The previous volume of the Model Railway Constructor Specials series looked at layout planning and design. 

The next logical step in the modelling sequence is baseboard construction, but since the question of baseboard design and the type of scenery chosen are closely related, it is not possible to start work on the basebovard without having given some thought to the type of scenery which is to be modelled. 

The second in this series, therefore, concentrates on scenery, covering the questions that need to be asked before baseboard building begins, as well as the points of scenic detail which will become important at a later stage of the model Baseboards and trackwork wil be surveyed in the next volume of the series

More than any other feature, scenery has the power to make or break a layout. It represents the point at which the modelier changes from craftsman-carpenter and engineer into artist. Perhaps it is this which makes scenery a daunting prospect for so many modellers, The most memorable layouts, and those which we tend to think of as "good" layouts, are those which look the most convincing, and they scenery do this by a careful blend of buildings and scenery. 

The test of a good locomotive or good trackwork is whether or not it works well. The first test of a good layout is how it looks with nothing running.

So, scenery is important in providing the right first impression of the layout and also in keeping the train watcher's attention during the pauses between train movements. This is not just true of exhibition layouts which have to provide maximum entertainment value, it is equally important from the owner and operator's viewpoint.  Athough the modeller usually starts in the hobby with an oval of track on a bare board and is initially fascinated by the movement of wheels, the motion of coupling rods, or quiet efficient whine of a diesel or electric, it soon becomes unsatisfactory when viewed against the background of a normal room. At this point he either loses interest and takes up fishing or starts to add elementary scenery, with painted roads, a papier mache tunnel and some green baise fields.

Such scenery provides a background against which to watch the trains, but from the viewpoint of the serious modeller, scenery has to have another purpose it has to provide the setting to which the trains add interest by virtue of movement. It does this in a number of ways by indentifying location, by providing a realistic reason for the layout design and simply by creating overall realism. 

Introduction.  3

Scenery as a Science.  6

From the ground up.  12

Making the scenic base.  14

Textures and effects.  17

Scenic details.  22

Water.  32

Backscenes.  38

Trees and shrubs.  40

Bratton Fleming. 46