# My First Layout



## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

Hi y'all! My name's Imanol, and I'm an 18 year old guy from Bilbao in the north of Spain. I got interested in this hobby a couple years ago and started building my first layout. I bought lots of kits without thinking or planning and the whole thing looked so ugly I stopped working on it about a year ago. These last weeks I've been doing some remodelation but ended up reaching to the conclusion that the only thing that could be done was starting again. So I've broken all down, tomorrow I'll buy a new base board, and I'll be showing you the process of building the new layout. I'm a total rookie, so I'll be listening any suggestion you have for me. The model is in HO scale. It's set in the Ruhr area, in Germany (mainly because 90% of the models my local hobby store sells are of german brands) The board is about 2'1m long and 1'5m wide. The scene will depict a German style town, and an industrial area with an oil refinery with tank farm and a gas storage facility. Here are some photos, you can still see the remains of scenic grass, turf and dirt adhered to the board Hope you like it, and again, feel free to make suggestions. Don't expect amazing results, but I'll still try my best!


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Welcome.

I too am modeling Deutsche Bahn in southern Germany and northern Austria in the Tyrol.

Mine will be mostly small villages and a town with shops and scenic areas. 

Mine will be running mostly ICE and passenger service with a through frieght now and then.


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## sid (Mar 26, 2018)

looks good i like them tanks.


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## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

Thank you!


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## NAJ (Feb 19, 2016)

Your layout is slightly larger than mine and I crammed a lot of stuff into a small space, your only limitation is your imagination.
I am also very fond of oil tanks and tank cars.
Good Luck and Have Fun!!!


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## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

Okay, so I went to my local wood supplier and they don't have what I need, so this afternoon I'll try and go to LeRoy Merlin and order the board for tomorrow. In the meanwhile I started building another tank. The kit is the Auhagen 12216 "Tank Farm Extension" and it's the same as the other two tall grey tanks shown in the pictures. I like them because they are have good detail and are really cheap (about 13€ in Amazon) They only need some weathering to look more lifelike. I started with the concrete berm. I had no idea how to do this, so I just used black Vallejo wash and then drybrushed white paint over the corners. Doesn't look so bad! Here's a pic:


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

I'm very fond of Auhagen products. They are well engineered, never a missing part, and they go together easily with good instructions.

I also like the fact they always include a small packet of ground cover for window boxes and such, and where needed, there is always a paper interior to fold up and install.

Some kits also include a sheet of street signs, railroad signs, advertisement, etc.


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## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

Yeah, I also quite like them!
Well, so it was a one day build. Here are some pics of the finished and weathered tank. In fact it's the first ever kit I weathered. I'll have to give some paint to the older ones too. It's obviously not perfect, but I'm happy with the results.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Very nicely done.


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

Looks good!


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## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

Soo I'm having problems to find plywood boards big enough for my layout. I might have to divide it in parts. In the meanwhile I started scratch building the structures for the refinery. I started with a furnace. I have no experience in this so I'm using 1mm thick cardboard painted with silver spray paint. I don't pretty much like the colour so I might retouch it later. The building is inspired out of photos on the internet and from my own pictures from a refinery that's a few miles away from where I live, close to the beach. In fact is Spain's biggest, so lots of inspiration there! I'm also planning to buy Walther's United Petroleum Refinery kit but it's pricey and very hard to find in Europe.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Card stock has been a basic material in
model building for decades. It's easy to cut
and form, and, along with a good frame it
is strong.

Instead of trying to build your benchwork using
large plywood sheets, consider building a series
of modules of various sizes that you bolt together
to achieve the size and design of your layout.

It's easy to construct them then take them to
the train room. I used 1X3s for the frame and cross
members. I also used them in an L for legs, bolted
in corners they provide good stability. Use bolts and
screws, never nails.

Don


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## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

Interesting advice, I will follow it for sure. Real thanks!!!
Also, a quick update. I spent weekend out sailing with some friends so I couldn't do much work. I still managed to lose the keys of the attic where I'm building the layout, so I don't know what to do. I'll have to call a locksmith later this week! In the meanwhile, using some measurements I took earlier this month I managed to purchase I build a bus station scene from Preiser. Looks pretty nice! It costs about 10€ and comes with two sidewalk tiles and six figures. For the moment I only glued one. Also, instead of gluing the two base parts together for a longer one I will have one at each side of the road, with it's length adjusted to fit my needs. For those who might be interested, product number is Preiser 3760-10414. Pic here:


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Preiser is from who I will be buying all of my figures for my town scenes.

They have a huge selection including specialized groups like polizei, station personnel, passengers, etc.


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## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

Hi there again! Time for updates! The refinery is making progress. I purchased the Walthers kit (for about two hundred euros, ouch) and I just started building it. I also got plans for another structure: a distillation tower with a heat exchanger. I've got a plastic tube for the tower, and for the exchanger I think I'm going to use styrene H beams for structure and cardboard for the floors. I don't really know how to do the pipes. Anyway, you all are more experienced than me, so feel free to make suggestions on how I should work. Also, I don't know if I mentioned it but I study architecture, so if any of you need plans for your structures, I can turn your sketches into detailed PDF plans using CAD easily. Just ask me!
Also, I'd like to say that I really appreciate the interest and feedback you guys show. Y'all are great!
Pic of the CAD model for the distillation tower (I didn't do this one)


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

That's quite the project, well beyond my skills.
It dose however look like you have the skills to pull it off.
Good luck with it and keep us posted on progress.

Magic


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## lyrics 51 (Mar 9, 2016)

You have some pretty good skills and obvious patience! I'm looking forward to seeing how things turn out. Keep posting.


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## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

Real thanks, guys!!! But I'm not really skilled, maybe just patient 😄
Okay, so I thought this could be useful for you. I started working on the tower. I first started spray painting the PVC tube silver. Then I started working on the maintenance platforms. I used 1mm thick cardboard, which I painted yellow with a special pen: a Carioca Posca. These are really useful. They are markers that instead of using ink, they use acrylic paint. The result is the same that with a brush, at least on flat surfaces, maybe even better. Here I noticed a problem: the cardboard lacked detailed, it seemed soo flat. Wondering what to do I found the wrap of a gift we got at a wedding we attended last month. It is some kind of nylon mesh, with really small holes. I cut a piece and glued it with Cyanocrilate (Loctite) on top of the cardboard piece, then painted it yellow. The results are inmediate. You can see the difference between the square platform, without it, and the round one, with it. The cost is also extremely cheap. In fact, I still haven't paid a single euros for this. Hope this serves in case anybody is doing something similar!


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## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

Ok, so here's the first part: the fractioning tower! It's the first ever structure I scratchbuilt. I will build the rest after finishing the Walthers kit, so I make sure the pipings fit.
Soo, a quick guide on how to do it.
MATERIALS:
-1mm thick cardboard
-1'5 cm wide PVC pipe. For a tower like mine, cut a 14 cm long piece. This will make for a standard 12 meter tall tower, used in most refineries as an auxiliary vacuum fractioning unit. Otherwise, you can make taller towers by just cutting longer PVC parts
- Nylon tulle
- HO scale railings (In my case I've used the Faller 180403 kit)
- HO scale ladders (I've used Aneste brass ladders, but I'll maybe swap them for Plastruct ladder with cage)
- Yellow acrylic paint (or Posca Marker)
- Silver spray paint
- Black Vallejo Wash
- Cyanocrilate
If you have any equivalent material at home use it, and don't waste your money!
COST:
The most expensive items are the railings and ladders. I bought both for 12€ (7€ the railings and 4€ the ladders). The paint section will also cost around 15€. The rest of the things won't be over 7€.
In total, in case you don't have any of the materials the build will be around 35€
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Paint the PVC pipe with the silver spray. Let it dry for 48h
- Cut out the maintenance platforms following the diagram below (use the 1mm thick cardboard) and paint them with the yellow Posca Marker or acrylic paint. Pierce a hole through the center of the square platform. This is where your pipes will be in the future
- Glue a piece of tulle on top of each platform with CA, and give it another yellow coat
- Glue the railings to the platforms. The measures of my platforms have been designed to fit with the Faller railings. If you're using another brand you might want to adjust them. For the curved railing, use a small cylindrical object to curve it to shape. This process might take some time, so be patient. If you want, you can paint the railings yellow like I did. In fact you can use any colour scheme you want, buy yellow is the most traditional.
- Now it's time to let your inner artist shine! Weather all the parts. I used the Vallejo black wash, but use anything you feel confident with
- Glue the square platform on top and the round one 7 cm below at half the height of the model. If you are building a taller tower you may want to build two round platforms. MAKE SURE THEY ARE ALIGNED SO STAIRS WILL FIT
- Paint the stairs and glue them on the model. Make sure they are straight.
ASK ME IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBT OF IR ANYTHING ISN'T CLEAR. I WILL LOVE TO HELP YOU!
Pics and diagram:


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## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

Started detailing the top of the tower. I added the first part of the piping. I've used the Walthers kit for this. The design is easy. For more detail I painted the valve in enamel red paint (Humbrol N19) and then gave it all a Vallejo wash. Finally I highlighted the screw details of the joints by painting them with silver paint (Citadel Chainmail). I also added a light. As you can see I ripped off the ladders because they looked soo unrealistic. More updates soon!


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## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

Soo, good news! Plywood boards are at home!!! I was able to finally go to Leroy Merlin store and order the plywood parts. I followed Don's advice and divided it in two modules that are going to be bolted together when doing framework. The final measures will be 2'40m long and 1'60m wide. Tomorrow I will buy the parts for the framework and upload photos of it as soon as I start working on it. One funny thing, the shop had no delivery vehicles available in summer, I have no car and mom said that no plywood board will be in her new BMW, so I had to take a 3km walk with those heavy as hell boards. No more gym for this week!


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## Imanoolg_33 (Jul 10, 2018)

So I've just started to build the table and I thought I'd share some photos of the size of the new board. I will also make some ampliations of the tracks.
I also wanted to show you a new model I've built, a Faller town house. I had built this model before but didn't like how it looked so I've made it again.What do y'all think?


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

Town house looks great.


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## sid (Mar 26, 2018)

wahoo another one to watch . keep posting them pics . looking good so far . like the town house too.


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## tr1 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Redoing double mainline over and under.*

Bassically I'll be prepping for "DCC" from the start.
And also have "dc" for an old stand by. with the DPDT switch.
I'm tired of all the decouplings /derailments, on the original layout
plan of cookie cutter design.
I'll be soldering the drop wires on from the start. Then I'll weather with camo brown paint maybe
put on a light wash to represent the sun
weathering/bleaching.
This time I'll sand down the cork roadbed and use "peco" turnouts
The layout double mainline I'm redoing is the Atlas "Granite Gorge& Northern"
This time, I will glue down the track with white glue and stick
pins and solder on a flat surface. This time I'll ballast with white
stones. I'll use a ping pong table for the flat surface when soldering. I'll be busy this fall/& winterWish me good luck!!! Regards,tr1


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

Looking forward to seeing your build tr1.

Magic


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

impressive model building skills. Great job!


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## Chops124 (Dec 23, 2015)

Rather enjoyed your efforts: the domed architecture and other buildings most interesting to see. Do you model a Spanish prototype, or another? 

I've picked up a few Electrotren pieces over the years, and love 
the stuff, myself.


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## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

Those storage tanks look AMAZING! I wish I could have found something like that a long time ago!

-J.


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