TASK 1: Build the base

Scotland’s railway was built through the landscape, clinging to the edges of valleys, with towering rocks on one side and deep drops on the other. The key to creating this look in miniature is to raise the trackbed from the baseboard surface and Woodland Scenics Foam Risers enable you to achieve this. Raising the trackbed means you can move above and below track level. This lightweight foam material is perfect for a portable layout. This diorama measures just 60cm by 25cm and is an easily storable slice of Scotland. However, from a photographic point of view, it’s a bit too small. I should have included a bit more foreground - at the moment, the train looks like it’s dropping over the edge of the baseboard, rather than running along the edge of a valley! It’s important to keep within the parameters of a diorama, but a few extra inches would make all the difference.