Photographer Unknown Appeared in Railway Modeller
Essay
American layout builders could learn much from their British cousins when it comes to choosing a fascia color for their layout. The above photograph of a putty-colored fascia amply illustrates that point. The color chosen by this layout builder is a soothing match for his layout; it does not distract in the least from his modeling efforts.
A bit about the layout depicted. Modeled by Ian Clark, this layout was constructed in a scale called Scalefour - 4mm/ft (1:76.2 scale). It is set in September 1929, after exhibited in several shows until 2009, after which it was installed in the owner's loft (I suppose he means "attic"). To see a YouTube video of this layout visit https://youtu.be/SA0dETbah3c which has been posted as part of a Virtual Scalefour North International 2021 exhibit.
Anyone over the age of 16 is welcome to the the Scalefour Society. Information is available at www.scalefourt.org or memsec@scalefour.org.
Too often green is employed in the US to paint our facias when a more fitting color would do better. Another over-utilitzed color for layout fascias is the color black; I write this knowing full well that black is often an effective fascia color. Even worse, we often see a beautifully done model railroad in the United States that has no paint on its fascia at all. Indeed, too often the length of time the facia has remained unpainted is betrayed by aging of the Masonite that has become apparent by the color change observed. It is bewildering to this author that someone could put as much as decades of work into a model railroad only to leave it unframed with a painted fascia. To learn more about fascia treatments, visit my essay (located at the Layout Design Primer) at the Layout Design Special Interest Group web site www.ldsig.org.
Revised January 15, 2022
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