More scenery tips from John

Just a quickie today because I’m hopelessly short on time.

I get a lot of mails from folk who to make their print out scenery look just like John’s, so that’s how these videos came about.

Here John has a made a new video showing us how to make a simple house look realistic:



The house John is making in this vid is from the house bundle, which is

That’s all this time folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Best

Al

PS

Looking for the Beginner’s Guide? It’s here.

20 Responses to More scenery tips from John

  1. Alan McTavish says:

    Hi Al,
    I absolutely love Johns enthusiasm when he builds things. It would be nice if more of the buildings were suitable for a British Layout. All seem very American.

    With you based in Devon, some English styled houses and cottages would be appreciated.

    Cheers,

    Mac …

  2. Al says:

    I know what you mean, Aan. I’m slowly transferring them all across from the old store: http://modelrailroadlayoutsandscenery.com/print_out_scenery.html

    There are lots of UK ones there.

  3. Chris says:

    Hi John, Very good work you are doing, I was just wondering what Medication are taking with Red Wine, I did enjoy watching you make your house.
    Chris from Melbourne Australia

  4. Denis McBride says:

    John is GREAT. I bought a building because of John. Could you please tell what is Johns profession? And also is there pictures of Johns lay out?

    Thank you.
    ps I Look forward to reading your post in the morning with my first cup of Coffee. Please keep them coming.

    Denis

  5. David Hannan says:

    Love John’s videos!

    The Keith Floyd of the modelling world!

  6. Sal says:

    I love the landscaping as much as the houses. Well done in every respect.

  7. Marklin ed says:

    Please tell us what kind of wine your drinking John. It seems too add to the wonderful video.
    Thanks again great stuff

  8. kevin says:

    This guy needs to be in Hollywood doing special effects background!!!!…….. GREAT!!!!

  9. Barry Pearlman says:

    Does the Sherry come with the cut outs or is that part of the upgrade package? It might help me as at my age; my hands tremble a bit and sometimes holding a ruler while cutting is a challenge.

    White glue does the job, but I prefer “rubber cement” for some applications. Rubber cement is what it is referred to over here and is found in most office supply stores like Office Depot, Costco etc. Paste the two pieces with the rubber cement, let them dry until it is tacky to the touch and then align and stick.

    Make a mistake? Just gently peel the pieces apart and do it over again correctly.

    The advantage with rubber cement is that it is a contact cement. It never completely dries and if you get a little sloppy, just rub the sloppy part with your finger and it balls up for easy removal.

    Change your mind 6 months or so, what ever it is stuck together will come loose with gentle pressure. Want to move something somewhere else, in six months, a year etc. Apply gentle pressure and the pieces will come loose. Again, just rub your finger over the residue and it comes up clean.

    Several words of caution. Don’t leave the cap off, as it will evaporate more and more; eventually it will become a useless ball of rubbery stuff.

    Secondly, and most important, is that rubber cement is soluble in carbon tetrachloride (CCL4), which the Feds banned selling over here several decades ago as it is now considered a carcinogen.

    Inhaling it for long periods is not necessarily dangerous, but will leave you with one hell of a headache. The vapors will not burn if you expose the vapors to an open flame; it used to be a part of some fire extinguishers decades ago.

    Enough rambling from this side of the pond,

    Barry
    Chesterfield, Missouri, USA

  10. Charles says:

    Makes me want to build another layout just using printed buildings. Love the videos John

  11. Dave. says:

    Hi John,
    Great videos! keep them coming.

    Dave. Taunton up the m5

  12. don a kadunc says:

    Could you paste the model on the card stock first then cut out the windows? Then print a second side on thinner stock and glue the whole thing together. Everything would all line up at once rather than setting each window.

  13. Carl in Kansas says:

    For those of you who might be sloppy with rubber cement, here is a simple tip. When you rub off those little balls, stick them together, and then use the ball to rub clean your overflow. In the commercial art field, a rubber cement ball is referred to as a “mouse”. At least that is what we called them in the ancient days before the computer mouse. Additionally, using a mouse is cleaner than using your fingers, as any dirt on your fingers could be transferred to your project.

    When placing a small piece onto a larger piece, it is common practice to use extra rubber cement on the background piece, and then use the mouse to remove the excess.

    Another tip – if you place two pieces of wax paper under the upper piece, you can see where the piece is being placed, then hold one side securely while sliding the wax paper from under the other side. Then remove the second piece of wax paper.

    Carl in Kansas

  14. roger harris says:

    Pro nice work will make a great background bldg.
    Con needs a haircut

  15. Simon Baber says:

    Very very entertaining and informative! Your enthusiasim is contageous!

  16. John says:

    It would be nice if you made these houses in other scales beside HO. I’m in O scale myself. Shouldn’t be a problem to scale up using a computer. Thanks.

  17. I tried one of the small houses and you are right about them being easy to build .
    Are the older bundles still in the store or are they dropped after so long ?
    I could use some railway stations both types freight /passenger along with some platform ideas , I am coming back to model Rail Road /miniature village building
    I got tired of model aircraft and mainly R.C. planes so I’m back from the clouds !
    I like your buildings !
    George

  18. Thomas Murphy says:

    John has a style all to his own. His ability to keep you humored as he’s showing the process of building his wonderful works of art. You can’t help learning from him as you’re being amused.
    Best regards, Tom.

  19. Joe says:

    Thank you for that wonderful video.

  20. Stephen says:

    Really like John’s videos… especially the extra touches. Hey John do you have a instruction video for the “House” that was part of a download including Apartments?

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