pppp Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 The plan for my layout includes a few buildings. (station, footbridge, signal box, farmhouse, windmill) Some of the models I have seen are better than anything I could possibly build and are not too expensive. From the photos I see online its hard to tell what could withstand the wind and rain. Could a Hornby Skaledale Windmill survive outdoors. I would need to fix it down, easy and the paint might fade ok. But would the structure physically be ok out in the rain? same question for the Dapol Windmill which is plastic. It looks as though everything skaledale looks solid enough to rest outdoors, is this the case? On my next visit to england I hope to buy buy a few buildings in person but it would be nice to know from your experience what works and what does not work in the garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Is skale dale the plastic stuff? If so, I would coat it with a clear finish to reduce UV damage. I have several I plan to place outdoors on my layout. I painted the plastic parts like awnings and such on mine. So what's with the windmills? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Wind and rain will be no problem to the plastic buildings you mention, as long as they're fixed down. It's the sun that causes the problems. It eventually fades the colours and can make some plastics brittle. I have various bulidings on my layout from Skaledale, Dapol, Ratio etc. I give them a coat a coat of DuraClear matt varnish for extra protection and they've been fine. I even have six Dapol girder bridge kits which are in full sun and they're still as strong as ever after five years! These were painted with car bumper spray. Some thing are now in need of a repaint but that's soon rectified. If you're wondering why Griff is asking about your windmill it's because he has a thing about Brits and windmills on garden railways! He doesn't seem understand that it is the law in Europe to have a windmill on your layout. Mind you, the way things are here in the UK it may become the law to have a wind turbine on your layout! Ian R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pppp Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Thank you so much for the replys. The sun is strong where I live so it will make sense to put UV protection on what ever I end up with and fix it all down, Skaledale I hope. Guess all the scene stuff I leave out will require some UV protection or a repaint after time. As for the English and windmill's I didn't realise it was a thing, but I have a few ideas. They give that ideal old school English countryside look. Visually pleasing like a large flower, and for a modeler easy as they can stand alone without a service road or a network of other hard to put together buildings. Personally I was influenced by the bekonscot model where the line curves round a large wooden windmill on a small hill with the track going around at eye level. http://i.imgur.com/nk4llVg.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bekonscot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Clearly my layout is incomplete... No windmill! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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