Realistic Scenery Vol. 2
and Advanced Techniques for Realistic Scenery
by Paul Scoles

If Dave Frary is the "Betty Crocker" of model railroad scenery books and methods, Paul Scoles is the "Iron Chef." His Sn3 Pelican Bay Railway & Navigation Co. has been featured numerous times in the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette and other publications and is generally regarded as one of the finer model railroads in the United States. In his two DVDs he gives detailed demonstrations of his foreground scenery techniques. Vol. 1 covers adding wet rock castings to bare hardshell, and staining them with realistic earth tones. The next segment shows how to build detailed fir and deciduous trees. He then shows how to place trees, bushes and other secondary growth on the layout. The following segment shows development of a townsite, some dirt roads, and other scenery features. Finally, you get a tour of the whole model railroad, which ought to get you inspired to try his methods.

Volume 2 shows his removable, large hillsides in his yard area, his methodology for building placement, creation of junk and refuse piles, and detailing an engine facility. Moving on to a diorama, he takes you through building cuts, fills, mesas and talus slopes. He then details a streambed and shows how to pour the epoxy water. Pros: These are very professional productions and Paul does a great job of showing how easy building even highly detailed scenery really is. Cons: The “field trip” in Volume 1 showing him driving up to the mountains and shoveling dirt into a bucket is of limited value, whereas the trip to the stream is Volume 2 is actually quite useful.