh chalk’, with the older chalk discoloured.

I use a small pocket camera that just sits in the car and is popped into my pocket when walking. It will record the time and date, which is a useful aid to jogging one’s memory when viewing the results.

Here are a few books that I have found to be of use in my research, but this is by no means an exhaustive representation.

Around these areas we find a wealth of plant life appropriate to the chalky soil. With this sort of observation the start of a journey into creating realism in model form has begun. It cannot be stated often enough that to observe and understand a chosen area is paramount if we are to succeed in creating realistic models.

It has been said that one needs a certain artistic skill to create realistic model landscapes. That may be so, but I do feel that even those of modest natural talent will be able to produce plausible scenery by using the methods described in this book. A bit of forethought allied to a certain amount of groundwork in the form of ‘field surveying’ is necessary – this can be combined with holidays, travelling to work and so on. It is a good idea to have a small camera close to hand so that you can take pictures of things such as the colour of soil and rock in embankments and cuttings, and different types of tree, hedges, walls and the like. I also find it useful to carry a notebook to jot down anything that might be useful.

To help my modelling I use many reference books on things such as trees, dry-stone walls, hedges, shrubs, wildflowers and geology. If I don’t have suitable books in my collection then I will either search online or go to the library, but I feel there is nothing like experiencing the landscape myself to get a real feel for it. One should be aware of the constraints and influences of geology, climate and farming practice. By following these rules you will avoid blunders such as creating a chalky outcrop in the English Midlands or granite cliffs at Beachy Head. I will now take a tour of Great Britain, describing loosely the relevant landscape.

SOUTHERN ENGLAND

Taking the south-east first: this is an area of chalk downs and farmland, and woods of oaks, beeches, silver birch and ash, hawthorns, crack and weeping willow. Sycamore vies with hazel and hornbeam to form the hedgerows that line country lanes, and there is the odd sessile oak. Marshlands are found in both Kent and Sussex whilst in north Kent there are chalky outcrops that have been exploited for cement. Flint is commonly used in buildings in these counties.

The start of the White Cliffs of Dover? Not quite: this is The Warren, looking east towards Dover with the railway running close to the English Channel. This stretch of cliffs lies between Folkestone and Dover in Kent; it is a very spectacular piece of coastline and demonstrates how Mother Nature can very quickly take over after a chalk slide. Looking at the centre left we can see how trees and shrubs are growing up onto the top of a chalk slip.

The New Forest: this is an edge to an enclosure, and shows the variety of trees that thrive there. Also worthy of note are the colours that exist within a small area.

An absolutely superb model of a south Devon coastline by Robert Dudley-Cooke, where observation of the area has paid dividends in creating such a lifelike appearance. (Dave Nicholson)

Moving towards Southampton there is chalk down-land and the New Forest, where sands and clays predominate. Scots pines, alders, hemlock, silver birch and oaks are the most common trees. Wiltshire and Salisbury Plain have a thin soil coverage that necessitates farms growing cereal crops and raising sheep. Heading further west, counties such as Somerset boast a great variety in their landscape, such as where the Mendips give way to the Cheddar Gorge. As we move further west, attractive hedgerows divide up the land.

On the south-west peninsula, Dartmoor sprouts tors of granite but few trees on its vast open tracts of high ground, whilst Exmoor boasts red sandstones, which also appear on the south Devon coast. Further west, Cornwall is noted for its huge china clay waste heaps, dry-stone walls and craggy coastline dotted with beautiful sandy coves and sheltered estuaries.

THE MIDLANDS AND EAST ANGLIA

Heading north to the Midlands the landscape is really diverse. The West Midlands has a lovely rich red soil indicative of the red sandstone that runs right down to the South Devon coastline. The Midlands contain high density urban sprawls that are surrounded by the beautiful limestone gorges of the Peak District and high, open tracts of land. Miles of dry-stone walls criss-cross the landscape, keeping in the livestock. The hillsides are densely wooded and the roads are very often tree lined.

Moving east we come to the counties of Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and then down to Essex, which leads into the great urban sprawl of London. Lincolnshire is famous for its flat, open tracts of land but we mustn’t forget the hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds. Nottinghamshire has a history of coal mining and of course Sherwood Forest and its famous oak. Norfolk is famous for its Broads, and Norfolk and Suffolk together are renowned for their ‘big skies’, also known as ‘Constable Skies’.

Devon again: this picture shows the rolling hills of that beautiful county.

NORTHERN ENGLAND

Heading towards the north-west we come to the Lake District, which has been described as a ‘mini Scotland’ with its fells (mountains) and its many lakes and rivers lined with all the common types of trees from great oaks to hawthorns. There are many dry-stone walls, which vary in style from north to south in this area.

Like Wales this is a very wet area, but moving east over the Pennines and Cheviot Hills it becomes less so with more rounded hills and again dry-stone walls. On the levels towards the North Sea there are flatter and more verdant areas where cereals are grown and hedgerows predominate. These plains give way to long stretches of sandy coastline, particularly to the north of Newcastle. As we move down towards Yorkshire the coastline gets craggier and we have the North York moors, which is a barren, heather-covered landscape. This gives way to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales with their wealth of dry-stone walls separating the livestock in a massive patchwork quilt of individual fields. Trees such as sessile and pedunculate oaks, ash, hazel and sycamore are very common.

With its deep limestone gorges and valleys, the Peak District of Derbyshire exhibits a...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 30.6.2014
• Verlagsort: London
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Freizeit / Hobby ► Modellbau
• Themenwelt: Natur / Technik ► Fahrzeuge / Flugzeuge / Schiffe ► Schienenfahrzeuge
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft
• ISBN-10: 1-84797-850-9 / 1847978509
• ISBN-13: 978-1-84797-850-9 / 9781847978509