The Perfect First Model Railway Diorama (and How to Build It)

Mike builds his first ever Model Railway Layout!

With so many of us spending more time at home Mike wanted to challenge himself to create his first ever Model Railway layout.

On Day 1 Mike sketches out his build, lays the ballast and paints in the roads.

This was Mike's first attempt at making a layout do you have any tips or tricks you would like to share? Let us know in the comments below.

Remember to be kind, this is Mike's first time!

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[Breezer]

Top marks for having ago and I hope you have enjoyed it. :) I would have gone for track first and then ballast. Also make's it easier for setting up the level crossing and a better foundation for the track. As for the road. It looks good would have let the paint dry more. The lampposts on the station are a bit close to the edge of the platform. For a first try I think you did very well!

[richardswiderski]

1st thing I should do is get a cup of tea. Always, lay track 1st then track will be nice and flat and you can ballast between the track and sleepers then.Nice idea showing how it is done.Well done Mike.

[russellbenton]

Was the first thing you had to do was clean the kitchen for video . Good job looks pristine . Wished mine looked like that . Go for it . Well done you for having a go

[AndyHudson-ModelRailwayBuilds]

Track first, then paint the track with sleeper grime (rattle can) to take away the plastic look of the sleepers and weather the track, then ballast. That way the sleepers are beefed into the ballast not resting on top. Glad your having ago Mike and your enjoying this hobby

[kimberlycooksley]

Ok just finished day 1. Awesome! I’m revisiting Hornby after watching the TV series on yesterday. Reminded me of my basic set as a kid. Now I want to go full on and do scenery. This has provided me the confidence to take on a mammoth task

[ronphillips]

Plan for the future get a 6x4 feet baseboard On legs or trestles made by you or help from some DIY person, Try to build so you can drop some point motors into the baseboard if possible, PAINT THE baseboard with grey or green house emulsion paint from DIY store that will take the bareness away on board (get it so far) Now plan your track and learn to lay the largest radius circle first with a switch (point as some call it too) With a siding so you can run a test train around the circle you have just laid with thin double side sticky tape at a few places only just to hold your track in place while testing your track with power connectors attached ( some thought required here) Get the locomotives to run around the track and across point down siding with our derailing with rolling stock as well, Nice to see a train run around a circle the children love to see them go round and round, Ballast track comes later when you have all your track plan in place in case you want to move a few pieces around when happy with track pin as you go and keep the straight sections straight, Slowly dose it, Trains running smoothly first, Then scenery which you should have some idea what you want, A model railway is never finished that’s the whole idea there is always something to add

[Redjintyman]

Ah yes my favorite model railway series
















*building a layout for days that are unknown*

[modelrailwaynoob]

Always track first and test a loco on it. Many of us raise the track on cork or foam so it looks more realistic. I usually ballast straight afterwards but many do scenery first. I have never seen ballast go down first but as long as it works. Usually watered down PVA is used to hold the ballast in place then clean the track.

[edwardmortimer]

This looks like such a lovely little micro layout, will be nice seeing it develop

[simonwhite]

Well done you.

I am a few weeks further down the road than you are, picking up this hobby from my childhood, as I am now in my early 50's with two boys (7 and 9) of my own. Grandad (my Dad) got them a Hornby Family Fun Layout for Christmas. We started with a loop, but it takes up too much space, so now we have halved the baseboard lengthways, and are moving on to a shunting layout.

I am loving it, although whether the boys are quite as engaged with attempting realistic modelling is a moot point - tonight we have a lovely diorama of dinosaurs chasing hotwheels cars, lego people and Brittains farm animals along the high

I am going to subscribe, and look forward to seeing how you develop your hobby alongside mine.

One tip, beware the addiction of today i took delivery of an 0-4-0 loco, and three right hand points....

[AntoekneeDE]

Fair play for having a go, I think having people in businesses coming for different backgrounds as yours is useful as it gives variety and diversity but at the same time it’s also great to have people live and breathe the products, so you getting that experience as a first timer is really useful.

In the past (thinking back to my childhood hornby catalogues in the early 90s), an amateur modeller (in the most respectful sense) was advised to place the track where you want it, draw around it to create a ballast bed, paint it grey, pour on the grey scatter (which was pretty flat and easy to pin through) and then place the track over. Another approach championed by Budget Model Railways is to place down roof felt as a more affordable but equally plausible alternative to ballast mat which again is quite flat and achieves a similar effect.

If you glue down ballast derived from grit before the track rather than scatter, sand of fine grit (most 00 ballast I find is too course), then it is hard to get an equal thickness and you may have problems getting the track level, and if you’re pinning it, you can expect more issues,

If your goal is realism however (and it’s fine if it’s not and it’s just about fun), then looking at pics in real life will help but you’ll notice the sleepers are somewhat sunken into the track, and sits in a bed of ballast above the ground level with often a well defined shoulder. It’s also rarely a uniform colour. A few others have suggested some approaches here, but a common one is to lay down a layer of cork sheet first under the track, then lay down the track, which can be pinned or glued depending on how likely it is to be permanent, and then the ballast is placed over the lot; there are some tools to form this into a nice shape but you can do it with a brush. A mix of water-diluted PVA with a drop of washing up liquid to break the surface tension is then applied usually with a pipette to secure the

I’ve tried doing it this way and had a nightmare, never got the glue mix right no matter how dilute or how much washing-up liquid!!! Because most of my layouts are very small, I’ll test out the track first, but I’ll glue it down with PVA painted where I want the track bed, place the track, and the pour on the ballast. It can’t stick where it shouldn’t because there will be no glue in the visible surface of the track. To add more realism you can then go back after and build up more ballast where you want it. On some layouts I’ve used cork to build the level up, others I haven’t bothered, especially where the layout represents a yard rather than a section of proper line. I tend to mix crushed soot, different colours of sand and some fine commercially available ballast products to get the effect I want and have even added a little weathering powder to the mix to get the colours I’m after.

The most important thing is this is a learning curve, some railway modellers can historically be quite particular and snobbish, fast to criticise but they’re complete wrong. There’s nothing wrong with aiming for total realism and running a slick timetable. There’s also nothing wrong with slapping a bit of track down and playing trains. It’s a hobby, and it’s to enjoy, you can let your creativity blossom as far as you like.

[thiruraj]

That is the fastest I’ve seen someone open a hornby box ever

[palamj]

You did show that loco much respect as you ripped it out of the box. 😂😂

[ewoodrailway]

It's a great hobby and good luck. The station building is more for a child's layout, I had one in 1979 and wasn't impressed then. Lay the track and ballast afterwards. I anticipate the next instalment with interest.

[roselinerussell]

Nice kitchen, stick the kettle on and have a cuppa while you Vlog... XXX

[solidsnake]

watching others build a modle railway layout makes me smile as i wish i had the room for my stuff as it is my models are locked up in a cubbord due to the size of my flat

[cec_oregon]

❤😊❤Cant wait to sell everything i own to be able to afford this😊❤😊

[grichguy]

Hi, well done for having a go. It's a good start to have a plan of what you want to achieve. The track should have definitely gone down first and then the ballest on after as the crossing will be a nightmare to lay on top of what you have done.

[agnostic]

Great first effort. You'll have learnt a lot from doing it and if there's a next time I'm sure there are a few things you'll do differently. I've been dabbling in model railways in various scales for over 50 years and still keep thinking "why did I do it like that?". It's track THEN ballast.

[robertlacy]

This is really helpful. I’m looking at creating my own model railway for the first time and any helpful hints are always welcome.