In this video I show you how I made a beautiful riverside scene cheaply and easily for my N scale model railway layout. I used nothing other than card, toilet paper, sand, stones, cat litter, glue, paint, and varnish to create this stunning scene.
If you have ever wanted a river on your model railway but don’t know where to start, have a look at how I created the riverbed in card and then created the surface of the water with toilet paper.
Making this model river and its scratch-built card weir was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed making this video which shows how I did it. I give you lots of hints and tips as I show you how I made the riverbanks, the weir and the storm drain. I show you how I made the water look real, both the deep, slow-moving water, and the shallower water as the river flows over rocks and pebbles. I also show you how I used glue and sand to make a realistic white water effect as the model water flows over the weir.
I thought that making a realistic model river would be hard, but I was wrong – it turned out to be quite straightforward. I thought I would need resin to make a good effect, but I was also wrong. You only need glue, paint, and varnish. I am really pleased with my cheap, easy-to-make, realistic model river, and I hope you enjoy this video which shows you how I made it!
CHANDWELL EPISODE 37
Making a stunning realistic river weir scene for my N gauge model railway layout
00: 00 Introduction
00: 18 The shape of the river bed
02: 14 The storm drain
03: 39 The weir
07: 15 Making the deep river
09: 45 Making the shallow river
13: 58 Riverbanks and islands
15: 07 The riverside path
17: 57 The fallen tree trunk
19: 26 Getting the look of water
21: 00 Making white water
25: 11 Varnishing the river surface