News from your model shop - making a Christmas layout

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Railway song of the week

Modeller Tom's favourite railway song is "the little engine that could" from Burl Ives. You may remember him better singing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" but in all cases you will recognise his voice.

With the arrival of October and the nights now noticeably drawing in, it's time to make a fresh pot of tea and settle in for another cosy night in the hobby workshop.  After a busy summer many modellers will be looking for a new project to occupy the autumn and winter evenings to come.  A look at the calendar confirms that the festive season is not that far away, perhaps now is the ideal time to think of a suitable festive project.  A Christmas-themed layout could be an ideal present for younger family members, or conversely, a great opportunity to get them involved in developing the layout and gaining a rewarding and fun new hobby in the process.  For some modellers a Christmas layout offers the chance to develop new skills by pursuing a mid-winter theme.  Working with snow maybe a new departure for many and as such may offer the opportunity of developing a layout wholly dominated by seasonal effects.  Let's take a peak into Santa's grotto, looking for ideas to develop a Christmas-themed OO/HO gauge layout.

So where to start?  Well, perhaps a good place will be with a basic train set.  This could be especially useful for modellers returning to the hobby after a break, or for those looking to build a basic layout with younger family members.  The Santa's train set by Hornby could be the ideal solution.  Including Santa's own locomotive, wagons and a basic loop as well as a controller, it has many of the elements needed to begin a simple layout.  Similarly, for those looking to develop a vintage Christmas theme, the Triang Railways rewind: victorian train set maybe the ideal starting platform as you only need to add a controller.  This being a Christmas layout, inevitably it will need to incorporate Santa Claus himself at his busiest time of year.  The Christmas sleigh figure set by Preiser presents Santa on his sleigh with his faithful reindeer ready to commence his epic journey.



Inevitably, with Santa travelling by sleigh, he will need a suitably snowy environment.  Creating a snow-dominated landscape may be a little daunting to some modellers but fear not for help is at hand.  The 500g snow powder kit by Busch is one of a number of available solutions that will allow modellers to quickly and easily develop a winter landscape.  The supplied powder in the pack is self-adhesive.  When mixed with water it creates a paste with a slow cure time, thus allowing the modeller to shape and sculpt the landscape as required before the solution sets.  Armed with the ability to create snow, its time to look at outdoor features.  The Christmas decorations and the snow covered Christmas tree sets will enable a modeller to help set the scene with suitable festive cheer, both are supplied by Busch.



One of the most popular and eagerly anticipated of Christmas institutions is the famed 'Christmas market'.  Presenting as it does a significant outdoor focus drawing crowds from near and far, it can be an especially effective theme for modellers to work into their layouts.  The sales booths for a Christmas market and the romantic Christmas market sets will enable a modeller to create an eye catching and appealing scenario with booths selling mulled wine and wurst to seasonal shoppers and sightseers.  Further festive cheer can found with the addition of the illuminated Christmas tree set.  With a dusting of snow and baubles, this tree is also fitted with seven yellow diodes that can be operated by means of 16V AC or DC.



With some effective ideas in place for establishing scene elements, it's a good time to look at figure sets to help populate the layout.  The Christmas market is the ideal hub for activity with shoppers and sightseers out to pick up some bargains whilst indulging in the Christmas spirit.  The selling Christmas trees set has five figures including those out to snap up an ideal tree for the home.  Meanwhile, there are plenty of customers in search of a tasty hot snack washed down with a cup of mulled wine, thanks to the Christmas market and accessories figure set.  Both of these sets by Noch will add suitable ambience to the Christmas market.  Back at home, a very important visitor has arrived.  Holding court from a comfortable leather sofa, the Father Christmas with mother and children ​​figure set is a touching scene that perhaps better than any other sums up the joys of Christmas.


The longer evenings of autumn present a great opportunity for modellers to spend time working on a new project.  With a few months still to go to the big day, now is the ideal time to consider starting a Christmas project or perhaps incorporating a Christmas based sub theme into an existing project. 

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