National Model Railroad Build Off 2023 Diorama

Here are some images of the diorama I built for the Walthers National Model Railroad Build Off this year.  Click on each image or open in a new tab to see them larger.

This year I chose to depict a lakeside setting in north-central Florida in the 1920s.  Most of the folks on the diorama are having fun or engaged in other leisure activities.  I say "north-central" Florida due to the inclusion of surface rocks, an element required by the product bundle I purchased for the contest.  These are rare in the state, but limestone outcrops do show up here and there.  The other elements were the big white farmhouse, some Woodland Scenics Deep Pour Murky water and a short plate girder bridge.  I also chose to include Walthers' Mission Style Bungalow and to kitbash a Rix overpass into a concrete arched bridge.

The hardest part of this year's diorama wasn't building the thing, but photographing it.  I tried three locations before arriving in the driveway using the neighbor's landscaping as a backdrop.  I was most pleased with seeing the diorama in full sun, but the sticky wax I used to hold some figures in place didn't like it, nor did some old decals I applied to the Jordan mail truck.  

I think this will be the final diorama I build for this contest unless there's a bundle I just can't pass up next year.  While I enjoyed the last four months of model making, I've got bigger ideas for the Pine Branch Park railroad and would rather put my energy there.  Plus, I've been enjoying painting minis and playing Star Wars Legion at my local gaming store.  I've got a few tubs of assorted bits I've been collecting that will become terrain pieces for that game.  But the biggest draw right now is the desire to rebuild old rolling stock and get some vintage trains Back on Track.  The weather around here is just beginning to heat up so it is time to stay inside and build models.

More posts on the diorama will appear eventually.  Details, design, and other thoughts.  Thanks for reading.