Making Realistic Windows for Model Railway Buildings

The last step in preparation of assembling commercial model railway buildings kits is adding realistic detail to windows. There are a variety of ways to dress up windows in your model railway buildings, and there’s lots of room for customization. Whether you’d like to crack the windows open for summertime or you want to draw the shades to block the morning sun, it’s easy to build realism into to the windows of model railway buildings by using commercial components and basic household products. In this lesson, we teach you the simple procedure for adding realistic details to your windows to make the model railway buildings on your layouts look as if they’ve been lived in for decades.

Adding detail to windows in your model railway buildings

Just like weathering walls and signs that you add to your model railway buildings, you can add a great deal of realism to your windows with just a bit of detail. To help you take your windows to the next level, MRA master modeler Gerry Leone introduces his favorite methods for quickly adding realism to the windows of your model railway buildings.

Gerry starts dressing up the windows of his model railway buildings by teaching you how to use a sharp No. 11 blade to slice away the plastic window trim and make the windows appear to be open. You’ll learn the proper technique for installing 4×4 and 2×4 strips of styrene as scale upper and lower window framing, respectively.

After demonstrating the proper way to make your windows look propped open, Gerry shows you how to personalize and add life to the windows of your model railway buildings by utilizing commercial window-dressing kits. You can find a wide range of window detailing elements online or in hobby stores, including curtains, shades, and venetian blinds. As an alternative, Gerry also shows you a simple and inexpensive way to use manila folders to dress up your windows. Take advantage of Gerry’s expert tips and tricks for making your windows look more realistic, and you’re more than ready to turn those individual kit parts into customized, lived-in model railway buildings!