Inspirational Scenery & Layouts

[Bernard]

Talk about an extremely planned out layout measured with precision!! The case that holds the cars is even measure to the millimeter!

[kvp]

That's a nice track layout and the first lighthouse/parked car controlled layout i've seen. :) The cabling mess indicates that the modeller is way better at scenery building than electronics as the wire/control space could be easily shrunk down to even less. (like for example, using three more cars and some smaller slide switches underneath for turnout control)

[railsquid]

I don't think this one has been seen before - nice little compact "tatami-sized" layout, so about 180x90cm.

 

[Blobby]

What a fab layout -,there seems to be an awful lot packed in for 180cm x 90cm - I don't suppose anybody knows if there is a track plan of this layout anywhere?

[railsquid]

I'm sure kvp can come up with one ;)

 

Looks like a double-track outer loop which rises half a level, where the inner track connects with an elevated loop via a double-crossover to the single-track raised loop, which again rises up half-a-level. There's a terminus station inside the double-track loop at ground level.

[kvp]

Here it is, with an extra crossover added so all tracks are reachable by every train.

(i've used tomix tracks, while the layout in the video uses kato but the overall look would be similar)

[Blobby]

Here it is, with an extra crossover added so all tracks are reachable by every train.

layout-20160515-1.png

(i've used tomix tracks, while the layout in the video uses kato but the overall look would be similar)

Thanx yet again KVP - I keep seeing small layouts I like - What radius curves are you using?

[kvp]

Thanx yet again KVP - I keep seeing small layouts I like - What radius curves are you using?

The basic curves are all R280 (the Kato variant would be R282) both on the mainline and the elevated one. The double track sections use the base and the next larger one, while the triple tracked section on the right have the base and the two next larger ones. This means the layout is safe for most trains and has space for 4-5 car sets. Adding another 280 mm at the middle would allow 6-7 car sets without changing the geometry. By using Kato tracks it would be possible to use the basic R282 curve as the middle one at the 3 track section, making the depth around 4 cm shallower, but that could make the S curves too sharp for some trains.

[Densha]

A rather nice compact tram layout:

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ja819061/64693355.html

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ja819061/64925428.html

[Blobby]

Thanx yet again KVP - I keep seeing small layouts I like - What radius curves are you using?

Thanx again KVP I'll ponder this one for a while along with the others I've seen - can't do much until I get a log abin in the garden hopefully sometime in the next few months

[JR 500系]

This layout is quite amazing too, the road works in it is very well planned!  :)

 

[utrainia]

This layout is quite amazing too, the road works in it is very well planned! :)

 

Wow, the roads are great, but did you see the overhead catenary?! Just insane!

 

 

How did they do it I wonder? I see something about 0.27mm so I guess they soldered it up by hand? Obviously a sucker for punishment lol.

 

 

I'm really impressed at how much the got into the traditional 4x8ft footprint.

 

[kvp]

Its track layout is a rather interesting concept as the inner loop has easy access to only one platform, while the outer loop has 4 and the branchline crosses over twice (once elevated, once at grade) over the double track mainline, sharing one platform of the outer loop. As a 4 times around layout it's great (branch-outer-outer-inner-outer-outer-branch), but for me it still seems a bit unbalanced.

[bill937ca]

I like the scenery.

 

 

 

[kvp]

I would really like to know how to integrate such grand scenes into a smaller (4'x2') home layout? Because the ones above are all dioramas from a very talented professional... http://junichi1163.web.fc2.com/photo-top1.html

[cteno4]

That's the trade off between diorama and layout. A diorama is just a great scene modeled. All the practical variable of a layout are ignored. The smaller the layout the more practical and unrealistic variables you toss in to muck up the diorama approach. Once they creep in it will compromise the absolute focus on the perfect scene and detailing of a diorama. The detailing and crafting of then bits then focuses on trying to be as accurate and detailed recreation of the real scene. Double edged sword here as you can rely a lot on pictures of actual scenes to get it really spot on. But down side is you need to be perfect as when you try to make it perfectly real the mind's eye is less likely to get creative and fill in the blanks, in fact sometimes it looks harder at the details and wants them perfect. Doing dioramas is an art form.

 

I think the key to keeping as much of the diorama effect as possible in a layout is to use visual elements to help divide a layout into smaller scenes so that the eye wants to home in on each and take them in. When it studies each separately the mind's eye can come in easily and fill in details and see more than is there and go onto the next scene. Memory then is of a much more grand layout than it actually was!

 

When the scenes bleed into each other too much the eye tends to not bother to really fill in details or have good coherent points to lock the memory down so you get a foggier one. Memory on something like this works best when it's like gems on a string. Each is unique but had a connection to the others. Once your memory remembers an gem and starts down the sting all the gems are brought back clearly. If presented as a jumble of gems w.o connection or distinction from each other, even if one gem comes to mind it tends not to bring all the others back or any of them clearly and the mind's eye added detail also tends to be lost.

 

Jeff

[splifdfx]

Very interesting point Jeff.
Any clues as how to divide the layout in smaller scenes ?

[cteno4]

Splifdfx,

 

That's the $64,000 question! Here are a few ideas. I'm sure others will have more! Jump in.

 

Hills and mountains

Hills and mountains can help break scenes to one side or another, but can require a bit of room w.o getting too compressed.but of a hill and a different scene on either side can be enough to break them apart. Tunnels with hills also make the train path a bit more mysterious as well that can keep the eye from following a predictable circuit and thus mashing all the scenes it passes into one big one.

 

Tracks

Two sides of a track can have very different scenes. Our minds have a notion that tracks somehow separate areas (i.e. Right and wrong sides of the tracks) so use it! Viaducts are great "walls". Roads are actually pretty wide visually and can be a buffer with different looking scenes on either side of the road.

 

Greenery

A small green belt of trees or a small rice paddy can be enough to buffer two scenes. Also small canals or streams.

 

Larger buildings

Large buildings can create a barrier with two different looks on each side

 

No buffer

One thing great about modeling Japan is a scene can change in a heartbeat! So different scenes can get smushed up next to each other and that is normal. While this will be a leap for a viewer that does not know Japan well, those that do will enjoy the micro scenes that can be right on top of each other and focus on them individually.

 

Perspective

By orienting track and scenes so that the viewer has to move around the layout some to take them in will give each viewing angle a new look instead of trying to make all the scenes face a common best viewing position.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[bill937ca]

Some of these dioramas or modules are intended for photography only rather than modeling and running.  The ones intended for photography tend to have gently sweeping track entering and leaving tunnels, relatively few structures which might give away that its a model instead an allusion of the prototype.  Most modelers build ovals or dog bones because of space restrictions. These dioramas and modules avoid that shape restriction. In Japan there often isn't room for this unless its on a dining room table.  The modules I find plans for tend to be rectangles, long on the sides and narrow on the ends.

 

Lighting is often a factor when viewing these layouts. If its a module it could be photographed outside or if the purpose of the layout is photography the creator probably has lighting available.

 

Here's a couple of module pages with plans from Japan:

 

http://tamatetsu.com/TAMATETSU2.html

 

http://tamatetsu.com/TAMATETSU3.html

Edited May 20, 2016 by bill937ca

[kvp]

I was thinking about how to integrate these dioramas into layouts and i've found two obvious problems, one of them is quasi straight length, aka. the space available for the diorama itself and the second is depth and length required for continous running, aka. the ends of an oval or dogbone. It's possible to make shallow and/or short dioramas and by integrating them into a modular layout it's possible to run trains on them with the option to pack it away in a much smaller space. Typical really japanese examples are the ttrak standards and the various small custom modular systems linked above. The total setup space required for a layout like this could be way larger than for a typical 4'x2', but the footprint for storage could be way less. Constructing larger non modular layouts (like a dogbone) with the same ideas allows more detailed and larger scenes to be added, but the auxiliary parts (like the turnback loops/ovals) would still look cramped or have to be hidden.

 

ps: What isn't obvious is that many really nice dioramas are huge, either length wise or in all 3 dimensions and would require an even larger layout to integrate into, but their full size is not shown or not evident from the pictures.

[cteno4]

no there can be really nice small dioramas as well with just a small bit of track. Nothing says they need to be huge. yes if you want a large operating area then of course it would need to be huge.

 

its about what you are presenting and the surrounding items that create the issue of trying to do diorama bits in a layout. trying to do a 4'x2' layout and have it diorama like is just putting too many things into conflict. small elements can be diorama like but again w/o some separation from the compression stuff done on small layouts it will be diminished some as the eye will wander to those bits and it will dilute the diorama area effect.

 

diorama's by design are to be highly realistic and detailed depictions of a real scene either at 1:1 or in miniature. Layouts, being usually limited by space (especially smaller ones), are compressions of the realistic scenes and usually more lacking in detail or detail is stopped at more perceived level (its very hard to do a whole layout at the level of detail most good dioramas are done at). So they conflict with each other by nature. But finding areas on a layout where you can do smaller diorama like scenes is possible, but it will always be a compromise.

 

jeff

[valkyriepm]

Hi guys! Expect not to bother with this, but there is a page that was on the first pages of this topic that had wonderful layouts and went off-line like a month ago. I didn't save any pictures and was planning a layout basing on one of his. Here´s the waybackmachine archive so you can see what it looked like: http://web.archive.org/web/20080712203347/http://www.k2.dion.ne.jp/~hidetaka/newpage1.html

If any of you have any pics saved, would be great help.

Mods, I believe it doesn't need it's own topic as this is related, but fell free to move or re-locate if necessary. Thank you guys!

 

Martin

[HantuBlauLOL]

..Ntrak anyone?

[bill937ca]

 

This is a 900 x 600 layout built between October 2005 and September 2006.  I've posted the video and layout before and Densha posted his production blog earlier in this thread.  I believe the modeler is a high school teacher, he talks of building a layout for a classroom exhibition in 2012 and 2006. The production blog entries for this layout can be found in entries for 2005 and 2006.

 

When this first appeared many of us had never seen the Tomytec Town Collection on a layout. You had to buy the whole collection of 12 buildings and there was always a mystery item that was never revealed before hand. Every box was not the same. Later, Tomytec offered the buildings for individual sale and they became the Building Collection.  At this time the Tomix Mini Rail C177 curves were still relatively new dating from August 2005.  My Modemo articulated cars would never go around curves like that so he must have modified them. But then Modemo had already issued 13 versions of the Enoshima articulateds when the C177 curves were released.

 

I believe what you see in the video above is an application of the Tomix 5563 TCS Automatic Operation which was new as of September 2005. It appears there is a plug in sensor blended in with the ballast at the station. Alternate trains stop and start at a scratch built model of Enoshima station. The 280-15 Y switch dated from April 2004.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2016 by bill937ca

[ToniBabelony]

At this time the Tomix Mini Rail C177 curves were still relatively new dating from August 2005. Later, Tomytec offered the buildings for individual sale and they became the Building Collection.  My Modemo articulated cars would never go around curves like that so he must have modified them.

 

Huh? I have my Modemo made Enoden trains run over R140 all the time without problems (albeit with a bit of crank-shaft grinding sound). Even coupled and over S-curves they do fine.