Customer Reviews

Basic Scenery for Model Railroaders: The Complete Photo Guide

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While the title say "Basic Scenery", it's not about the difficult level, but basic scenery that's needed in every model railroad. The book is divided in several projects (two to four pages), with color photos to illustrate the techniques presented and tips on small details.

It's a book for modellers at all levels, but it is certain that intermediate and begginers can get the most from this book. To guarantee that, projects are well described on a very didactic language. I recommend the book for everyone planning the first or next railroad empire, even if it's a small one!

The simple step by step in this book covers just what we needed for all aspects of our 4x8' layout. We have been constructing it based on articles in Model Railroader magazine but there was not enough detail for ground, roads etc. This book has absolutely fabulous methods with easy to follow instructions and the results are fabulous. I never thought my son and I could achieve the kinds of realism that we constantly see displyed in magazines but with this book we are! And it is very easy to do.
The author's systems are very well documented and use inexpensive materials when ever possible.

There are two main approaches to model RR scenery. One is to rely on commercial systems and the other is to make things from scratch. While this might be intuitive for something like a model of a barn, it is much less so for the modeling the white water of a mill stream or the detritus of a forest floor. This book looks at both approaches, but does not do so from the perspective of either/or. Instead a situation is postulated and then the author explains how he would handle the situation. Sometimes this means mixing chemicals and installing commercial products and sometimes this means going out and getting a bunch of dead leaves to put in a blender. The approaches are mixed together and the result is an easy to read and easy to understand explanation that can be extrapolated for many situations.

The book is well illustrated and the actual construction steps are presented step by step. It is easy to follow.

I tend to distrust the natural approach, fearing that in time, organic matter will decay. I am less distrustful of it now and have some new ideas to try.

This book is in fact a series of tips and/or techniques but the reader will never see where the author tends to drive him. Each article starts with a very small (and partial) picture of the target but at the end of the explanations, no review of the final result. No global project as it was supposed at the very begin of the book. That's a pity.
The comments, in other hand, is sometimes missing details and precisions.
This book did not give me any confidence to try any of the explained techniques.

The projects outlined in this book not only offer the reader step-by-step instructions, but will also encourage the modeler to branch out on his/her own. I highly recommend it.

Filled cover to cover with instructional color photographs, Basic Scenery For Model Railroaders: The Complete Photo Guide by Lou Sassi is a finely detailed, step-by-step how-to guide for creating picturesque, professional-looking, three-dimensional, model railroading scenery. Explicit and meticulous instructions unfailingly guide novice and expert hobbyists alike in creating woodlands, ponds, roads, rural landscapes, and more to perfect scale. Basic Scenery For Model Railroaders is very highly recommended for serious model railroad hobbyists.

When I hear the term "BASIC" I expect it to cover basic concepts. I was looking for an introductory book on scenery and this book is not that. I have bought other Kalmbach books such as the basic benchwork and basic wiring books, that were great resources for beginners and was expecting this book to follow suit. While Mr. Sassi creates some wonderful scenery on his layout, the techniques are complicated and require too many steps and materials. For example the "ground goop" that he uses for the basis of most projects, requires several ingredients, and in the fine print in a photo caption explains that one of the main ingredients is not manufactured any longer. With the ground goop being the base for all ground cover, you would think it would be something you could still make or update the book with instructions using ingredients that are redily available. Again, I was expecting an introductory type book on the the basics of scenery, which would explain different ways to make things such as trees, rock castings, roads, water effects, etc. And also expected a basic book to cover scenery for different kinds of terrain from deserts to forests. Most of the projects cover scenery that would only work if you are modeling the north-east United States. This book needs to be titled something other than "BASIC SCENERY." If the title better described what was included in the book, I would not have bought it at this point. And I suspect many other people have been disappointed as this book was not what they were expecting.

Our club is rebuilding our entire HO railroad and I am on the scenery team. While doing research I borrowed a copy of this book from another member and learned so much I felt I needed a copy in my own library. It has proven a great resource and has be consulted on numerous occasions. Now that I am also building my own layout, I am anxious to get to the scenery stage to implement the ideas here at home too.