1:35 European Gaude Straight Rail and Curved Rail

What a section of track is for

Track in 1:35 scale gives a display base or a diorama a setting that is otherwise laborious to build: a loading ramp, a siding into a works, a grade crossing or the place where vehicles roll off a flat wagon. Track also leads the scene, because it gives the surface a direction and the viewer's eye travels along it to the main object.

What the set contains

The set holds a straight and a curved section of track in European gauge. The straight piece suits a siding and surfaces where loading takes place, while the curved one suggests that the track continues off the scene and takes the stiffness out of the composition. Both pieces can be laid side by side or end to end, according to the shape of the base.

Building and painting tips

Set the track into the base, not onto it: in reality the ballast bed is heaped almost to the upper edge of the ties, so track lying on its own looks like a toy. Wash and degrease the parts before painting. The sides of the rails, the feet and the joint bars tend to be rusty and caked with dust, whereas the top surface of the railhead stays polished to a metallic shine by the wheels passing over it. It is exactly this difference that makes track convincing, so mask it or polish it up at the very end. Tone the ties unevenly, so that both shade and degree of decay set one apart from the next, and dust the gaps between them with pigment or with heavily thinned paint.

Terms of supply

The set of track pieces is supplied on its own. A display base, vehicles, paints and glue are not part of the delivery, unless stated otherwise.