Thanks again gents
In case anyone is interested, here are a few things I’ve learned during my time in modelling:
- Pretty much everything that has a life outside, be it man-made or natural, is never just one colour.
- Textures and layers help give a model depth and interest. When laying ground-scene for example, build it up in layers and different textures and magical things will start to happen.
- You have to ‘fake the weight’ - Model miniatures, particularly detailing items, do not have weight. For example, a lump of timber in real life is heavy. A miniature version in balsa is light. If you dropped a load of junk outside, it looks ‘right’. If you dropped a load of miniature junk on your layout, it looks wrong. This is because the individual items do not have any heft and therefore ‘float’. You need to bed-them-in to the scene to make them look convincing.
- Weathering. Anyone who knows me is well aware how mad I am about weathering. Every model needs some level of weathering to help give it a ‘history’.
- Don't be afraid to experiment. Some of my best modelling efforts have been as a result of experimenting (and making a mess at the same time)

- Composition is one of the most important aspects of a layout. Don't always go for the obvious design. Take a break, sit back and see if you can make it better. When I jump in head-first without giving time for my design to ferment, I usually regret it!

Just my pennies-worth.