Photo shoot

A friend recently asked to see a few images of my HO scale Bachmann Spectrum 4-4-0. I wanted to show it in context with some scenery rather than just the loco on a plain background. I used a few structures and a length of track for a minimal scene.

Here’s an overall view of the set up. The track and structures are placed onto the photo backdrop. I use a buff color press sheet I picked up almost 20 years ago.

Here’s a closer view of the structures. These are all shallow depth built from kit parts. On the left is a curtain wall building made from City Classics Smallman Street Warehouse parts. I made the windows by scribing lines on clear styrene then filling the scribed lines with acrylic paint.

The middle building is from a Design Preservation Miniatures kit, which is now available through Woodland Scenics. It’s the back wall and part of a side wall. The structure on the right was made from Rix Products board and batten building components. This kit has been out of production for a few years.

The building arrangement provides a setting for the loco and a couple freight cars. While the scene is bare bones, the structures add context for the loco and freight cars.

It was fun to pull these things together and snap a few photos. The hot summer weather here seems to have passed, so I can return to building a couple layout sections in my garage.


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4 thoughts on “Photo shoot”

  1. Great post Eric! I really like what you did for the building flats. I put together a building flat scene from scrap structures this past spring also that I hope to use in future photo scenes…George Dutka

    1. Thanks for your comment, George! I look forward to seeing your work with a few scrap structures. – Eric H.

  2. Hmm, I wonder if maybe it could be just because I’m autistic but the vertical lines of background coming down on the locomotive break it in to pieces and make it almost impossible to absorb it as a unified item.

    1. Thanks for your commment, Scott. I can see what you mean. I think we all see something a little differently in photographs. – Eric H.

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