Hints & tips for model railway enthusiasts, miniature painters and model makers.
Tips
Tried and tested hints and tips for building model railways, making scale models and war game miniatures.
How to apply static grass to miniature bases without applicator?
How to apply static grass to war game miniature bases when you don't have an electric applicator. [...]
Protecting your rails while painting track
Most model railway track come with black sleepers. These look nothing like the real thing and many modellers paint them a more authentic colour.
Browns for [...]
How to test a model train without tools
How to test locomotives when out and about and you don't have your usual tools handy. [...]
Making an entrance
Progress update on my temporary mini diorama / model railway layout and how I'm making the timber mine entrance. [...]
Get perfect track cuts everytime by using Xuron cutters this way
Struggling to get clean, straight ends, for your N, OO and HO track when cutting it? Here's how I use the Xuron cutters to get perfect track every time.
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A surprising but ideal ready-made base for a fun small model railway
It's not an obvious choice but this baby accessory turns out to be a perfect small model railway base.
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An easier way to hold your track in place while gluing
Is this the quickest way to fix track down for gluing? [...]
Simple idea that saves time and makes track testing fun
The best ideas, as they say, are the simplest. And never has this been more true than with this bit of lateral thinking from an MRE group member. [...]
Photograph Tips From John Olsen
Creating good photographs of model railways is surprisingly difficult. Here's a few tips from famed model railroader John Olsen on how he created his beautiful [...]
A quick easy way to make curved corners for your backscene
If you want your backscene to have curved corners you may be struggling with how to create the curved wood onto which the paper is glued. I did and then I had [...]
Sunday Scribbles: Keep your paint brushes for longer
If you do a lot of painting you'll undoubtedly go through a lot of brushes. I did. But not any more. [...]
Tips from an inspirational model railway
There are realistic model railways and then there are realistic model railways. Anyone who’s seen Ben Alder's Far North Line layout knows what I mean. [...]
N Scale compared – can you see the difference between 1:150 or 1:160 buildings?
How do the different sizes of N scale model compare and can they be intermixed? One N scale modeller took a look. [...]
What to do if you don’t have space for a model railway
Don't have space for a model railway? Here are some suggestions that may help. [...]
Want the fonts to create model transport road signs? Get them here for free
The Internet is a wonderful place. I can spend all day on it. Especially when I come across sites like this that give away the fonts you can use to create [...]
Tips from an exhibition layout: Oak Road by Mike Buick
Mike Buick will be familiar to many modellers as the creator of the Oak Road layout. It's a beautiful layout exhibition with astonishingly lifelike modelling. [...]
How to make rock faces and cliffs
Creating realistic cliffs and rock formations in miniature is surprisingly difficult but with these techniques, some practice and a bit of time anyone can do [...]
Big Country, Big Sky, Big Backscene
One of the basic rules of model railway construction is to lay the track into the landscape as opposed to building the landscape around the track.
Railways [...]
The City on the Edge of Forever
No, this isn't about a StarTrek themed model railway — how cool would that be! — but a quick tip on how to stop views into a different time and space from [...]
How I got 5 locos to run smoothly over my points with just 10 minutes work
Most of the time, our locos run smoothly over points. But occasionally there are problems. Here's how I quickly solved a problem that was causing 5 of my locos [...]
