"Lily pads, cattails and pond scum"

Here's the opening spread of my article, published in the March 2001 issue of Model Railroader.  On the bottom is the same article as it was reprinted in Kalmbach's "The New Scenery Tips and Techniques" book.
Look for a reprint of the article at http://www.trains.com/content/dynamic/articles/000/000/002/504xisqm.asp 


As we waited for our new home to be built in 1999, we lived in a townhouse.  To brush up on my modeling techniques, and to build something that would serve as a basis for that Model Railroader magazine article, I built this small 15"x11" diorama, and photographed it on the deck railing of our townhouse.

diorama1.jpg (12403 bytes) This almost shows all four edges of the little diorama.  The back edge is just beyond the tracks; that's real Nature filling in behind the tracks.  The water is made from a plastic epoxy resin.

Close up of the run-down shack, which actually measures just 2" x 1.5".  I built this model board-by-board, including the roof joists and wall studs.  In front of the model is a small Minnesota Land Trust "Protected Land" sign. (My wife Renay was Executive Director of the Minnesota Land Trust at the time.)

 diorama2.jpg (16256 bytes)
diorama3.jpg (10708 bytes) A shot from the far end of the diorama, showing the pond, which includes handmade lilypads and cattails.  The edge of the diorama is just on the other side of the shack.  Again, that's real nature filling in in the background.
I used the diorama to experiment with a bunch of new (to me) materials and techniques.  Here are a few:
  • Board-by-board structure construction
  • Roofing simulated with painted tissue paper
  • Hand laid track (in this case, Code 70)
  • Using EnviroTex to simulate water
  • Using paint over rubber cement to simulate peeling paint
  • Using Woodland Scenics' "tall grass" and "flowers"
  • Use of "real" materials (twigs) to simulate Nature
  • Using Homosote as a base
  • Using contoured foam for hills (and the shoreline)
  • Using Scultamold
My article and I had the great honor of being mentioned in Andy Sperandeo's editorial in the November 2001 issue of Model Railroader.  The editorial talks about promoting the hobby, and declares "...this November 15 'Take a Train to Work Day.'  The inspiration for this idea came from Model Railroader author Gerry Leone... [who] took the diorama to his office and put it out on his desk as a conversation starter."  (I did!)

Thanks for the mention, Andy!

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