Although not all scale model railroad layouts have room for a rural setting with farm animals, corn or wheat fields, many railroads will have enough space. If your railway layout has space for a farm or rural scene, then this old barn building, or grain silo, or animal shed is ideal. And now you can make paper model farm buildings by downloading the plans from this website.

Agricultural scenes are a good option on an HO model railroad depending on the space you have at your disposal. Ranches and farm add a sense of rural life and activity to what otherwise might appear to be a somewhat static, lifeless scene.

There’s a lot of pleasure in planning and developing the farm scene. How to develop the the scenery can add interest and drama to the completed scene from detailing a scene depicting a corn harvest, or milking time for the cows, to making paper model farm buildings from the download barns, grain silos and other printable models of structures on this web site.

[expander_maker id=”1″ more=”Load more” less=”Load less”]It is personally rewarding to learn about selecting the most suitable materials and techniques to use to depict the fertile earth in a green farm field, making fence posts, even down to creating individual corn stalks, some wet earth, streams and more.

Learning how to select colors that help tell the story of the finished farm scene. And paying attention to details to realistically depict the correct season that’s in the correct location. There’s no end of pleasure in creating a scale model agricultural scene for your own Ho scale model railroad layout that is truly realistic with loads of activity.

Scaled down in size from the real life-sized thing, the barns, silos, and sheds can be made for HO scale, OO gauge, or for N scale or can be changed to the scale of your choosing within those parameters. Start by downloading the PDF paper models and alter the printer to suit the scale or size of your model train set.

If you operate HO scale trains you would simply reduce the PDF print size to 87 percent. For OO scale you could leave your printer set to print the PDF at actual size (100%) if you selected the OO / HO option at the checkout when purchasing your downloads. For N scale trains you would simply order N scale downloads of the paper model farm buildings when buying at the checkout.

A close look will show you some amazing detail on these paper model farm buildings as they already have been intricately detailed and aged for you. You only have to print out plans for a PDF paper model and adhere it to the rear of an old cardboard cereal pack. After cutting the design out you glue the pieces together. You’ll discover it is really quick, really easy, and really realistic, just like real life farm buildings!

Customers have permission to print more than the one copy without worrying about being billed for additional downloads provided the copies are for you personally, and not for anyone else.

Using Realistic Looking Model Railroad Water Techniques

Contributed by David Walker

For many railroaders, using water in railroad model scenery is one of the most difficult tasks. However, making water doesn’t need to be difficult, an obviously it is advised never to use real water, as your train set is powered with electricity. The mixture of water and electricity is a complete no-no.

Since kids will be looking at your railroad, it will be a lot safer to use alternate methods of depicting watery scenes. There are a variety of water scenes that could be displayed depending on the type of railroad model you build. For example, there are some that require streams while others have lakes, harbors, brisk flowing rivers or tranquil ponds. Rest assured all of these scenes can easily be created. Just read on to get all the ingeniously creative ideas.

Here are some ideas for model railroad water techniques.

Model Railroad Rivers and Streams

Rivers and streams have moving water. This means you need to add substance which looks likes it’s moving, either downstream or with regular motion. One way to show water is by using PVA.

What you would need to do is smooth the area where your water will be. Adding a thin layer of plaster can work well. Then choose either grey-green or soft brown for the water color. Don’t ever opt for blue because in reality, water is never blue in streams and ponds. Ensure that your paint is waterproof. Then apply 2 or 3 coats of PVA (again waterproof!) on top of the dried paint. If you want to make it more real looking, paint in some pond lily or small rocks in the river bed. Finish the look by adding a light coat of varnish. This will make it glitter like water does in light. Voila, your water scene is ready!

Modeling Still Water On a Railroad Layout

When you want to build a railroad that has a still water scene, there are at least two ways to achieve this look. One way is by using glass sheet. You can paint the underside black and then stick it to the base of the place where the water bed is.

Another way is to use plastic or Perspex. Like the glass, plastic too would require painting its underside and then sticking it on the base of your model. As for the shape of the water body, you can easily scatter debris around it, like stones, grass, and hedges to make it look like however you want. You can even insert trees on the banks so that they are reflected in the mirror and give an even more life-like imagery.

Epoxy resin is an excellent material for making water (and is my favored option). It does take some skill and you need to mix it correctly following the instructions on the pack. Removing little air bubbles can be achieved by waving a chefs butane torch carefully above the freshly poured resin. It can be built up in layers if desired. Artifical plants and little rocks can be embedded in the epoxy resin soon after it is poured. There are various commercially made products on the market including Noch artificial water and Woodland Scenics Realistic Water.

How To Make Waterfalls For Model Railroads

Waterfalls are tricky and require unique railroad modeling water techniques. One way to show a waterfall is to use a mixture of clear silicone sealant and white paint. Spread some cling wrap on a flat surface and then put the amount of sealant required on the cling wrap. Arrange it in a way that it depicts the movement of water. You can alter the shape and size of sealant with toothpicks or dental picks. Then leave it to dry for 12 hours. Take it out of the cling wrap and put it where your waterfall is in the model. Stick it with sealant. You can use some white paint and sealant to show splashing and curling water. Add small stones and trees around the waterfall to make it look realistic.

These paper model farm buildings will help add character to your model railroad scenery with a selection of printable barns, silos, grain elevators, and tractor sheds to download.

Suitable for printing out in HO scale – OO scale – N scale.

Have fun experimenting and relish driving your trains.
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