Kitbashing HO Model Railroad Structures

Commercial kits are an excellent alternative to scratch building components for your model railroad layouts. Hobby shops and craft stores sell a wide range of kits, from locomotives and rolling stock to urban buildings and farm structures. While these kits come perfectly prepared and ready to be installed into your scenes with just a bit of assembly, you may need to adjust them a bit prior to putting them together, for whatever reason.

Adjustments to model railroad kits is called kitbashing, and it’s how expert modelers personalize common commercial kits. Whether dimensions need to be changed to better fit a layout or you just want to customize the paint job, kitbashing HO model railroad structures can be a great way to separate your layout from all the others. In this lesson, we teach you a number of expert techniques for kitbashing HO model railroad structures that you can use to take a standard kit and give it your own personal touch.

Quick methods for kitbashing HO model railroad structures

To help you add some flavor to those commercial building kits, modeler Tom Lund demonstrates a number of simple tricks for kitbashing HO model railroad structures that are ideal for any kind of building, be it residential or industrial. He begins by showing you how to use a razor saw and liquid cement to quickly turn a three-story building into a two-, and then walks you through the step-by-step procedure for filling a kit garage with scrap brick.

Next, Tom discusses additional benefits and methods of kitbashing HO model railroad structures. The easiest way to add personal flair to your buildings is to slap on a fresh coat of paint and some eye-catching decals, but you can also adjust the size and layout of buildings. As an expert tip for kitbashing HO model railroad structures, Tom recommends changing the shape of industrial roofs and the appearance of storefronts. Whatever you decide to do to your buildings, just be sure to add that personal touch that will differentiate your layout from all the others!