Arnie’s 8×5 N scale layout packs a lot in:
“The layout, despite its impression of greater size, dimension and depth, is only 8 feet by 5 feet. I’ve attached some layout overview photos and a track plan of the SV&GS2.
The LEDs in the cars a very bright despite there miniscule size (1.8mm?). This causes light flaring and bleeding through the plastic bodies.
So I had to separated the bodies from the undercarriage and paint the interiors with flat black paint. Then where light still shone through, I touched up the exterior paint.
And lastly I painted the perimeter of the lights to make the lenses look smaller and more to scale.
Arnie”
You can see all of the stunning pics for this 8×5 N scale track plan here.
Arnie’s work is always a joy to look at. His track plan is far from simple, but that’s how a relatively small layout, can pack in so much.
In fact, if you look at his pics, you could be forgiven for wondering if it was more than one layout, because there is so much going on: bridges, tunnels, rivers, sidings, hill sides and suburbia.
But even with all this going on, the layout gels together so well.
What’s more, this track plan looks just as impressive at night. Arnie’s LED lighting really does make it come alive – it’s funny how even the smallest bit of lighting on a layout, makes such a difference.
You can see Arnie’s night time lighting on his layout here. There’s lots of details – the car lights in both directions make the scene look so realistic.
The night time pics also show just how different a layout can look at night. In Arnie’s case, his layout looks amazing no matter what time it is.
Al.