Model Train Kits – What Your Grandpa Doesn’t Know
Everyone who works with model trains has bought some ready-made products to use in landscaping, and some have purchased model train kits that provided some intricate part of their track layout. Although our grandfathers might have scoffed at the idea of using anything purchased from the store, it is a common, quick way to finish a setup.
Some kits are so realistic, it doesn’t make sense to go through the hand crafted, drawn out process of doing it yourself. A train trestle might be an engineering feat that you don’t feel comfortable undertaking. At least if you buy it, someone else has already engineered and tested the product. The worst thing you can do is to put the parts together in an inferior way.
Trees are the scenery objects that all modelers struggle to perfect. Many crafters will use the greenery from herbs or other plants for the leaves on trees, but even that leaves the process of finding enough twigs to use for the tree trunks. After a few attempts that yield results that are less than desirable, it is understandable why some elect to buy them in bulk.
Common types of train accessory kits include houses and commercial buildings. A kit may have lighting, furniture, and people figurines to go with it. According to the train scale you are using, attempting to recreate the same project at home is difficult. Making very small pieces can wear on the nerves and make for some very long hours only to produce a small amount of finished work.
A typical kit for a garage might consist of miniature gas pumps, signage for the entire building, a mechanic and a customer, at least one vehicle, tools and equipment, and some added props like old tires. Although some of the kit is usually pre-assembled, it still requires some effort on the part of the modeler.
Walls for buildings might be in place with the floors attached to them, but the roof will usually be detached in model buildings to allow placement of furnishings and people inside. Windows might be the type that fold out or those that glue into place.
Written instructions for completing a kit are usually precise enough to get a moderately intelligent person to completion in a much shorter time than if the same project were done by hand. There are final touches for all train kits that can only be accomplished in the field, such as aging the exterior or applying graffiti to walls.
A few years from now, no one will know whether you made everything by hand or bought parts from a vendor. If your train setup meets your expectations, that is all that really matters.
Most modelers today have layouts that rely heavily on model train kits, but each undertakes to use them somewhat differently and finish them in their own unique way. A bridge that has been sold to thousands of modelers might look very different based on the way it is finished or tied into the other landscaping.
Model Train Building – Skills for an Impressive Setup
There are many different skills incorporated into model train building, in fact you must be very versatile just to do a good job. Think of the many disciplines you tie together for a functional train layout. Most people don’t realize how many things they must learn to be totally independent with their work.
First, you have to be familiar with history and civics to plan a community. Some modelers who are not sincere in their efforts will put a random collection of buildings, automobiles, and trains together that are not of the same era. This only makes a poor setup that takes about as much time to complete a more authentic one.
No layout will work properly if the builder doesn’t have some civil engineering prowess. A great idea for a layout has to work in the real world, not just in the imagination. Curves must meet minimum standards to be sure trains won’t overturn should they be moving at top speed. Inclines in the track must be planned so that the engine can successfully make the climbs and not gain too much speed on the decline.
Getting your benchwork started takes good carpentry skills. The foundation must be solid enough that there won’t be much movement as landscapes develop and tracks are laid around the setup. If everything is not sufficiently attached, the whole system can tumble to the floor and all the work will be in vain.
After the benchwork is completed, there is still a lot of carpentry type work to be done in small scale. It is never possible to find or buy all the intricate detail work that is necessary for the layout. The pieces that fill in between major parts of the system are usually handmade with tiny pieces whittled out of wood to exact dimensions and specifications.
Some basic electrical skills are necessary to get your train to move, your streetlights to work, to light up the buildings, and countless other items. If a person doesn’t understand how electrical current works, it is difficult to make all the parts perform the way they are supposed to. Of course, the trains usually have some instructions that will guide a beginner to accomplish the most simplistic design.
A good knowledge of digital command control and sound are necessary to make the set believable. Trains have to be properly timed if more than one is running on the same tracks. Switching has to be controlled to make sure there are no collisions. Computer expertise comes in handy if a setup is running by use of software that monitors all the train functions.
Aside from the primary skills mentioned, there are all the small ones that have to work together to finish a layout. Painting skills are helpful in producing shade variations, antiquing, and many other effects that give a more realistic appearance. Working with materials that must be mixed, formed, or poured is just another of the many facets of model train building.
