Model Kit | Atlas White Picket Fences

Also from my e-Hobbyland order -- an Atlas Picket Fence and Gate set in HO scale, sheep not included!

The set comes molded in pristine white plastic so I just had to give it a once over with ModelColor 005 Ivory.




Atlas Picket Fence & Gate Set

As I mentioned in an earlier article, ModelColor's line of water-based acrylic paints makes for fast cleanup -- just run the paintbrush under running tap water.



Painting the picket fence with ModelColor 005 Ivory

Once painted, I had to cut the fence to appropriate lengths.

Gluing the corners with Tamiya Cement I placed the fence so that it fit squarely around the house.



Atlas Picket Fence installed. Note hinged door and glue blob on upper window -- whoops!

I also had to decide on the positioning of the picket fence's 'gate', relative to the front door of the house. I figured the best placement would be to position it off-center from the front door -- left slightly ajar in this pic.

Yes, the door is hinged to the door-frame and can be opened and closed. The house is from a Pola Windmill set I purchased locally.

A little green shrubbery, courtesy of Busch, adds to the realism.

That's what I like about taking pictures of my layout. Somehow, pictures reveal certain details that we may have overlooked.

Like the huge blob of Tamiya cement on the corner of the upper casement window of the house above!

Below is the windmill scene on my layout before I installed the Atlas Picket Fence. Looking at the pic I realise that I still have to cover the base of the windmill with ground cover to hide the plastic base and make it blend into the landscape. Details, details..



The Pola Windmill set includes the windmill and the two houses I placed on each side.

More model kit buildings on The Sunny Model Railroad:

Western Homestead Shanty by Life-Like models

Country Chapel by Faller

Sanding Tower Model Kit by Faller

Constance Signal Tower Model Kit by Faller

Woodland Scenics | Fine Leaf Foliage Part 2

Here are couple more trees I made up with Woodland Scenics Fine Leaf Foliage. I really like the Fall Mix as it adds some nice color -- reds and yellows -- to the overall layout. Things would look overly green and pretty monotonous otherwise.

Woodland Scenics Fine Leaf Foliage looks much more realistic than the usual lichen that most hobbyists use to make their own trees. In fact, after using Fine Leaf Foliage, I took all the 'lichen trees' off my layout!



Woodland Scenics Fine Leaf Foliage attached to tree armatures with PVA glue

I attached the foliage with little of PVA glue, careful to try and get the little 'branches' on the foliage to attach to the branches on the tree armatures.

PVA glue is great -- it takes a while to dry but once it sets, it provides a very firm bond and is nearly invisible.



Woodland Scenics Tree Armatures. Gotta get rid of those sprues and conceal the bases with ground cover!

I still need to remove the little sprues still attached to the bases of the tree armatures, glue the bases down and conceal them with ground cover.



Woodland Scenics Fall Mix adds a splash of color behind the Country Chapel

As you can see, I've recently added telegraph poles to my layout -- been looking for these for ages. I'll talk about them in another instalment soon.

Woodland Scenics | Fine Leaf Foliage

I decided I wanted to accent the various shades of green on my layout with some Fall colors of reds, orange and yellow.

And as usual, as if to thwart my plan, the local hobby shops only stocked green foliage and turf. Light green, medium green, dark green, olive green. Any color as long as it was green.



Woodland Scenics Fine Leaf Foliage - Fall Mix

High on my e-Hobbyland list was Woodland Scenics Fine Leaf Foliage Fall Mix. The accents that some reds and yellows would provide would be perfect to add some color to my layout!



Woodland Scenics Fall Mix includes three main colors

And no other product on Woodland Scenics range matches their Fine Leaf Foliage for texture and detail for tree-making. And believe me, I've tried a few of 'em:

• Lichen -- Doesn't look natural at all on a layout despite being a natural product. Or maybe I just haven't found a way to use it well


• Clump Foliage -- Good for bushes, and creating large clusters of trees




• Polyfiber -- Good when sprinkled with Fine Turf and/or Coarse Turf to create a 3-dimensional 'raised' effect. I've used this combination to create fir trees




• Underbrush -- A clumpy sponge-material like Clump Foliage; same use

Fine Leaf Foliage is a whole different kettle o' fish. An all-natural product, the foliage is a matrix of little 'leaves' and branches. When attached to a standard tree armature you end up with an extremely detailed tree. Fine Leaf Foliage costs more but the results are well worth it.

As a bonus Woodland Scenics also supplies a very large tree armature in the package. I decided to deck this tree out with the three colors in layers.



Large tree armature included in Woodland Scenic Fine Leaf Foliage Fall Mix



A mix of all three colors from the Fall Mix were glued on in layers with PVA glue

New Model Railroad Model Kits Just Arrived In The Mail!

I placed an order about two weeks ago with e-HOBBYLAND.com.

I paid for my order through PayPal and spent the next couple of days with fingers crossed hoping that e-Hobbyland wouldn't send me an email saying that several items were back-ordered and that they would ship when the items were in stock.



My e-Hobbyland order arrived by US Priority mail.

An earlier experience with a particular (European) mail-order company really left me hanging.

I received an email after placing my order stating, "There are items in your order that are out-of-stock. Your order will ship once we receive the items from our supplier". Thinking that it would take, at the very most, a couple of weeks for them to receive the items from their supplier, I waited.

I let that order ride for a good 3 months before I got tired of waiting. I mean, c'mon, how hard is it to indicate out-of-stock items on your mail-order website? They have a strange way of doing business. And this from one of the most established European model railway specialist dealers, too.

My e-Hobbyland order. The possibilities beckon.

Not so with e-Hobbyland.

e-Hobbyland's website is clearly laid out with accurate descriptions, prices and pictures of their items. And they indicate out-of-stock items matter-of-factly.

They took about 3 days to process my order before shipping it. And it arrived by USPS within 9 days. (Bearing in mind that I live in Singapore!)

Kudos to http://e-hobbyland.com. I'll be back for more.

Stay tuned for more pics!