Adding Texture to Old Model Railroad Scenery Ground Cover

Over time a model railroad begins to lose luster and show signs of wear, be it from artificial light damage, oils from our hands or plain old gravity. To counteract this effect, it’s important to regularly add texture and color to your layout. And it’s especially important for model railroad scenery ground cover, which is known to fade and thin. In this lesson, we teach you an expert technique for updating your model railroad scenery ground cover, and walk you through a step-by-step demonstration for adding new texture and color to the landscapes in your layout.

Updating model railroad scenery ground cover

There’s no better friend of the model railroader than ground foam. Chances are you’ll go through a ton of it throughout your career as a modeler, including in the process of updating your model railroad scenery ground cover in the years after you’ve finished your layout and used it day after day. To help you discover the proper way to utilize ground foam to touch up your model railroad scenery ground cover and keep it looking sharp, Bob Hayden demonstrates one of his favorite expert maintenance techniques on his HO scale model of Maine’s Carrabasset & Dead River Railway.

The goal of Bob’s technique is to add texture to the model railroad scenery ground cover that attracts the eye of your viewers. To emphasize this, Bob shows you how to apply a new layer of ground foam to a foreground hillside by using a spray combination of wet water and acrylic matte-medium. Applying even a bit more green to your model railroad scenery ground cover can help give your landscape that necessary update, and can be done every few years in a single afternoon. Take advantage of this simple technique, and you’ll be able to give your layout some much needed life!