Blending Rural Model Railroad Backdrops

When creating model railroad backdrops for horizontal scenes, the goal is to make the border between in-scene objects and the backdrop as seamless as possible, if not entirely invisible. In order to do so, most layouts require a bit of careful blending to take the viewer’s attention away from the fact that a border even exists. The process of blending model railroad backdrops can be done in a number of different ways, and adapted according to the design limitations of a specific scene. In this lesson, we teach you a simple technique you need to be able to blend model railroad backdrops that are part of horizontal rural scenes.

Blending rural model railroad backdrops

For most rural model railroad scenes that are largely horizontal, there tends to be an extended stretch that is ideal for cornfields, which present the perfect opportunity to discreetly blend your scene into the backdrop. With this idea in mind, modeler Tony Koester teaches you an expert tip that you can use to blend rural model railroad backdrops that utilize fields of corn along the border.

Tony’s trick involves using commercial model railroad backdrops that depict flat farmland and rows of corn. To blend these model railroad backdrops into horizontal scenes, he recommends purchasing packs of corn stalks, either individual or in rows, and applying them to the border of your scene to make the corn figurines “disappear” into your backdrop.

Tony demonstrates the best way to prepare these cornrows by attaching them to strips of styrene and placing them at the edge of your rural model railroad backdrops. He teaches you a few simple techniques you can use to better blur the line between in-scene objects on model railroad backdrops with spacing, depth and a bit of powder. Use Tony’s expert tips and you won’t ever have to worry whether about the realism of your rural scenes!