Choose the right details
Road furniture goes a long way to setting the scene of a layout. It helps to define the time period that the layout is intended to represents. Plus, the more paraphernalia generally means the more urban the setting.
This includes post boxes, road signs, advertising hoardings, streetlamps, bicycle racks, traffic lights, Belisha beacons, bus shelters and street signs.
Some of these accessories come ready‑painted, others need to be painted.
Some helpfully come with a pin ready for planting on the layout. A small blob of PVA adhesive or contact adhesive will fix them to the layout regardless.
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BRUSH UP ON YOUR ROAD THEORY
Refer to the Highway Code to check what signs and road markings are accurate for your chosen era. Older versions can often be found at car boot and jumble sales. There are also various
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OTHER READY-TO-LAY PAVING
A selection of road and paving surfaces by (from left to right) Wills, ER Decor, Train Terrain and Superquick.
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ROADSIDE FURNISHINGS
EFE also produce a selection of road furniture such as and bus shelters, while Bachmann offer some neat central‑shell bollards (albeit solid and therefore not easily lit as per the prototype).
TOP TIP 14 DOWN THE GUTTER Add drain covers and manhole covers to super detail roads, which are available from Noch and Sankey Scenics (pictured) as well as others.
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METCALFE’S PAVING SLABS
Metcalfe Models offers paving slabs for ‘N’ and ‘OO’ gauges as pre‑cut self‑adhesive card sheets. Laying is easy and the more you lay the quicker it becomes. Each ‘OO’ scale pack contains more than 1,000 full and half size slabs plus edging and corners. Each individual slab simply peels from the backing sheet and can be stuck in place, though I find that it is wise to spread a thin layer of PVA adhesive to the base material below the slabs to ensure they are secure.
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Bus stops are a prerequisite for most roads close to dwellings or industry. The plastic shelter and resin base are both Bachmann Scencraft ready‑to‑plonk mouldings. The bus is by Exclusive First Editions (EFE).
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We are also blessed with cottage industry supplied materials, such as these road signs by Miniscene Models.