Accessories for Model Train Sets:Trees, Figures, Houses

Part of the joy of a model railway is the creation of a miniature world and there are so many details to think about. What sort of environment will it be? Desert, lush and green, hilly, rocky...all of these? The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

The trains of course, are just the beginning; once you've decided on your world you have to build it and depending on how accurate a representation of reality you want to go for, it can get very involving. Are you going to aim for a particular period, to match your trains? Will it be historically accurate? Once you start creating of course, you can keep adding to it over time, whenever you feel like it - you are master of your domain.

To populate your world, you'll need people, houses, cars and trucks, trees and other geographical features. Perhaps some tunnels built into a cliff face would be a good idea, and maybe a water tower here and there; the possibilities are limitless and imo far more satisfying than 'virtual' civilization buiilding.

There are many kits available to help you make an empire, which you can construct and paint yourself or you can purchase ready made towns - it's up to you. Many model railway enthusiasts make their own scenery from paper mache or polystyrene and they can look very effective and realistic. Amazon has a good range of smaller accessories such as people, trees, towers,houses etc.

First thing you'll need to decide on when creating a model world is how much space you're going to devote to it. Some enthusiasts devote whole rooms to their railways, others a much smaller area. Simple plywood makes a good foundation for empire building and about 8 by four foot is a standard size - you can always expand later.

You'll also have to decide on scale and you'll find some information about that here. Usually it's a good idea to draw up a plan of your proposed world, otherwise it could end up a bit of a random mish-mash and remember, if you don't have unlimited space, you probably wont be able to include everything - all the bells and whistles. The plan should include where all the tracks will go and where the major features, such as tunnels, bridges, mountains, will be placed. Will it be in a valley or higher up? Will there be water features, such as rivers, streams and lakes? Some comprehensive advice on building a model railway from scratch can be found via the links below. Have fun!: