# Layout Question - Scenes



## James (Nov 3, 2015)

I was wondering what y'all think of Woodland Scenics? I'm a newbie here, and looking at the Walthers catalog I just got, Woodland Scenics has complete layout kits. Are they worth getting or should one build their scene piece by piece and do their own thing? Looking forward to any and all advice you gave give to a total beginner.

Thanks,
James Sontag


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Many of us will use Woodland Sceneics materials for landscaping,
track ballast and the like. The most annoying factor of W/S
ballast is that it's made of nut shells and floats when ballasting
glues are applied. 

Products of this company are real rocks and they won't float.

http://www.rrscenery.com/Home/Links/AZROCK5.html

The W/S greenery is very usable for making lawns, weed patches,
hedges, trees or whatever. It's best to make the trees yourself,
and it can be fun.

Don


----------



## /6 matt (Jul 7, 2015)

As for the second part of your question, if you want to buy and build their complete layout kit, go for it. If not build you own.


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

James, Woodland Scenics is a manufacturer of scenery products that are widely available. Most of their products are very easy to use, and give great results. Nice people, too; I've been hobnobbing with them at the Amherst Train Show in Massachusetts for years, and they've all been great.

Two caveats about WS products. First, as noted above, their ballast isn't real rock, and can float (although proper wetting and use of a flowing agent in your adhesive largely mitigates this). Secondly, they like to market their products as a complete package... adhesives, foam products, landscape materials, tools, etc. Their instructions would lead you to believe that only their products work with their products, which is pure marketing hype. You can freely mix and match. WS products do have the advantage of being readily available in most hobby stores, so it's easy to run out and restock if you run out of something.

Whether the layout kits are "worth it" is more personal. Certainly, they are almost idiot proof, and anyone can get good results. However, they are designed to lock you into the WS line, and while they do save money over buying each item individually, you end up with lots of stuff you don't really need -- like foam pencils, foam brushes, etc, which are more cheaply purchased at a hardware store, and colors of scenic materials you may not want to use (buff ballast, for instance). It also means you drop a big wad of cash ($1072 at MSRP, for the layout, structure, track, and scenery kits). Yeah, you can spread those purchases out, but it still might be easier on your budget to buy only what you need now, rather than everything you'll ever need.

Plus, for my money, I'd rather design my own than build someone else's design, but that's a personal thing too.

So, if you're in a hurry to get up and running, and money is no object, you can do a lot worse. You can probably do the basic layout (no scenery or structures) and track laying in a long weekend, and add the scenery and structures in a more leisurely manner.


----------



## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

I pretty much second what CTValleyRR says.


----------

