Nov 09 2008
How To - Fall colors on Your Model Railroad
How To - Fall Colors on Your Model Railroad
Some of the most beautiful calendar photos of railroads are in the Fall. How can you recreate these scenes of trains passing through sparkling clear, bright cool days, with vibrant colored leaves on your trees? Here’s the secret.
Most printed model train backdrops are suitable for modeling industries or countryside in the late fall. Many have light blue backgrounds and light clouds with browns near the horizon. However they generally lack the “snap” and clarity that we see on a clear day. This is partly because they don’t want to draw attention to the backdrop (sky, etc.) instead of the models. In your fall scenes, the backdrop can actually help brighten and sharpen interest in your model scene.
What can you do? Take a real photograph with real film in a quality camera on a bright clear day. The best time will be one hour before noon or after noon local time. You’re looking for sky and some edge to the horizon (not trees or buildings). If you don’t have the equipment yourself, offer to pay a friend or photographer who does. Large format film (larger than 35 mm) is preferred. Make sure to tell them that you want to make a very large (poster size) enlargement of the picture.
Once you have the picture. Take it to a professional photo lab, or camera store and have it enlarged to poster size on good quality photo paper. Arrange to have it mounted on foam core board or some stiff flat mat board. Check a sample poster before ordering to see if you want a glossy or dull finish to the poster. I would recommend a semi-gloss or standard finish so that light doesn’t reflect off the background when taking pictures of the model scene later.
Once you have the mounted background photo, you can slide it behind your scene and in front or your existing backdrop (painted or printed photo). It will instantly brighten the fall scene.
Lighting. The light in the fall is often clear and bright. Many model railroads live under florescent lighting or cheap incandescent lighting. Plan on lighting at least one or two areas for your fall colors. Seek out color balanced, “natural” incandescent light bulbs. They cost more but they worth it. (Check the labeling very carefully. Plant lights are not suitable because plant bulbs often cast a reddish light because green plants like more red.) Most low cost florescent bulbs cast an eerie blue-white light. Florescent light bulbs of all shapes use pulses of electricity and flicker on and off thousands of time per minute. This is why most people are exhausted after a day indoors. Even though you are not aware if it, your eye and brain reacts with each flicker. The human eye and brain knows natural light and this is NOT it! Color correct incandescent lights are the way to go! Many ordinary incandescent bulbs cast a yellowish-white light. They do not have flickering, but it is still far enough from correct lighting that the eye and brain notice it on your fall scene.
On to the leaves. You thought that fall was all about leaves. Now that we have clear, natural lighting and blue sky, it IS.
Although the weather people like to call the fall leaf season “peak” when all the leaves are in bright colors, artists will tell you that the better visual impact can be created by a contrasting mix of colors including deep green. Evergreens do drop there needles, but generally stay green throughout the year. Select trees and shrubbery that fit your model location. If you are “freelancing” or just making it up strive for your best visual impact. For best visual impact have about one third of your trees in the scene in yellow, one-third in red, and one third in deep green.
Flowers. There’s more to fall than leaves on trees. If identify flowers that come out in the fall season or end of summer. Pots of chrysanthemums with rusty browns, deep reds and bright yellows often come out for a final fall burst of color. Decorate near your station, houses, or storefronts with these colorful pots of flowers. Flower boxes often display hardy flowers like bright red geraniums or cool weather pansies.
Don’t miss the opportunity for decorating with pumpkins, gourds, dried flowers, and corn stalks. If you are modeling a modern era, you might even consider decorating for Halloween.
Once you’ve gotten your trees. Add a little extra realism by having some leaves of the correct color under the red and yellow trees. Use sprinkling of light-brown leaves under the deep green trees.
Don’t forget to clean up 
Have some one raking or sweeping leaves from the freight or passenger platforms, or store fronts (if there’s a tree nearby).
Have a beautiful fall.
Have fun!
Trainguy
