Little Queensland

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Little Queensland A place for us to tinker with trains, build little worlds, and keep a visual diary of the fun. This is our hobby and visual diary — follow along as it grows.

A personal model railway and miniature scenery project where we design, 3D print, and paint our own buildings, create realistic landscapes, and run trains through Queensland-inspired scenes.

We need a lot of chain-wire fencing along the railway on Little Queensland, but finding something fine enough to look co...
04/09/2026

We need a lot of chain-wire fencing along the railway on Little Queensland, but finding something fine enough to look convincing in HO scale has been a challenge.

We considered using tulle, then Richard had the idea of laser-etching the diamond pattern into the same 0.25 mm clear plastic we use for windows.

It has worked surprisingly well. Because the plastic is clear, you barely notice the sheet itself—the etched pattern gives the impression of wire mesh while still allowing the scenery behind it to show through.

The only drawback is that the plastic can shine when the light catches it. Tilting the fence ever so slightly away from the light source seems to minimise that, and it should become even less noticeable once we add the surrounding grass and scenery.

We’re very happy with our little test section. Now we just have to make enough to run along the railway! 😄

Sometimes the most useful results come from discovering what not to do!We’ve been using this small test diorama for our ...
30/08/2026

Sometimes the most useful results come from discovering what not to do!

We’ve been using this small test diorama for our new Glen Aplin exhibition layout to experiment with scenery materials and techniques before committing them to the main layout. It has already taught us some valuable lessons.

The first adhesive we tried actually ate into the foam beneath the road—so we were very glad to discover that on a test piece rather than on the exhibition layout!

Our first attempt at representing bitumen used grey-painted EVA foam with a light misting of white spray paint. We then added sand mixed with pale tile grout along the road edges, but applying it after the road had been painted left the surface looking rather dustier than we wanted. It wasn’t a failure, but it showed us what needed improving.

For our latest trial, we started again with a fresh piece of EVA foam. After applying the base colour, we used an airbrush at low pressure to finely speckle the surface with two colours—a dark grey with a hint of brown, followed by a warm white. We think the finer, mottled finish looks much more convincing as weathered bitumen. These photos show the new test both indoors and outside in strong sunlight.

We’re still learning the scenery side of model railway and diorama making, so almost everything is tested and experimented with first. What we learn while building Glen Aplin will also be enormously useful when we eventually tackle the roads through our miniature Bundaberg on Little Queensland.

The Glen Aplin layout is being built for exhibition in Bundaberg next March. There is still plenty to test, build and learn before then—but that is all part of the fun!

21/08/2026

There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around
That the sixteen-twenty was upon its way;
Then another crossed the river, while a third was outward bound—
And the signals set the rhythm of the day.

A new Bundaberg landmark has found its place on Little Queensland!Our first print of Qunaba House is now sitting in its ...
18/08/2026

A new Bundaberg landmark has found its place on Little Queensland!
Our first print of Qunaba House is now sitting in its future position on the layout, where it will be viewed from across the river. Even in its unpainted state, it already has enormous presence—and the level of detail Richard has captured is wonderful.
Built in 1887 as the Queensland National Bank and designed by prominent architect F. D. G. Stanley, the building is now well known to Bundaberg locals as the home of Payne Butler Lang Solicitors.
There is still plenty to come. The model will be painted, and its separately laser-cut doors and windows will be added later. For now, we couldn’t resist sharing another look at those verandahs, decorative ironwork, rooftop details and beautiful entrance.
It is going to be a very special addition to Little Queensland.

13/08/2026

A new arrival on Little Queensland! 🚂🔊

Graham from CGL Models—Carl, Graham and Lincoln—very kindly delivered our new Queensland Rail 1620 class locomotive personally, as he lives here in Bundaberg.

Although Graham had heard excellent feedback from customers, he had never actually seen one of these models running in the flesh or heard its sound for himself. We put it straight onto the track and, within minutes, it was happily running perfect laps of Little Queensland. Graham was so pleased finally to see and hear it in action!

He explained that its very distinctive high-pitched sound is the characteristic “English Electric whine.” Railwaymen nicknamed these English Electric locomotives “the Poms,” and it certainly sounds quite different from any of the other locomotives in our collection.

Here it is travelling over the railway bridge across the Burnett River and arriving at Bundaberg station.

The Bundy section is still very much a work in progress, with plenty more scenery and detailing to come, but it’s wonderful to see trains running through the scene and to get a glimpse of where it is all heading.

Thank you, Graham—we’re delighted with it!

We’re starting to blend the top of our riverbank into the foam base that will eventually become Quay Street and ANZAC Pa...
22/07/2026

We’re starting to blend the top of our riverbank into the foam base that will eventually become Quay Street and ANZAC Park.

To help join the two levels together, Richard has designed and 3D printed a stone retaining wall with a fence along the top. From the Quay Street side, only the fence will be visible, while the stone wall will form part of the riverbank below.

There’s still plenty to add—trees, grass, roads, footpaths and lots of little scenic details—but I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into this part and watching the whole area transform.

It’s slowly coming together, and the roads and footpaths alone will make an enormous difference!

While we're doing trees we decided to try 3d printed a whole palm tree created in Hitem. They printed surprisingly well...
21/07/2026

While we're doing trees we decided to try 3d printed a whole palm tree created in Hitem. They printed surprisingly well but the trunk is a bit thick and looks a little out of proportion, slightly toylike so we will make a few changes.
Lots of potential though without having to stick every frond on individually - and more robust.

We needed some mangroves to plant along the riverbank on our Little Queensland layout, so we took a picture into Hitem 3...
21/07/2026

We needed some mangroves to plant along the riverbank on our Little Queensland layout, so we took a picture into Hitem 3D and created these wonderful little resin models.

A few didn’t print with all their leaves intact, but that has actually worked in our favour—the sparser branches give us some natural variation, just as you would see among real mangroves.

With different paint colours and a little flocking, they could also make terrific miniature trees or bushes for all sorts of scenery. We’re very pleased with how much character and detail they have, especially those exposed mangrove roots!

We wanted a picture for the new workshop. Richard suggested I paint a train themed pinup but even though I used to pain...
14/07/2026

We wanted a picture for the new workshop. Richard suggested I paint a train themed pinup but even though I used to paint copies of the 1940/50's pinups I just don't have time now. There's far too much to do to get our Little Queensland looking the way we want it.

So we engaged Chat GPT and asked it to create a 1950's style pinup picture with a rail motor. Then we had it printed onto canvas.
Now we're just working out which wall to put it on.

12/07/2026

At last... the workshop is finished!

It's been a big project and has taken far more time than we imagined, but we're really pleased with the result. Best of all, we can finally get back to what we love most—modelling.

That means working on Little Queensland, finishing scenes, running trains, designing new ideas and, of course, creating beautiful little buildings. We've really missed it, and we can't wait to get stuck into some new projects.

Here's to a fresh start and plenty of modelling ahead!

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Bargara, QLD
4670

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