A Review Of The NOCH Guidebook And DVD
The NOCH company is famous for its many products regarding model landscaping and in the later years also model houses and a lot of other accessories for your model railway. I like the products very much and I use them a lot.
To help their customers use their products, NOCH publishes a guidebook (NOCH #71909) and a DVD (NOCH #71916). I bought the guidebook and the DVD to check them out.
The field and meadows section is one of the more in depth sections.
The DVD
The film follows the creation of a layout named "St. Peter" from start to finish. It has the typical instructional film feeling to it, with a narrator that explains what the person in the picture is doing. There are also several sequences where they are just working on the layout, while the background music is playing.
The film is separated into several chapters, each with its own theme:
- Sub terrain
- Rock construction
- Water
- Road construction
- Laser Cut Buildings
- Making your own trees
- Vegetation
- Summary and impressions
The film is about NOCH products, so do not expect any tips or advices that do not include some sort of NOCH product. You will perhaps know of a better solution to some of the things they show, but unless you are an all-time expert, I am sure you will learn a thing or two.
I especially liked the chapters with the rocks and the water. They gave me some painting tips and some tips for weathering tracks with the NOCH range of paints.
Please note: The film does not include information on how to wire the track, do electrical stuff or suggestions on how to make finishing touches (e.g. installing a facia). The film is all about landscaping and nothing else.
The DVD is available in both German and English. Besides the film it contains a PDF with complete building instructions for the layout featured in the film. Including track plans for Fleischmann, Roco Geo-Line, PIKO A-track, Märklin C-track and Trix C-track.
The Guidebook
Celebrating their 100th year anniversary, NOCH published a guidebook called "Model Landscaping Today". The book is published in a magazine-like layout and contains, not 100, as you might expect, but 28 tips for building a model railway landscape. The tips are categorized into nearly the same chapters as the DVD. The guidebook is rich on illustrations, instructions and beautiful pictures.
How to construct a field path.
Some chapters are more in depth than others. Especially the one about the static grass is very well covered, where the article on home made trees is a bit shallow.
The pictures in the guidebook are big and will give you a lot of inspiration.
The guidebook is available in both English and German, and includes a gift in the form of a small lasercut building.
Some diorama building tips.
Summary
Of the two, I think the DVD gave me the most value. They cost about the same, and I like them both. The DVD has the advantage of being able to actually show the entire process, which makes it the better choice.
The guidebook is great, and good for reference if you do not have a DVD player nearby.
If you are looking for some inspiration for boosting your landscaping skills, you should check out the NOCH guidebook and DVD.
Happy modelling!
I bought both the magazine and DVD to check them out.