Pat and Frank Curtis are miniature-railway enthusiasts who combined their love of gardening with their hobby. By combining trains with gardening, construction and model-building, you can customize your own tiny world. Use miniature and dwarf varieties of plants such as miniature roses to keep the garden in proper scale with the railway. Miniature roses take the same care as their larger relatives. These plants are usually hardier than hybrid-tea roses but do need some winter protection in cold climates. Here's how to create a miniature thatched roof out of broomstraws for a building in your layout. Materials:
Scissors
An old broom
Waterproof glue
Building with a roof to be thatched
- Cut the broomstraws to identical lengths.
- Lay down a bead of waterproof glue horizontal with the edge of the roof.
- Place the broomstraws on the glue in an even row.
- Apply another bead of glue above the finished row of straws. Continue laying down rows of glue and straws until you come to the peaked portion of the roof.
- Run a strip of glue down the center of the peak, and put down small tufts of broomstraws, beginning at the outside edge of the roof peak. Use the same method of placing the rows of straw on top of each other. The only difference is that the rows cover the last row of horizontal thatching.
- Work inward from both ends, ending at the center of the roof peak.
Create a Small Building If you like, create a brick building that suits the era of your model railway. Here's how to make the bricks. Materials:
Rapid Set® or plaster of Paris
Silicone-rubber brick mold (available at hobby shops)
Water
Measuring cup
Newspaper
- Spray the mold with water for easy release.
- Mix 1 cup Rapid Set with 1/4 cup water, and mix well. Pour Rapid Set into the prepared mold.
- Let the bricks set for 20 minutes, then remove them from the mold.
- Use waterproof glue to hold the pieces together.
- Paint the finished structure to protect it from the weather.
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