# achiving illusion of scale



## jeleak (Dec 14, 2015)

Alright after much consideration, I have decided on a layout display for a future track. What I want to model after is the trip from Anchorage AK to Whittier Ak. It's about 60 miles or 3,640 feet in HO  the room I have in mind is 7'x11' I was planning on cutting out a fair bit and to just get the jist of the trip. I am also wanting to add a scale model of Alyeska with tram and ski lifts, the mountain is 2,300 feet tall in real life. I would like to model in HO due to the larger volume of Ak rail stuff from the factory, are there tips/tricks that I am unaware of to get it to still look "real" in this scale?


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

A good starting point would be to get an HO scale 'ruler'.

You can measure or use posted real feet and inch measurements of anything,
then draw that thing in HO scale feet and inches. Using that you can
create scale trees, buildings, trestles or whatever you want for your
scenes. And it will all match the scale of your HO trains.

Obviously you are going to have to build hills and mountains much less
than actual scale of those big dudes of Alaska. But you can get prints
of them to use as a background with smaller hills where your trains are.

Don


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

And if you want to add additional depth/scale, you can use N or Z scale accessories set way back from the edge of the layout to create an illusion of distance as well. (Would be useful for the ski-lift/mountain)


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## jeleak (Dec 14, 2015)

To piggy back my earlier post with out having to make another thread. Has anyone seen or made it snow on their layout? I don't mean you sift it then call it good but have it so it will drop snow so that you actually see the snow fall onto the layout. For example you flip a switch a shaker up top drops snow it falls then a collection system returns it to the shaker.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

The weather outside is frightful, and with snow actually
falling on your layout the electrical problems are not delightful.

Think of how the train wheels will pick up whatever is on
the rails. It would not be long before the loco comes to
a halt. 

Instead, just get a recording of Claude Thornhill's 'Snowfall'
and let it take you to a Winter Trainland that keeps
on working.

Don


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

jeleak said:


> To piggy back my earlier post with out having to make another thread. Has anyone seen or made it snow on their layout? I don't mean you sift it then call it good but have it so it will drop snow so that you actually see the snow fall onto the layout. For example you flip a switch a shaker up top drops snow it falls then a collection system returns it to the shaker.



Easy to type. Have you given some thought to how this collection system would actually work? 

The only thing I think might actually work is to use the old cinematic or stage technique: make the snow fall between two panes of glass in front of your layout. Even that would be logistically challenging, but not impossible.


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## jeleak (Dec 14, 2015)

Not really, thus why I wanted to be dumb and lazy and just steal the idea from someone more cleaver than I lol!  To clarify what I had in mind I wasn't wanting to drop snow on rails but certain areas of the lay out. But it seems what I am wanting to do, it doesn't seem economically viable.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

2300 feet in HO scale? That would be about 26.44 feet high! Well, use wall for the hill scenic view would work. 

I would go with partial ski slope and use the wall for the scenic effect.


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