I hear this all the time from rookie model railroads “model railroad scenarios are expensive to create”. Yes, this may be true, if you buy all of your miniature train scenery supplies from hobby stores. But don’t, as you can find many decorative railroad models in your own home. This is why you should always think twice before throwing something out. What looks like “junk” could be a great addition to your model railroad scenario.
The following 13 household items are excellent “fillers.” Fills are used to fill baron points in the stage areas of your model railway.
1. Baby powder is great for creating snow-capped mountains or a snow-covered farmers field.
2. Smaller rocks of various sizes can create the appearance of large and small boulders. To make the boulders look far away, you must use the “forced perspective” technique. To do this, place the larger rocks in front and the smaller ones a little darker further back, this creates the illusion that the rocks further back are far away. Also, it is best NOT to clean the rocks as this will kill the aged look you want.
3. The next time you cut wood, collect the sawdust, add and mix the correct fabric dye color and voila, you now have dirt and / or grass.
4. Ground walnut and peanut shells can also work very well to create dirt. You can vary the dirt look of the textures with grinding. The more you grind the shells, the finer and smoother the dirt will be.
5. Different colored tea leaves when spread on the ground, give the illusion of falling leaves from fallen trees (this works great)!
6. Pebbles, shrubs and smaller twigs in your garden can be used for gardening.
7. Toothpicks are great for building fence posts and rails. Round toothpicks stacked on top of each other will look like firewood.
8. Match sticks (without match heads) are great for creating sign posts.
9. Bamboo skewers when used correctly can make very realistic telephone poles.
10. Black wire can be turned into telephone lines.
11. Aluminum foil is one of the most common household items used by railroad modelers. It can be molded into any shape you want and it looks like metal. In addition, it is ideal for preventing light from passing through areas such as the walls of a room.
12. Metal combs will create a wood grain effect on soft plastic and wood. Make sure to do a slight wave as this will create a realistic wood grain look.
13. Used house paint is great for painting things like fence posts.