Train set Christmas tree base
Discussion
After being inspired by the various threads on here discussing train sets around the base of the Christmas Tree, and having had the tree simply sat on the carpet last year, myself & my other half decided to have a bash at putting something together for this year.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER! : Our tree is not up yet, we are not the type of people who put it up in November!
I still own a couple of basic Hornby sets from when I was a kid in the mid nineties, but we decided to pick up the Santa's Express set (great price from Jadlam) so we could go to town on decorating the track/wagons etc. It's the older Santa's Express set with the 2 half-straights, to which I added 2 more half-straights from an old Hornby track extension pack.
This gave us a sort of curved square (or squared loop) which would fit nicely on a 1m x 1m board. Because it would have to fit through the loft hatch for storage after Christmas, the base board is in 2 halves, joined together by 2x2 runners underneath, which also handily raise the board off just off the ground.
I'd never done much modelling of this kind before- when I was younger I just enjoyed watching the trains go around! So that side of it was all rather new, but fortunately my other half is extremely creative and loves this kind of thing so she was responsible for a lot of the painting/detailing- I focused on building the boards, and the frame for the tunnel etc.
Base boards are 18mm thick plywood liberated from a recycling centre, the landscaping was a mixture of Celotex offcuts and cardboard, all covered in layers of Modrock (helpfully giving a white base prior to painting). Several cans of white spray paint followed, along with a ton of a mixture of ballast/fine artificial snow/glitter/pva/water- before a final dusting of snow spray over everything.
The back half isn't so detailed as it will largely be hidden anyway once it's sat on the floor and the 7ft Christmas Tree is put in place (the base of this is the green thing in the first & last photos).
Obviously it's been done more with the focus on being a Christmas decoration rather than being a true scale railway model, but we are properly pleased with the outcome- even if it did feel a bit odd starting work on Christmas stuff at the end of October
Oh, and the basic plastic Hornby controller that came with the set is utter crap- I liberated one of my old 90's vintage controllers instead and the difference is night & day- progress for you I guess
So, anyone else getting into the Christmas spirit?!
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER! : Our tree is not up yet, we are not the type of people who put it up in November!
I still own a couple of basic Hornby sets from when I was a kid in the mid nineties, but we decided to pick up the Santa's Express set (great price from Jadlam) so we could go to town on decorating the track/wagons etc. It's the older Santa's Express set with the 2 half-straights, to which I added 2 more half-straights from an old Hornby track extension pack.
This gave us a sort of curved square (or squared loop) which would fit nicely on a 1m x 1m board. Because it would have to fit through the loft hatch for storage after Christmas, the base board is in 2 halves, joined together by 2x2 runners underneath, which also handily raise the board off just off the ground.
I'd never done much modelling of this kind before- when I was younger I just enjoyed watching the trains go around! So that side of it was all rather new, but fortunately my other half is extremely creative and loves this kind of thing so she was responsible for a lot of the painting/detailing- I focused on building the boards, and the frame for the tunnel etc.
Base boards are 18mm thick plywood liberated from a recycling centre, the landscaping was a mixture of Celotex offcuts and cardboard, all covered in layers of Modrock (helpfully giving a white base prior to painting). Several cans of white spray paint followed, along with a ton of a mixture of ballast/fine artificial snow/glitter/pva/water- before a final dusting of snow spray over everything.
The back half isn't so detailed as it will largely be hidden anyway once it's sat on the floor and the 7ft Christmas Tree is put in place (the base of this is the green thing in the first & last photos).
Obviously it's been done more with the focus on being a Christmas decoration rather than being a true scale railway model, but we are properly pleased with the outcome- even if it did feel a bit odd starting work on Christmas stuff at the end of October
Oh, and the basic plastic Hornby controller that came with the set is utter crap- I liberated one of my old 90's vintage controllers instead and the difference is night & day- progress for you I guess
So, anyone else getting into the Christmas spirit?!
Fantastic work! Looks great.
Co-incidentally I've been planning almost exactly the same thing, but at the moment it's only a pile of parts and some plans in my head... and a very crude paint drawing....
I had the same idea about the tunnel at the rear to hide everything.
I also have the Hornby Santa's Express, but have to make the track a complete first radius circle due to space constraints - the layout also has to split into 2 halves to fit through the loft hatch... which is probably the main reason I haven't started the over-complicated build yet!
You've inspired me to get cracking though for next Christmas....
Co-incidentally I've been planning almost exactly the same thing, but at the moment it's only a pile of parts and some plans in my head... and a very crude paint drawing....
I had the same idea about the tunnel at the rear to hide everything.
I also have the Hornby Santa's Express, but have to make the track a complete first radius circle due to space constraints - the layout also has to split into 2 halves to fit through the loft hatch... which is probably the main reason I haven't started the over-complicated build yet!
You've inspired me to get cracking though for next Christmas....
timmymagic73 said:
Fantastic work! Looks great.
Co-incidentally I've been planning almost exactly the same thing, but at the moment it's only a pile of parts and some plans in my head... and a very crude paint drawing....
I had the same idea about the tunnel at the rear to hide everything.
I also have the Hornby Santa's Express, but have to make the track a complete first radius circle due to space constraints - the layout also has to split into 2 halves to fit through the loft hatch... which is probably the main reason I haven't started the over-complicated build yet!
You've inspired me to get cracking though for next Christmas....
The plans look good! I would definitely suggest leaving enough time to do it- we started this at the end of October and it's only just been finished this week. Ours is in two parts too, I simply used two 2x2 batons that locate into runners along the length of the underside. So when it's time to take down I just undo 4 screws (accessible from the top), slide the batons out of the runners and the board is in two pieces. The only downside is having to keep that in mind the whole time doing the scenery- no overlapping the two boards...Co-incidentally I've been planning almost exactly the same thing, but at the moment it's only a pile of parts and some plans in my head... and a very crude paint drawing....
I had the same idea about the tunnel at the rear to hide everything.
I also have the Hornby Santa's Express, but have to make the track a complete first radius circle due to space constraints - the layout also has to split into 2 halves to fit through the loft hatch... which is probably the main reason I haven't started the over-complicated build yet!
You've inspired me to get cracking though for next Christmas....
Yertis said:
I love how you're allowed to store axle stands in the dining room.
She's a bit of a petrolhead herself and comes from a petrolhead family so she's always said that kind of thing is pretty normal to her. In a similar fashion she helped me turn a third of our back garden into hard-standing for the TVR so that we could get both my other car and her Z4 on the drive at the same time.
Definitely a keeper!
spitfire-ian said:
Damnit, this thread has now cost me money...
One Hornby Christmas train set on its way to run around the bottom of our tree.
Just hope it goes down well at home now else it, and me, will be banished to the shed!
Just remember to explain that it's a Christmas decoration, not a train set, and I'm sure you'll be golden! One Hornby Christmas train set on its way to run around the bottom of our tree.
Just hope it goes down well at home now else it, and me, will be banished to the shed!
Squirrelofwoe said:
Yertis said:
I love how you're allowed to store axle stands in the dining room.
She's a bit of a petrolhead herself and comes from a petrolhead family so she's always said that kind of thing is pretty normal to her. In a similar fashion she helped me turn a third of our back garden into hard-standing for the TVR so that we could get both my other car and her Z4 on the drive at the same time.
Definitely a keeper!
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