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Don't forget to read our latest modelling tips located at the bottom of the newsletter.

Did you know that in this very week in 1935 the Moscow Metro (underground) first opened? Today it has over 408km of track making it the 4th longest metro system in the world and has become something of a tourist attraction. At its deepest point it is 74 metres (213ft) below the surface making it also one of the deepest. So happy birthday to the Moscow Metro.

Douglas Downie sent us some pictures of his scratch built Scottish station, in N gauge. Click on the picture to be taken to our Facebook where you will see more pictures and have explanations on how it was built.

Don't we all wish that we had an endless amount of space on our layouts? We could build villages, towns or even cities, sadly, for most of us this is not the case and we have to cram as much scenery and track into the space that we have available.

Modellers use many innovative techniques to create big worlds in small spaces, one of these is to use a backscene combined with low relief buildings to create a cameo scene with visual depth but only occupies an inch or two of the baseboard.

Low relief buildings have a small footprint because only the façade of the building is modelled. They have improved vastly in design and appearance over the years to provide modellers with a very credible scene whether it be a high street, residential or an industrial portrayal.

One of the best things about low relief buildings is that great height doesn't equal great depth, so your buildings can be as tall as you want making it easy to model a city scene with department stores, cinemas or shops.

There is a range of 00 gauge low relief buildings out there that are guaranteed to impress. Brought to you from Scenecraft by Bachmann the buildings are a resin cast giving superbly crisp detail with the added advantage that they are ready to go with no assembly required!

The attention to detail is staggering. Each building comes with its own mini internal backscene placed at the back of the shop. You may think this is unnecessary but here is the best bit: these models have openings so you can easily fit a light inside, such as the Just Plug system. Just imagine the effect visible interiors would have on your model high street.

Other aspects we like about these low relief models are the weathering (which has been judged just right by the manufacturers, not too much and not too little), the irregular brickwork is crisp and visible without being overpowering and the protruding window ledges, drainpipes and guttering are the icing on the cake. Little extra details such as external feature clocks or flyers in the windows on some models are just an extra reason to love these models.

We have featured a selection of general high street retailers including a jewellery shop, record shop (anyone remember them?), travel agent, carpet shop, sports shop and a millinery.

We keep on adding items every week to our bargains section. If  you have not browsed it lately, now is probably the right time as several very impressive buildings are available. They are in resin and, even if they are second hand, they are in perfect condition and most of them come with their box. Here are a few of them or simply click here to see all the bargains available.

 

• What are dry rub transfers?
• What is the difference between code 100 and code 75 track?
• What is a Metcalfe kit?
• What is a track rubber?
• What to ask yourself before starting a layout?