How to paint your own model trains and also how to build and paint scenery for your layout.
Floquil is a very good paint company that is very popular in model train colors you are looking for. For example, you want to paint a Soo Line engine. They have Soo Line paint that is pretty close to the original. They have almost all the railroad names you can think of. There's two different types of paint solvent: base paint and water base paint They have their ups and downs. Water paints are very easy to clean up with just some warm water. Solvent paints are harder to work with. You will need paint thinner to clean up as well as thinning the paints down to use with an airbrush.
Tools you will need will be small screw drivers, tweezers, some small files, and pliers. You may need some small clamps as well. X-acto knifes are very useful in your modeling. Most of these tools that are used are pretty common. Remember these are small tools you will have to buy at the hobby store.
Building and painting scenery also takes a lot of time and hard work. There are many different types of scenery used in model railroading. Hobby stores carry building kits of all types for making any types of buildings you might want to use. These range from stores to office buildings to homes to railroad depots. Most kits come with the pre-colored plastic so no painting is needed. Some contain decals for the finer details.
You can also make mountains and other rock formations for your layout. These involve buying molds in the shapes that you want and filling them with plaster of paris or some other medium. Once these are dry, you dump them out of the mold and paint them. You can make snow-capped mountains or hills covered in grass and trees.
Hobby stores also sell special mats and spray paints that will help you to get the right texture for the terrain that you are trying to build. The combination between a mat and one or more of the spray paints can make any type of terrain you could ask for.
You can also find packages of little people at the hobby store as well. These kits will have all kinds of different people from ordinary pedestrians to police officers to construction workers and more. Some of these kits involve painting the little people which takes great attention to detail and a steady hand. You will also need a small paint brush to accomplish this task. Other kits will already have the people painted and all you have to do is place them around your layout.
Building and painting your own model trains and scenery is a difficult and time consuming task but also very rewarding. It is fun to watch some ordinary pieces turn into something that you designed and built yourself with your own two hands. Attention to detail and a sturdy hand are necessary for things to come out just so, but even if there are some tiny variations, it will make it all original.
