An open-plan baseboard built by SMK Modellbau of Germany, which specializes in making layouts for customers anywhere in Europe.
HOW TO BUILD BASEBOARDS
Build a good baseboard and you are on the way to making a good layout.
The baseboard is one of the fundamental parts of a layout. Good, well-built baseboards are important in contributing to satisfaction within the hobby. Conversely, warping baseboards that lead to derailments will detract from your enjoyment. If the construction of the baseboards is good, the chances are that the trains will run well and the layout will last a long time.
GENERAL ADVICE
There are many good model railway books and leaflets describing how to make baseboards and these will assist your woodworking skills and knowledge. These include: Railway Modelling: the Realistic Way by Iain Rice; the Peco Setrack OO/HO and N scale Planbooks and the Peco Shows You How booklet on building baseboards.
Read layout construction articles in model railway magazines to see what tips you can pick up from other modellers. When visiting model railway shows, look at the baseboard construction of the layouts. Most exhibitors are particularly proud of their baseboards and the supporting legs. Chat with the operators and they will be ready to pass on the lessons they learned. Various layout-building firms attend the largest model railway shows and it is worth chatting to their representatives and looking at their products. Even if you do not order a layout from them, you will be able to gain ideas and see the latest construction techniques.
Enjoy building the baseboards. It is best to view them as more than just a necessary part of the layout-building process. Though most of the baseboard will not be seen by the viewing public, the better the baseboard construction, the better the layout will be.
An open-plan baseboard built by SMK Modellbau of Germany, which specializes in making layouts for customers anywhere in Europe.
We do not need to have an A Level in carpentry to build robust baseboards, because it is a skill that can be learned. The criteria that you are aiming for with each baseboard is lightness yet strength, a smooth top surface and something that will accept pins, such as those that hold the track on to the baseboard.
As you plan to build the baseboards, consider their size and weight. The bigger the baseboard, the more difficult it will be to carry and to store. The heavier the baseboard, the more difficult it will be to move, especially if you are working on your own. Baseboards measuring 1.2 x 0.6m (4 x 2ft) are generally accepted to be the maximum size that is suitable for regular movement by one person.
If you do feel nervous about building a baseboard, begin by making a diorama baseboard. This will give you the confidence to tackle larger baseboards later. Building a diorama baseboard will provide experience of measuring the timber, cutting out the baseboard surface, making the framework and attaching all the component parts together using a variety of techniques, including glue, nails and screws. For the various fittings that will assist baseboard construction, go to: www.stationroadbaseboards.co.uk/menu_fittings.htm
A top surface of a baseboard can use plywood, MDF, Sundeala or other timber sheets. These can be cut to size at some local DIY stores or timber merchants. Use planed timber for the framework of the baseboard. Again this can be cut to length at your DIY store or timber merchant. Though this is more expensive than rougher timber it will look a lot nicer and is far less hazardous to your fingers as you move it and work with it. Planed timber will certainly make the final layout look a lot more professional. Timber measuring 50 x 25mm (2 x 1in) is generally suitable for this purpose.
Think how to get the baseboard top and framework parts home from the DIY store. Will it fit in your car? Do you know someone with a large van who might be able to move it for you?
As you assemble the baseboard, use adhesive in addition to screws and nails to fix the timber framework to the baseboard. This is especially so if you intend to move the baseboard around a lot, such as on a portable exhibition layout. The glue will provide secondary rigidity to the baseboard and normal PVA adhesive can be used for this.
Not all of us are naturally good carpenters. If you feel that no matter how hard you try, your baseboards are liable to be poor, consider engaging one of the specialist baseboard-making companies such as Elite Baseboards.
A two-baseboard layout showing the three sets of legs shared between the two baseboards. The top surface is plywood, with the frame being made from 2 x 1 planed timber.
The same baseboard and supporting legs in its upright position just waiting for the layout to be built.
This close-up of a corner of the baseboard shows the three-ply top and the frame of planed timber. The pieces of the frame have been screwed together as the top has been fixed to the frame. The holes have been countersunk so that the screws do not protrude above the surface of the baseboard.
The legs have been fixed to the baseboard using long threaded bolts and wing nuts, which provide a good way of offering a quick and easy release when assembling and disassembling the layout. A washer has been used between the timber leg and the wing nut to preserve the condition of the timber.
Holes cut out in the supporting timbers before assembly of the baseboard are a good way to carry cables tidily along the length of a layout.
It is always worth marking up the legs and baseboard tops so that an error will not be made when erecting a layout.
Various different timbers have been used in this layout, including plywood, MDF and planed timber. This layout was built by Model Railway Constructor.
TOOLS
To build a timber baseboard, the toolkit would consist of:
Remember to tidy the look of the edge of your baseboard using something as readily obtainable as a Matt Emulsion Match Pot from a DIY store.
MAKING BASEBOARDS FROM HARD FOAM
Using hard foam for a baseboard will result in a lightweight baseboard when supported by a light timber base. The Woodland Scenics SubTerrain Layout System has an extensive range of pieces that are manufactured from polystyrene, including raised trackbed pieces that are flexible, flat boards, profile boards for around the sides of a layout and incline pieces for taking the track to a different level. These components are light in weight and can be used to fit specific height and incline requirements.
Home roof-insulation foam pieces available from DIY stores sold under various brand names such as Knauf and Celotex are excellent for landscape modelling. Additional pieces of hard foam for the scenery foundations can be found as the packaging around Bachmann Scenecraft and Hornby Skaledale buildings and any domestic white goods. Hard foam sections can easily be cut easily using the Woodland Scenics Hot Wire Foam Cutter or its Foam Knife (with its long blades) with very little mess. I find Woodland Scenics Foam Tack Glue to be quicker drying than PVA adhesive. Whilst the glue is drying, use Woodland Scenics Foam Nails (T-pins) to hold the pieces firmly together.
A piece of the Woodland Scenics SubTerrain hard foam with a very useful long-bladed Foam Knife, made by the same company.
Hard foam pieces by Woodland Scenics have been used on a timber frame. These corner profile boards have been cut and the glue is setting as the pieces are held in position with Foam Nails.
This N-scale layout measures 1.8 x 0.9m (6 x 3ft) and is made from Woodland Scenics SubTerrain pieces on a timberbase frame.
For added strength, gluing pieces of mounting cardboard to the underside of the foam is a cheap and simple way of increasing the rigidity of the baseboard while adding little extra weight to it. The resultant baseboards are very light, even after the addition of the plaster cloth, the track and the buildings. While a hard foam baseboard would not stand up to a huge amount of moving and it is more fragile than a timber-frame baseboard, there are good possibilities for using hard foam on layouts. If a framework of timber was made and the foam sheets attached to that, the resultant baseboard would be strong, yet lightweight.
For more information about the Woodland Scenics SubTerrain range, go to www.woodlandscenics.com. In the UK, Woodland Scenics products are distributed by Bachmann. The company’s website (www.bachmann.co.uk) lists the products (with prices), together with a list of UK dealers stocking these products. For additional information, it might be useful to get a copy of the SubTerrain Manual (ST1402) and the DVD SubTerrain: Build a Layout Fast and Easy (DVD-ST1400).
TOOLS
GETTING BASEBOARDS MADE FOR YOU
If you feel that no matter how long you practise using a saw, your baseboards are still liable to be poor, consider employing one of the specialist baseboardmaking companies, which include:
This professionally built baseboard by Elite Baseboards uses plywood with holes cut out of the supporting timbers to reduce the weight.
The holes to take the screws are well hidden on this baseboard made by Elite Baseboards.
Nine-ply wood was used on this lightweight baseboard built by Elite Baseboards with screws well out of harm’s way in sunken holes.