6 complete builds
Complete layouts, each one a full equipment list with every item priced, linked and totalled: HO at three budgets, N scale at two, and an O gauge starter. If you buy the list, you can run trains.
Each build is a genuinely different layout rather than the same list at three prices. Every total is the sum of the listed prices when the page was compiled, and covers the listed items only: not benchwork lumber, not tools you may already own, not shipping or tax.
Last updated
| Build | Scale | Items | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| HO Beginner Layout on a 4 by 8 Sheet | HO scale | 15 | $619 |
| O Gauge Starter Layout with Remote Control | O gauge | 8 | $658 |
| N Scale Beginner Layout on Kato Unitrack | N scale | 12 | $671 |
| N Scale Intermediate Layout with DCC and Double Track | N scale | 21 | $1,599 |
| HO Intermediate Layout with DCC and Real Operation | HO scale | 23 | $1,611 |
| HO Expert Layout with Sound, Turntable and Power Districts | HO scale | 33 | $4,205 |
The adhesive that fixes ballast and ground cover in place. It soaks in and dries matt rather than shiny, which diluted white glue does not reliably do.
Best for: fixing ballast and ground cover
Check price on Amazon
Feeder wire in the two colours you need, tinned and silicone jacketed so it stays flexible and takes solder easily. Red and black on a spool each removes a whole class of wiring mistake.
Best for: track feeders
Check price on Amazon
Medium grade, the correct size for HO scale mainline track. This is the default for most modellers.
Best for: HO scale main line
Check price on Amazon
Paints the plaster shell an earth colour before any ground cover goes on, so the gaps that inevitably appear read as soil rather than as white plaster.
Best for: sealing and colouring the scenery shell
Check price on AmazonHO has more models, more track and more parts than every other scale combined. These three builds are a first oval, a proper layout with operation, and a large layout with sound and a turntable.
N is roughly half the linear size of HO, so the same railroad takes about a quarter of the area. These two builds are a starter oval on Unitrack and a DCC layout with a second main line.
Three-rail O gauge is heavier, louder and far more durable with children in the house. It is not competing with scale HO on realism and it is not trying to.