N-Scale Buildings with Interiors


jdetray

jdetray

Well-Known Member
I wanted my N-scale buildings to have some sort of interiors and to be lighted, but actually constructing tiny interiors was more work than I wanted to do. A quick Google search yielded hundreds of great photos of building interiors so that's what I used. I am by no means the first to use this technique, but I wanted to share my results.

Below is Lynda's Quilt Shoppe showing how I did it. First is the view from the street. The quilt in the window is a photo of one that Lynda (my wife) made.

Quilt_Shoppe_1.png


Inside you can see the photo of a quilt shop interior which is back lit with an LED. The curve in the interior photo is intentional; it's supposed to make the view look more realistic though I question if it's necessary in N-scale. I printed everything on an inkjet printer.

Quilt_Shoppe_interior_1.png


I'm happy with the result!

- Jeff
 
Using pictures is a quick cheap and easy way to "decorate" the interiors. If you are keen, you can buy various bits and pieces for creating an interior then paint them.
 
Hi Tony -

I considered building (or buying) some n-scale tables, chairs, shelving, etc. In n-scale, an ordinary table would be about 3/16-inch high, a chair about 1/4-inch, a shelf unit about 1/2-inch tall. The diameter of a table leg would be about 0.0125-inch. That's the diameter of 28-gauge wire!

If the interiors were going to be easily visible, I would at least think about using miniature furniture. As it is, because of the tiny windows on my structures, the photos are sufficient to suggest an interior, which is all I care about.

- Jeff
 
Jeff,

It would be a waste of money (or time and effort) if they wern't going to be visible. Using the pictures is a good alternative and works :)
 
Here's the Main Street of the little town on my layout, complete with interiors and lighting. I need to fix a few light leaks, but otherwise I am satisfied for my first attempt.

- Jeff

Downtown_all_1.png
 
Looking good, Jeff. I'm also trying the same thing, but even the photo interiors are so small in N that it's pretty tough. I agree, no point in trying to make up an interior with small pieces of furniture - way, way too small parts. Your street scene looks great.
 
Thanks. I wanted to illuminate the interiors of these structures, but without something inside the buildings, they looked odd -- like vacant businesses. Even if you cannot make out any details, you want the buildings to appear occupied. Almost any colorful photo will do the job. For the quilt shop and pet store, I used actual photos of that type of store. For the two buildings in the middle, I used random photos of retail store interiors.

I did make the effort to size the images sensibly so that if someone does manage to peer through the windows, objects in the interior look more or less the correct size.

- Jeff
 
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