The Basic Model Railroad Warehouse Backdrop & Scene Composition | Boomer Diorama ~ # 302
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- This is how I compose and wire a basic backdrop warehouse for the model railroad. I also talk about composition, and the base structure of building flats, and why I overbuild them as well.
DISCLAIMER: I pay for all the products and materials I use in this video content, unless otherwise stated. I do not receive any affiliate sponsorship, fees, funds, support, or gifts from company products, and/or any other companies, (unless otherwise stated). I only endorse products for the benefit of the community and my own personal use, apart from any indicated sponsor.
Hi Boomer - I will be building all my flats with styrene over Baltic Birch. Don’t think I would have ever thought about using wood as the base had it not been for your channel. The bigger models I have scratched from just plastic have now warped despite my attempts to bolster with heavy styrene ribs.
It's either spend more on plastic, or spend less on wood. With small building I don't bother - like the Dairy Queen . . . lol. With Big Warehouses it's a given for me. I will be taking a similar approach to the IPEX Plastics Industry. I will build up a Birch Plywood Core and then Varathane it, then CA (Super Glue) panels to it. The Varathane acts like a catalyst and seems to be a really "hyper" aggressive bond when it comes in contact with CA to wood and plastic.
If it's any consolation, all the wood core buildings I have are as straight as an arrow with no deflection or delamination. On the other hand, some of the plastic buildings I scratch built have deflected slightly after three years even though I beefed them up with shear walls, etc. out of plastic - go figure eh? Cheers Peter.
@@boomerdioramaI hear you Boomer :)
Another option when using the higher voltage power source for LEDs is a resistor on each. 1/8 watt 1k ohm is a good starting point. Love the lights..
I build a bit cheaper and use 1/8" hardboard as my infrastructure, with solid wood base blocks with holes for guide pins. Hardboard has the benefit of being readily available from Home Depot, is of consistent quality (vs the crappy plywood they sell) and if I muck it up I don't feel too bad about throwing it away. The buildings are light and solid, though I do love the idea of applying urethane to secure the plastic siding and will be doing that for any future structures.
Your approach to sharing your work continues to be a superb tutorial for modelers, beginners to those who have many years modeling. Reminds me to be patient; there’s truly no rush to achieve authenticity. Thanks Boomer. I know there’s many hours required to just build let alone shoot the video plus post production. Super!
I agree, patience is key!
Thanks again for inspiration.. Loved your Second Section interview. You had Mike speechless!
Lol . . . Mike is great!😁
Howdy Boomer! Really enjoy these type videos. Shows how lighting can add depth and warmth to a scene. Lighting can take your layout to a whole new level of realism! I'm loving the idea of keeping all the buildings and landscaping free/loose to make working on them and the layout so much easier. Well done sir - thanks for sharing 🤠
Lighting can be a fun challenge!
Oh man....I'm a subscriber from Italy and have been following you for months. You are the master of rails, structures, weathering, trains ! 👍
Welcome Italy! Thank you for such encouraging words. Cheers ~ Boomer from Canada. ;-)
I appreciate your down to earth approach and demonstrating the process
O.K. Thank You!
Thanks, Boomer. It's refreshing to hear someone else who shares my view on the impact lighting makes, but then again, my entire career as an electrician was focused on the impact lighting makes for most all of the projects I worked on. Lighting design has become an architectural design element of every project consideration on most projects since the introduction of white LEDs. LEDs have been around for quite some time. They were only capable of emitting red light, so they were only used in exit lights many years ago. Once technology improved to emit white light and developed to work out the bugs, it wasn't long before all other lamp sources were suddenly rendered obsolete. The push was on to reduce energy costs and for environmental concerns, and since the power company was impacted by the reduction of monthly KW usage, they justified a rate hike because they were losing revenue. No surprise there, hugh.
It's funny how lighting has become so important in all aspects of our lives. I think in many cases we take light for granted and forget how significant it is in everything we see. Natural or artificial light sets the mood, the drama, the emotions in one way or another when we view architecture, or a scene perhaps.
Boomer, I'm learning so much from your lighting videos! I've never done lighting on any model.
From the lighting of the ferry and now the warehouse, it is so helpful to see everything done in real time.
With no local hobby shops anymore, having to order parts can also be a real challenge.
So, by explaining who, what, where, when, why, and how much, it really helps.
Real quick, I've been meaning to mention the little circle photo of you and Dusty: Priceless!
Cheers
You can't go wrong with the "Warm" white LED (Lights) from Woodland Scenics (Just Plug). The system is very easy and it works well.
From the time I was a kid, I've been fascinated with lighting. Not just incandescent and neon, but also ambient. Dusk and dawn are still my favourite times of the day. As a young teen, I always loved to operate my model railway in the dark, putting rice bulbs, etc. in almost everything, trying to glaze some of them for different colour temps. I put them on an old throttle transformer so I could control the dimming. It also gave me an early lesson in resistors and circuits. Fortunately that was one of my father's hobbies. Still love lighting 50 years later. Another wonderfully inspiring video, Boomer! Thanks to you, I've become more mindful of composition, and putting scenery elements on ever-so-slight angles to draw the eye. Super advice!
Thanks for sharing your story and the inspiration it gives me. Cheers!
I appreciated the opening wide angle shot as a reminder of the overall layout. When you pulled the warehouse off, I was amazed at how the scene remained perfect with just a narrow strip blending into the back drop. Thanks.
I appreciate that! It took a lot of planning to get that right.
Hey Boomer. Great👍
Thanks again for the time you spend on these videos
Cheers
Bob
My pleasure!
Boomer & Dusty~,
Thank you once again for taking time to explain and motivate realistic quality modeling techniques again brother. 👍 Thanx Thom...
Thank you for watching!
Dear Boomer, finally I see a model railroader use a power drill appropriately! Love those light bezels. Looks awesome! With every episode I watch I’m ever more blown away by the level of realism you’re able to create with such simple methods. And yes I know, there’s a skill level, but still, the whole first section is looking more and more amazing! Cheerio
Thank you very much! That Makita drill goes back a long ways. ;-)
Boomer, You are so right, lights just add another dimension to a layout.
That warehouse now looks so realistic, just awesome. Thank you for the tips on building flats, so good.
Thank you for sharing, cheers, Happy Modelling, and stay safe, Michael
Thanks for the kind words. Glad you liked it!
Thanks for all you do Boomer. You have inspired me to completely up my game and treat all my scenes differently. Just this week I ripped out a crappy looking Woodland Scenics water pour and replaced it with Golden acrylics. Wow what a difference!!! So much easier to work with and much better looking results. YOU ROCK !!! 🙏✌️
The nice thing about those Golden & Liquitex Acrylics is you can go back a month later and add another layer and it gets better, and more translucent, as you build up additional clear textures over time. ;-)
Thanks!
I appreciate you watching and contributing to the channel! Cheers ~ Boomer.
Yet more inspiration from you Boomer. Thanks so much for sharing with us!
You are welcome!
Sitting in the dark with just the track lights and the large, looming warehouses in the background was one of my favorite things. Sadly, I’ve had to move so I gave OJUS park away and my new job has left me almost no time for modeling.
Really enjoyed the show the other night and winning the model was a surreal experience. If you’re good with adding a return address, I’d like to send you a small piece of non-modeling related art to show my appreciation. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Cheers,
Christian
That's very kind of you, thank you!
THANKS for this great Podcast Boomer and all your uploads❤ CHEERS, crazy Olli 😉
Thanks for listening and watching!
Love the weathered banged up jersey barriers. 🤘
Yes. Thank you. I used a dremel tool (with a small bit) to grind them up a bit. I wish Walthers would produce more. They seem to be quite scarce these days. ;-)
Hello my name is Jeremy Lawrence and I am new to the channel and a beginner at layout work. I've a 5x8 layout and it's well on its way to something great. Your content is inspiring, quite informative. I plan on observing your river railroad and learning how you do your hobbieng.thank you very respectfully sir
Welcome to the channel and to model railroading, Jeremy!
I noticed the Jorgenson wood clamps right off the bat! I use them for the exact same thing in my woodworking. Very handy to have on-hand 😊
I think those Jorgensen's are over thirty years old. ;-)
Great video. I’m thinking about some backdrop ideas here, so good timing! Lighting on the layout makes such a huge difference. I’m eventually putting lighting in everything.
I put the main lighting before I even layed track this time around. ;-)
Boomer it's all great . Modeling is a great thing. Love it.
I appreciate that!
I remember watching the warehouse video series the first time and the " ah- ha" moment with the plywood backed structures.
My first building/structure is going up on a plywood base and I find the ability to remove it to the workbench for whatever and it's resilience to damage an indispensable design feature.
The comments from friends in my circle are the very same " why didn't I think of that" . I like the central control panel for the lighting too.
The tutorial was informative.
Great video today!
Thank you for sharing your experience. It is great to hear it is working for you!
Ver realistic.. camera angles perfect 🥰
Thank you very much!
Sweet😊😊😊
Thanks! I appreciate you watching.
Boomer, you´re such an accomplish artist. Decades of experience and experimentation. May be one of your best teaching is having things removeable. Even a more positive point on small layout. For those with tight acreages, that love scratchbuilding, or kits and not enough room, they can replace them sort of history book layout. Even era and create so different mood and atmosphere. Before your warehouses of the 60´ there was an old 4 th story brick mill that was torn down. Or a seashore or rural prairie farmland. Diversity options create an almost unlimited results.
Good sunday and thanks for your sharing.
O.K. Thank you for sharing as well. ;-)
Superb! Everything that you have done is a huge inspiration. Thanks.
O.K. You are welcome!
Wow. That is so impressive. Are you a professional model builder?? If not, you should be.......Dave
Thank you! I was back in the day in film and museum work . . . but now I am retired and having fun. Building professional models is not much fun. On the other hand, building a model railroad is fun. Cheers. ;-)
I have a low relief warehouse as back drop to my railway which is also based on a real life prototype close to me. You have some beautiful detail on your model which I have enjoyed watching great work.
It doesn't take much to achieve authenticity. ;-)
Definitely an inspiration in my modelling thanks boomer.
Brad -willowcreek industrial spur
I'm glad the video is inspiring! Cheers.
I love me some Just Plug lights. Just tried the night setting on my phone camera - Awesome! You gave me some good ideas for small, printed backdrops. I currently have one shot I got off Google Images, of the interior of one of the industries I model. Cool stuff. Tricky to get the scale and angle right though. Take care - Bill.
I agree, getting the right scale and angle can be tricky with a printed backdrop!
Hi Boomer & it's is Randy and i like yours video is Cool & Thanks Boomer & Friends Randy
Cheers!
Cool as always. 👍
Thank you! Cheers!
Hi, I am new to this Channel and See so many Nice scènes. I have so many questions about the scenery, streets, water etc I am starting my small diorama and really have fear doing things wrong. Learning from people like you would be an honor. Greetz from NL
I like the fact that you are building a small diorama. I still do this every now-and-again because they restore confidence. Make sure you do things wrong now-and-again because we all do. Perfection and fear to fail will wreck our confidence every time. Fail forward like I do and through relentless practice, confidence will grow automatically.
Throw caution to the wind if you can. You will notice the increase in confidence the next day usually. I don't know why that is but it just seems to work that way when we press in to overcome little increments one at a time. ;-) Cheers ~ Boomer.
@ Thank you verry much. You have 600+ video’s. I will try to catch up
Are you going to model the locomotive shop near the QueensBorough Bridge? I know you would do a fantastic job. Excellent detail! So realistic!
The shops were in the initial plan for section one. As you can see I went with Annacis Island and the Ferry. I may consider it as a separate section that can be joined - like section five. ;-)
FOS is modeling Queens
I'm glad ya mentioned the double duty aspect of youtube'n your layout. I have way more damage from recording than anything else.😢🚂🇨🇦🙋 I'm still running laps, so you don't have to😊
I understand, recording can be brutal on the layout.
33%ter here , u killed it !!
Awesome! Thanks!
I absolutely agree - you certainly can over-detail and clutter-up a scene if you're not careful and aware. Over the last year or two it seems like I've removed almost as many detail bits as I've added! Be sure each piece added has a purpose...
I think you are right, a little detail goes a long way.
I think a lot of it boils down to an awareness of the scale viewing-distances with which you're working. I model in N Scale and a lot of items that look really nice in HO or O scale can turn into detail overload and look "unnatural" in N (the things that your eyes "can" technically see in the real world, but your brain tends to filter out as unimportant).
@@jonpowell-ov3yh I actually find some of the N Scale lights from Just Plug to be more appropriate to HO Scale.
With the building, look at the NCE light it. They have a built-in light diode and four digital outputs that allow you to turn building lights on and off like a locomotive. You could then automate using JMRI or a Mini Panel. Just a thought, but the lights become as flexible as they are in a locomotive. It looks so bland without the scenic props
I have thought about that and have a couple of ideas to explore further.
@@boomerdiorama JMRI can use the NCE scale time or just time to trigger an address. The accessory bus is one of the most underrated parts of the DCC package.
Look good.
Thank you!
Another great vidio.
Thanks again!
Incredible.
Cheers!
Damn it 😁! Sucked into the scene, once more... That lighting...
Question...
Have you ever considered doing a scene with a 'homeless' camp???
I was thinking of a beach fire . . . last week. ;-)
The angles are incredible on your layout and the addition and subtraction of different details always adds to the scene. Being Canadian myself have you ever thought of adding trash like a crushed blown Tim Hortons cup in the brush or through the slum landlord area. Just wondering I dabble with crepe paper and tissue paper to represent it.
Thanks for sharing. Those are details that are way down the list for me. No rush to get to those yet, at this build phase. Furthermore, most areas I go to have no trash anywhere.😁
Let's not forget Canadian Tire, eh. ;)
I like it when the scene is quite empty. I add realism to the layout.
I agree! Sometime a simple trash bin, all alone, will do the job. ;-)
Awesome!!!!
Thank you! Cheers!
😊😊
Thank you!
A commercial building requires 3-phase power. Your utility pole mounts 3 transformers. Nice.
I need to re-do some of those old poles. They seem rather dated for 2010 . . . lol. I just love the older "seventies" stuff and it seems to come out this way no matter how hard I try to be period specific. ;-) Thanks for sharing!
I use my phone for angles as I'm building, nothing to this standard. Mobile phone give you that nice preview from ground level, love your modelling
Oh yeah! Phones are awesome for miniature photography and getting down low as you say. ;-)
Boomer, you mentioned that your flats are angled at 4°. If you decrease the angle, at what point does it start to look too square? 3°? 2°? I'm building a single turnout 12" deep shelf layout (48" long), with a couple large warehouses and would love to hear your thoughts. I'm an engineer by trade, so composition and balance don't come naturally to me like it does you. :)
Appreciate all you do for the community Boomer!!
I find 4 Degrees works good for a 40" building flat. It is more noticeable the longer the building. As the building gets shorter it helps to increase the angle up to about 10 Degrees in some cases. I think as long as you stay away from "square" and "Rectangle" you should be good. A good rule of thumb is "No Symmetry." You want balance with angles in the architectural sense. Avoid parallel lines when it comes to footings against backdrops if you can.
Hello, Boomer! Ive been following you for a while now. I have a question, but realize that you're a busy man and may not be able to answer it. I'd like to add a 2' x 2' city scene to my layout. But I don't know what gets cone first. It seems to me that you put down the roads and sidewalks next, the the buildings, then the scenery. Is this the proper sequence?
And, are your building attached to the baseboard like you did in Hopper's Diner? In other words, are the buildings attached to the scenic balsa base with the whole thing a drop-in module? Or, are the buildings separate?
Thank you, John - an older boomer.
I would suggest putting down the roads and sidewalks first, then the buildings, then the scenery. Some building have the base built in, some don't. You have to go with whatever you feel comfortable with. When I build IPEX Plastics I will show how I build the building onto the base plate then drop the base plate, with the building attached, into a depression on the layout. I only do the latter if it's hard to reach in so I can work comfortably on my bench without wrecking my back up on the step ladder.
@@boomerdiorama THANK YOU!
Wow again Boomer, when people say aim high the sky has no limits but the imagination is endless
I agree. The one thing I find is the more time you spend around the layout, the more opportunities we have to implement them. If we don't write them down, or impose the idea right away, we tend to forget about it . . . and then the idea is lost.
Boomer, if you paint mountains as part of your backdrop, will you try to include the 'Golden Ears'?
You raise a point I have thought about. The Golden Ears would work as a distant shape facing North which is above the Warehouse. I would even be able to include Mt. Baker as well. But that is quite a ways off yet. ;-)
@@boomerdiorama The Golden Ears at sunset; especially when snow-capped, are spectacularly beautiful.
My wife used hike up there every month with her friend during the summer. It's an awesome place for sure. ;-)
@@boomerdiorama Wow, never trekked the Golden Ears, just summer hikes up Grouse mountain from street to ski lodge, which was always fantastic.
Boomer, are you giving out certificates for those who viewed your training courses? LOL YODA!
I wish!
@@boomerdiorama 🤣🤣🤣
😂
what do you do for a living? what is your layout based on?
I'm a contractor for the local Municipality. I used to be a professional model maker in film and museums, several decades ago. Been modeling all my life. The layout is based on the short line - SRY Rail Link in the Fraser Valley of Southern British Columbia, Canada. Cheers.
@boomerdiorama my dream is to make a layout based on the western half of U. S. bnsf, up, etc. I got into model railroads in grade school because my uncle gave me a train set. I enjoyed it through junior high, then I stopped because out of my parents house, I didn't have any room for it. I still have most my stuff though.
Thanks!
Thank you! I appreciate your gracious support!
@@boomerdiorama Thank YOU for all that you do to make us better modelers! You're investing heavily in us.