I just picked up the lastest Model Railroader Special Edition. This edition of “How to Build Realistic Layouts” focuses on realistic towns and city scenes — perfect for us urban modelers!
There are some really interesting articles in this magazine. Here are some highlights you may be interested it:
- Painting window mullions directly on clear styrene
- Modeling from urban prototypes
- Scratchbuilding a general store
- Modeling the street grids of small towns
- How to work with two towns directly over/under each other on a multi-level layout
- Making buildings from digital photos
- Making realistically textured asphalt streets from hydrocal castings
- Realistically painting and weathering asphalt
- Detailing a station scene, including platforms, order signals and small details
- Filling a corner of your layout with a junction
- Modeling accurate utility poles and service lines (this is a great article with tips that you never really think of when looking at telephone poles — including crossarms and wire arrangement)
- Modeling storm drains
- Kitbashing an “Associated” gas station from a City Classics kit
- Creating a city in a small space
- City details
- Grade crossings
- Streets and sidewalks
- Interior details
- Several pages of scratchbuilding plans for small storefront businesses
- Using vehicles and figures to create a sense of motion
Overall, there’s some info you’ve probably read before, but for anyone doing a city scene, you may want to run out and pick this up while it’s still on shelves.
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