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Building Scenery with Paul Scoles Soft Cover 95 pages Copyright 2012
Building Scenery with Paul Scoles Soft Cover 95 pages Copyright 2012
Foreword
Chapter 1 - Realistic Track
Chapter 2 - Ground Cover
Chapter 3 - Ground Cover Tricks
Chapter 4 - Steep Slopes
Chapter 5 - River Banks
Chapter 6 - Ballast
Chapter 7 - Water
Chapter 8 - Douglas Firs
Chapter 9 - Deciduous Trees
Chapter 10 - Hidden Feeders
Chapter 11 - Rock Casting
Chapter 12 - Coloring Rock Castings
Chapter 13 - Paver Sand Ground Cover
Chapter 14 - Rough Waters
Chapter 15 - More Deciduous Trees
Chapter 16 - Details
Chapter 17 - Using Real Concrete
Chapter 18 - Winter Ground Cover & Snow Chapter 19 - Bare Winter
Chapter 20 - Urban Details
Chapter 21 - Finishing touches
Model railroad scenery is a fascinating subject. It does so much to enhance our models and serves as the proverbial "icing on the cake" of our layouts, yet there is no other subject in the hobby that seems to produce as much dread and procrastination. It has long been a source of wonder to me how the same folks who would fearlessly kitbash plastic diesels, solder detail parts on rare and expensive brass imports, or design and build the most complex of electronics are often terrified of scenery and have convinced themselves they have neither the talent or competence to build good scenery. Happily, the book you hold from author Paul Scoles will give you both the confidence and the skills to build the kind of scenery you'll be proud of and enjoy for many years.
Scenery is one area of the hobby that exists equally in the realm of both art and science, and since most of us land pretty strongly on one of those two disciplines, the trick is to appeal to the area of strength while getting us the information we need in the area we feel less comfortable with. Mr. Scoles has succeeded rather handily in that respect and we subtitled the book "Simple Techniques for Expert Model Railroad Scenery" because that is exactly what you will find in this publication. Following the easyto-master methods presented here will quickly have you building scenery like a pro.
If you are interested in narrow gauge, then Paul likely needs no introduction. His Sn3 Pelican Bay Railway & Navigation Co. is widely regarded as one of the finest narrow gauge model railroads in the country and photos of it have appeared in the model railroad press for many years. I first became aware of Paul back when I was a younger and slimmer slim-gauger in the late 1970's. He had a series of articles in the Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette on scenery building. His use of natural materials including real rock and dirt, and his craftsman approach to scenery really caught my eye, especially compared to the sawdust, zip texturing and lichen methods in vogue at the time.
Paul continued to refine and experiment with his methods and share them with his fellow narrow gauge modelers. He also produced two DVDs showing his methods in great detail on his Sn3 layout. The DVDs were (and still are) quite popular and raised his visibility among general model railroaders, but unfortunately, there remained a great number of modelers who had yet to be exposed to Paul's detailed scenery techniques.
That changed when Railroad Model Craftsman published the first installment of "The Scenery Clinic" in November of 2009. Suddenly, tens of thousands of RMC readers had access to his years of experience. Using dioramas built specifically to show the various methods and techniques, Paul took readers through enhancing flex track, soldering hidden feeders, building both deciduous trees and giant Douglas firs, rock casting and coloring, ground cover, rivers, water falls and much much, more. When the series ended in March of 2012, there had been twenty one installments covering both urban and rural scenery, western and eastern scenery and narrow gauge and standard gauge using both HO and 0 scales.
As both an interested reader and Books Manager at Carstens, I saw two problems with the series. First, it would be difficult to access any particular scenery segment you were interested in when the series was spread across three years worth of RMC, even if you were a pretty organized person, which I am certainly not. Secondly, and this is painful to admit, even with the many thousands of loyal readers of Railroad Model Craftsman, not everyone in model railroading reads it! I know! Are those guys missing the boat or what? But as the Book Manager I was in position to both organize the series in one place for the RMC readers and get this valuable resource into the hands of those who had missed out.
Certainly, a simple reprint would have sufficed to satisfy those goals. But, if you can enhance existing material, I have always felt you should and this book is the product of that. In addition to Paul's original, full-length manuscript from the series, we've included some additional photos that weren't included in the series. We've also run the photos larger than they appeared in the magazine articles in addition to giving the entire series a new graphical treatment. Finally, we've included some bonus photos of Paul's Sn3 Pelican Bay Railway & Navigation Co.
OK, you've stuck with me this long and hopefully you've caught my enthusiasm for this book and for Paul's methods. The reason for my enthusiasm is simple. In a time in the hobby when we are all relying on the same commercial products (as great as they might be) from the same manufacturers, there is a danger of the hobby becoming a little cookie cutter. Scenery is the one area that keeps that from becoming the norm. It allows our individual creativity and expression to shine through, even when we are using many of the same products. We have all heard the expression, "standing on the shoulders of giants" and to my mind the late Bill McClanahan, Dave Frary and now Paul Scoles are those giants. By standing on Paul's shoulders and adapting his techniques, I am excited to see what you will come up with in the future.
All pictures are of the actual item. There may be reflection from the lights in some photos. We try to take photos of any damage. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
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