Making a 1 foot Diorama

Many years ago (before kids) I participated in a contest to build a 1 foot by 1 foot diorama.  While I didn’t come close to winning I did document what I did.  So here it is:

While I had done some model railroading as a kid, it was a few months ago that I really decided to make it a hobby. I had also done some under the tree temporary layouts, but nothing really permanent, nothing I could do year round. So, I realized I needed a hobby and that I could only afford one (and barely that) so I chose Model Railroading.

I had a bunch of my old stuff from my childhood and recently bought some items on ebay to start building a layout. I designed a real basic 4 x 8 layout, attempting to design it with modules. I realized I had a potential problem in that if I made it too big, I couldn’t get it back up the old stairs from my basement. It was after I had cut the plywood that the inevitable happened with my basement – water came in. Now not a lot of water, but enough to make a mess and make me rethink my plan for a layout. I decided that maybe I would just work on structures, since that and the scenery is my main interest at this point.

About that time, the local NMRA club, Turkey Creek Division, announced that they were having the first annual square-footer contest. Quite simply, you could create some kind of diorama, in any scale, as long as it fit within a foot by a foot. I decided that this was an excellent idea, as it would give me something to work, and give me a test to try out some techniques before I used them on a layout. I specifically wanted to try to actually glue down some scenery and try putting a road in. So, I started planning.

Next – Planning the Diorama