Model railway scenery is the difference between a layout that runs and a layout that tells a story. Track and locomotives are the heart of any model railway, but it's the scenery — the hills, stations, fields, hedgerows and villages — that makes a viewer stop and look twice. If you've got trains running and you're wondering where to start with the scenic side, this guide will walk you through it.
Start With the Ground: Scenic Base and Terrain
Before you scatter a single blade of grass, you need something for the scenery to sit on. Most modellers build their terrain using one of a few trusted methods.
Plaster cloth or papier-mâché draped over a wire or cardboard armature is the traditional approach — cheap, lightweight, and surprisingly strong once dry. You scrunch up newspaper or card into the rough shape of hills and valleys, drape dampened plaster cloth over the top, and leave it to harden overnight.
Polystyrene foam (the rigid type used in building insulation, not the crumbly white stuff) is increasingly popular because it's easy to carve into convincing contours with a hot wire cutter or a serrated knife. It's clean, light, and shapes quickly. Seal it before painting — emulsion and some solvents will dissolve it.
Either way, once your terrain is shaped and sealed, paint the whole surface a mid-brown earth colour. This is your base coat. Patches will inevitably show through your scenic materials, and brown is far less obvious than bare white plaster or grey foam.
Ground Cover: Scatter, Static Grass, and Grass Mats
Ground cover is where a layout really starts to look the part. There are three main approaches, and most serious modellers use all three in combination.
Static grass is the gold standard for convincing meadows, embankments, and overgrown corners. The fibres stand upright (using an applicator that carries a small electrical charge) and catch light exactly the way real grass does. In OO gauge, 2mm fibres work well for mown areas and 4–6mm for longer grass. In N gauge, stick to 2mm for most applications. Static grass is sold in a huge range of colours and blends — autumn mixes, summer yellows, dark winter greens — so you can create convincing seasonal character across a layout.
Scatter material (fine foam or flock) is the older approach and still very useful for filling areas quickly, adding texture to scenic bases, or representing bushes and hedgerows. It doesn't have the naturalistic quality of static grass, but it's fast and forgiving. Use it for rough ground, undergrowth, and areas in the background where detail matters less.
Grass mats are the quickest solution — pre-made sheets of textured scenic material that you glue directly to your baseboard. The quality varies considerably. The cheap options look flat and artificial; the better ones have genuine texture and are worth the extra outlay. If you're laying a large grass field or a simple rural scene, a quality grass mat gets you there in minutes rather than hours.
Browse our full range of model railway scenery — we stock static grass, scatter materials, grass mats, and scenic groundwork products suitable for OO, N, and HO gauge layouts.
Buildings and Structures
Buildings anchor a layout in a specific time and place. A Victorian terraced row says something very different to a 1970s industrial unit, and getting the buildings right matters as much as getting the era of your locomotives right.
Metcalfe Models produce some of the finest printed card kits available for OO and N gauge layouts. Their station buildings, terraced houses, signal boxes, and engine sheds are printed on card with real texture and excellent colour — and they go together with scissors, a craft knife, and a glue stick. No painting required. For modellers who want impressive results without advanced skills, Metcalfe is hard to beat. Many experienced modellers use them too, because the quality is genuinely that good. See our Metcalfe Models range for the full selection.
Plastic building kits from Hornby, Bachmann, and others offer more three-dimensional results and can be painted and weathered to match your layout's character. They take more time than card kits but reward the extra effort with depth and realism.
Ready-to-place buildings are the fastest option — painted and finished structures you simply set on the baseboard. Useful for getting a layout to look presentable quickly, though they tend to have a generic appearance.
Whatever buildings you choose, vary the height and depth of structures across the layout. A row of identically sized buildings reads as artificial. Mix shops, houses, and industrial units; tuck some buildings into hillsides; use roads to create depth.
You'll also find a wide selection of kits and ready-built structures in our model railway buildings collection.
Trees, Hedges, and Vegetation
Trees are one of the most difficult scenic elements to get right — and one of the most noticeable when wrong. The ready-made trees sold in most hobby shops are acceptable in the background, but they rarely stand up to close inspection. A few approaches to consider:
Seafoam or lichen is a natural material that, when spray-painted green and mounted on a twisted wire armature, creates convincing deciduous trees for a fraction of the cost of commercial alternatives.
Woodland Scenics and Model Scene produce tree kits in various sizes and styles. The trunk-and-foliage approach — where you build the armature and then apply clump foliage — gives much more naturalistic results than pre-assembled trees and isn't difficult once you've done a few. See what's available in our Model Scene range.
For hedgerows — essential for British rural layouts — twisted lichen or rubberised horsehair formed into strips and glued along field boundaries creates a convincing effect, especially when dusted with fine scatter material.
Roads, Paths, and Water
Roads give a layout purpose and lead the eye through the scene. For tarmac roads in OO gauge, dark grey paint over smooth card or thin plywood works well — add white line markings and a light dry-brush of lighter grey for a worn, used look. For dirt tracks and country lanes, textured paint mixed with fine sand or grit gives the right effect.
Water — rivers, streams, ponds, canals — is surprisingly achievable with modern products. Two-part resin, poured into a prepared base (painted dark green or brown to represent depth), sets clear and glossy. For moving water, add ripple texture before the resin sets fully, or use Woodland Scenics Water Effects applied over the top. Take your time with water scenes; they're high-visibility and worth getting right.
Getting Scale Right: OO vs N Gauge
One of the most common scenic mistakes is mixing products designed for different gauges. In OO gauge (1:76 scale), a figure should be around 22mm tall. In N gauge (1:148), roughly 11mm. A full-size road vehicle in OO is noticeably different in size to one in N. Check the scale on scenic figures, vehicles, and accessories before buying — most packaging states the compatible gauge clearly.
For scenic materials — static grass, scatter, ground cover — the scale matters less. The fibre length is what changes: use shorter fibres in N gauge to represent the same length of grass as longer fibres in OO.
A Sensible Order of Work
Scenic work is best done in a logical sequence to avoid covering completed work with subsequent stages:
- Lay and test all track before any scenic work begins
- Shape and seal the terrain base
- Apply base colour to all exposed scenic surfaces
- Fit buildings, roads, and hard structures
- Apply ground cover: scatter material first, then static grass
- Plant trees and hedges
- Add figures, vehicles, and final details
- Add water effects last (they can be damaged by subsequent work)
Work in sections rather than trying to complete the whole layout at once. A finished scenic section is far more motivating than a uniformly incomplete baseboard.
Where to Begin
If you're just starting out, don't be overwhelmed by the range of materials and techniques. Begin with the basics: earth-coloured base paint, a bag of scatter material, a handful of ready-made trees, and a card building or two. A simple scenic section — even just a farm field with a fence and a tree — teaches you more than any guide, and gives you the confidence to tackle more ambitious work.
Browse our full model railway range — track, locomotives, rolling stock, scenic materials, and accessories — all held in our warehouse in Newark-on-Trent and ready to ship. We're a family-run hobby shop that's been serving modellers since 1980, and we know this hobby properly. If you're stuck on anything, we're happy to help.
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Ready to take your hobby further? Visit our Complete Guide to Model Railways for expert advice on layouts, track planning, and choosing the right locomotives.