How to use ground foam in your model train layout

Hand applying ground cover to model train layout

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page The wide array of scenery products available for making a model railroad look realistic can be overwhelming, especially if you’re just getting started in the hobby. In this video, Kent Johnson takes a quick look at some of the most common varieties of […]

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Building a 5 x 8 harbor railroad part 6

Neil Besougloff and Hal Miller next to a layout

The South Carolina scenery starts to take shape on the Model Railroader staff’s Rice Harbor project. Editor Neil Besougloff describes some of the material used for ground cover, while managing editor Hal Miller tackles the garden tracks and cinder ballast of the Seaboard Shore Line’s engine terminal. Meanwhile senior editor Dana Kawala works to build […]

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Thin Branch Series: Build a river part 4 – waves and rapids

David adding waves to poured resin water.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page   David concludes the river making tasks on the HO scale Thin Branch layout by adding waves and rapids to the poured resin water. A commercial water effects product, white acrylic paint, and a paint brush makes it quite simple to turn still […]

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Thin Branch Series: Build a river part 4 – waves and rapids

David adding waves to poured resin water.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page   David concludes the river making tasks on the HO scale Thin Branch layout by adding waves and rapids to the poured resin water. A commercial water effects product, white acrylic paint, and a paint brush makes it quite simple to turn still […]

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Thin Branch Series: Build a river part 3B – Installing bridges

A bridge semi-built over a river.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Before he could pour the resin water on the layout, David needed to finish installing the bridges over the river. In Build a River Part 3B, he shows you the final steps for completing the the through-girder bridge and the pile trestle. To […]

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Thin Branch Series: Build a river part 3A – Resin water

David pouring resin water.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page   The river for our Thin Branch layout is starting to take shape. In this installment, David mixes, tints, and pours the resin water. To see how he built the river and added the surrounding scenery, see parts 1 and 2 of the […]

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Thin Branch Series: Build a river part 3A – Resin water

David pouring resin water.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page   The river for our Thin Branch layout is starting to take shape. In this installment, David mixes, tints, and pours the resin water. To see how he built the river and added the surrounding scenery, see parts 1 and 2 of the […]

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Thin Branch Series: Build a river part 1 – banks and bed

David pouring plaster.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page   Looking to add an impressive river scene to a layout? In part 1, David uses our HO scale Thin Branch project layout to demonstrate easy techniques for preparing river banks and bed. […]

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Thin Branch Series: Build a river part 2 – scenery layer

David laying sand with a spoon.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page In part 2, David shows how he completed the landscape around the banks and river bed using a wet scenery technique, static grasses, and an application of sand for the river bottom. […]

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