Thinking about how to make a do-it-yourself railroad layout? To implement such an idea, you will need to stock up on a huge amount of patience, since such work does not tolerate haste. In addition, before construction, you will have to study a lot of theoretical information and draw up competent drawings. Read more about all these nuances in our article. Be sure that very soon you will be able to build your own railway to decorate your apartment.
Main types and features of modeling
A miniature railway is a piece of furniture that will please the eye of not only children, but also adults. If you are interested in a do-it-yourself model of making railways, then most likely you had a similar toy in your childhood and decided to bring your memories to life. Well, or youjust want to please your household with an unusual handmade decoration. Be that as it may, in the following sections you will find detailed instructions that describe each stage of working on the layout in detail.
To make a real beautiful layout, you will need to work hard, because even the smallest detail of the composition requires close attention. If you have ever studied the construction of real railways, then it will be much easier for you to realize your idea. However, do not be upset if you do not have the necessary skills, since all the necessary information can be easily found on the Internet. For example, our article will present several original ideas that will allow you to make a high-quality and unusual layout for your home.
As for the main types of layouts, they are quite difficult to classify. If we talk about the scale, then you can find small medium and huge layouts that fill almost the entire space of the room. Some compositions are used for a toy train to ride on them. Others - serve as part of the interior. Quite often, you can find various elements of nature on the layouts: rivers, mountains, forests and fields, and sometimes they may simply be absent, and the railway itself is located on an ordinary plane. In general, there are quite a few options for making a layout, especially for a person who will do it for the first time.
What materials do you need to work?
Decidedto make a model of the railway at home with your own hands? First you need to decide on the materials that you will use in the construction process. This can be done only if you carefully study the options for ready-made layouts, the photos of which are presented in our article. In this list you can find the most commonly used materials in construction and their purpose:
- plywood sheet - suitable as the main plane for the layout;
- building foam is ideal for creating mountains with a tunnel;
- boards and cardboard - suitable for creating decorative objects.
It is worth noting that the possibility of using various materials is limited only by the skill and imagination of the master himself. For example, if you are good with plaster, then you can quite make several objects out of it for the layout. Can you design bridges? Why not add this design to your composition. What about real water in the layout, which will symbolize the river?
Also, do not forget that some items can be purchased in stores, and not made by hand. For example, it will be quite difficult for a novice designer to make a human figurine from improvised materials, but such an element can be ordered on the Internet at a very modest price. Or you can place your collection of sports cars on the layout so that it no longer gathers dust on the shelf, but pleases the eyes of your guests and family members.
List of required tools
We have already said that it is easiest to make the basis for a do-it-yourself railroad layout from a large sheet of plywood. You can buy such material in a furniture store or remove it from an old unnecessary bed. However, what tools may a designer need in the process of work? As a rule, they directly depend on the materials that you decide to use. Although in the list below you will find the most commonly used tools, as well as their "field of activity".
- Electric jigsaw - indispensable for working with plywood and wood.
- Builder's adhesive is ideal for attaching small parts.
- Sandpaper - suitable for uneven surfaces.
In the process of work, you will need quite a few more different tools that are related to materials for work. For example, if you want to paint the layout with different colors, then you will need brushes of different fineness. Decided to add a couple of metal parts? Do not forget to get a grinder with discs and a welding machine with electrodes.
As you can see, the list of tools for work can be quite extensive, so it is recommended to find everything you need in advance so that you do not have to be distracted by anything in the process. If you don’t have some kind of tool at home, you can ask your friends for it, but in no case do not resort to alternative options (screws instead of nails). Layout making -this is a very delicate work that requires certain rules to be followed.
Design or draw drawings
How to make a model of a railway at home step by step and with your own hands? You will find detailed information on this in the following sections. However, before you start building something with your own hands, you need to correctly draw up drawings of the future product, which would take into account all the features of the composition.
First of all, you need to determine the size of the layout. It should be understood that the larger the area of \u200b\u200bthe product, the more small details you will have to add to it. A novice designer should first learn how to make small layouts, and only then move on to large compositions. Although if you are confident in your abilities or work under the guidance of a real professional, then you can forget about this rule.
However, do not forget that not only the quality of the future design, but also its decorative appearance depends on a correctly drawn up drawing. As a rule, people start making layouts when they already have a certain idea. For example, the master wants to include in the composition several mountains with a tunnel, a river, a bridge, as well as a small village in the middle. Such a layout may require quite a lot of detail, but it will look quite decent.
Making a mock-up
Make a model of the railway with your own hands. The first step will be the manufacture of a sub-model, which will accommodate allmain elements. It is strongly recommended to use a sheet of plywood as a building material, since it has good enough strength and is light in weight, which will allow you to drag the layout even alone. You can buy such a product at any furniture store, but if you want to save money, then go to the construction base, where a sheet of plywood of the right size will be cut off right in front of the buyer.
As soon as the plywood sheet is ready, it must be carefully processed so as not to be damaged by sharp edges in the process. For this purpose, you can use an electric jigsaw with a special nozzle or medium grit sandpaper. Try to process plywood as carefully as possible, because then this may not be possible. In addition, it is much easier to apply paint and stick small details on a smooth surface. And if you want to cover the layout with a water-repellent coating, then sanding the plywood sheet is a must.
Working with landscape
The next step in making a do-it-yourself railroad model from plywood is to work on the landscape. This stage can be called the most difficult, since the quality of the future design depends on its correct implementation. If you can not realize the idea the first time, then do not despair. At any time, you can throw away the plywood sheet and purchase another one. Fortunately, they are quite inexpensive.
To work on the landscape, you can use a variety of methods. For example, mountains can be made from ordinary building foam, releasing it from a spray can in the right amount. If you mean that a tunnel will pass through such a natural element, then you should take this into account in advance by placing a plastic or cardboard pipe on the layout. After using the foam, you don't even need to take it out. Let her lie inside the mountains, and the seams can be masked with almost anything.
Another indispensable material for landscape work is gypsum or building putty. Unlike foam, such material is much easier to modify to the desired shape, but it is most often used as a decorative element, and not the main one. Firstly, gypsum weighs quite a lot, so you should not make large objects out of it. Secondly, over time, putty can crack, especially if you do not use a water-repellent mixture during construction. In general, there are a lot of options for working on the landscape, so you should choose them wisely.
Sanding and painting work
The next stage in the construction of a do-it-yourself railway model is grinding and painting work. If you used wood for construction, then you can eliminate all the bumps with ordinary sandpaper. Dried building foam is easiest to trim with putty, applying it to all uneven areas. After that, the mountains will become quite smooth. If you don't like it, don't be afraidchip off a couple of pieces of putty to give the natural formation a more natural look.
As soon as the landscape gets the right shape, open a few cans of acrylic paints, pick up brushes and start creating. It is best to have an image of real mountains with vegetation in front of your eyes in order to better understand which colors from the palette should be used first. Do not be afraid to apply several layers of paint, as this will only give the future composition a natural look. For example, you can paint the stones gray and then add a little white paint on top, thus depicting snow on top.
Laying the railroad
We are still making a model of the railway with our own hands and are gradually approaching the longest stage of construction - laying the railway. As a rule, most craftsmen prefer to purchase ready-made material in toy stores, since making a railroad with their own hands can take an unrealistically long time. In addition, plastic parts are quite cheap and it will not be a pity to break them in case of inaccurate use. This is especially true for those people who have children in the family.
The railroad is attached to the layout using ordinary building glue. You should not use too long parts while working, as this can give the road an unnatural straightness. It is betterjust make sure that it has more turns and elevations. Remember that you should not use too much glue to attach parts to the surface. Also on any tube you will find information that for a good fixation, the force of pressing the part to the surface plays a huge role, and not a long pressing time.
Creating the scenery
Once the main element of our layout is done, we can start creating various decorative elements. You can buy such parts in toy stores or make your own from building materials if you have a talent for this. For example, on some mock-ups you can see ordinary medical cotton wool that plays the role of snow, although most professional designers still prefer to use a special mixture that is sold in small spray cans in Christmas shops.
The same goes for the other elements of the composition. You can make lanterns for a model of a railway with your own hands from ordinary plasticine or buy a ready-made decoration in a store. By the way, if you plan to make a layout for Christmas, then it would be a very good idea to replace the standard street lighting with New Year's garlands, but such a solution should be foreseen in advance by cutting several dozen holes for the bulbs in the plywood - this way the wires will be at the bottom, attached with electrical tape.
Video and conclusion
Hope you now understand betterwhat is the manufacture of a mini-model of the railway with your own hands. If the information from our article seemed not enough to you, or you still have some questions, then we recommend that you watch a short video in which the master demonstrates the entire process of making a landscape with his own hands. Such video material will be useful for both a novice designer and a real master of his craft. If you watch it in its entirety, you will certainly learn how to make beautiful mountains and other natural objects using improvised materials.
As you can see, to make a model of a railway (12 mm) with your own hands, it is not at all necessary to have any special knowledge and skills. It is enough to approach this process with great responsibility, releasing the entire reserve of your creative potential. If you are constantly interested in how other masters make compositions, then sooner or later you will create a real work of art. Well, if you have your own ideas about what can be used when creating a railroad layout, you can share them in the comments.
