Welcome to the E section of the Model Scenery Glossary, where we explore modelling materials, tools, techniques and scenic features beginning with the letter E. This page includes useful terms such as epoxy resin, etched parts, earthworks, embankments, engine sheds, electricity pylons, equipment cabinets and exterior detailing.
Whether you’re building a model railway layout, diorama, wargaming scene or scale model display, these E terms will help you understand the materials, features and methods that can add extra realism, structure and atmosphere to your miniature world.
Modelling Materials
- Earth scatter — fine brown or soil-coloured scatter material used to represent bare earth, paths, banks, field edges and disturbed ground.
- Emery paper — abrasive paper used for sanding metal, plastic, resin, filler, wood and primer.
- Embossed plastic sheet — textured plastic sheet used to represent brick, stone, tiles, corrugated metal, paving and other surface finishes.
- Embossed card — textured card used for brickwork, stonework, roofing, paving, walling and scenic building surfaces.
- Enamel paints — solvent-based paints used for models, detail painting, weathering, metalwork and durable finishes.
- Enamel thinners — solvent used to thin enamel paints and clean brushes or airbrushes after use.
- Epoxy glue — strong two-part adhesive used for bonding metal, resin, wood, plastic, plaster and mixed-material assemblies.
- Epoxy putty — two-part modelling putty used for sculpting, gap filling, adding texture, repairing parts and creating custom details.
- Epoxy resin — clear or tinted two-part resin used for ponds, canals, rivers, puddles, wet surfaces and casting small parts.
- Etched brass — thin chemically etched brass used for fine railings, ladders, grilles, signs, gates, windows, fencing and delicate detail parts.
- Etched nickel silver — fine etched metal material used for durable detail parts, handrails, nameplates, structural overlays and small fittings.
- Expanded polystyrene — lightweight foam used for terrain build-up, hills, banks, landforms and basic scenic shaping.
- Extruded polystyrene foam — dense insulation foam, often called XPS, used for carving terrain, cuttings, riverbeds, hills and landscape forms.
Tools
- Electric drill — powered drilling tool used for making holes in baseboards, buildings, plastic, timber, metal and scenic structures.
- Electric sander — powered sanding tool used for smoothing baseboards, timber frames, filler, terrain forms and larger surfaces.
- Embossing tool — hand tool used to press brick, stone, tile, rivet or plank detail into card, foil, foam or soft sheet materials.
- Engineer’s square — precision right-angle tool used for checking corners, setting out buildings, aligning walls and building square structures.
- Etch bending tool — tool used to fold and shape etched brass or etched nickel silver detail parts cleanly and accurately.
- Eye dropper — small dropper used for applying scenic glue, diluted PVA, washes, water effects, pigments or paint in controlled amounts.
Skills & Techniques
- Earth blending — mixing soil tones, scatter, grass and ground textures so scenic areas transition naturally.
- Edge blending — hiding joins between scenic materials, roads, buildings, backscenes, terrain and baseboard edges.
- Embankment building — shaping raised railway or road formations using foam, card, filler, plaster, scatter and vegetation.
- Embossing — pressing surface detail into card, foil, foam or plastic to create brickwork, stone, tiles, panels or rivets.
- Enamel washing — applying thinned enamel paint to bring out surface detail, add grime and create subtle weathering.
- Etch folding — bending etched brass or nickel silver parts into shape before assembly.
- Etched-detail assembly — fitting fine metal details such as railings, ladders, grilles, signs, gates and platform fittings.
- Exterior detailing — adding visible outside features to buildings, such as gutters, downpipes, vents, signs, lamps, cables and weathering.
- Eye-level viewing — designing scenery to look convincing from a normal viewing angle rather than only from directly above.
Infrastructure
- Earthworks — shaped landforms such as cuttings, embankments, banks, ditches, mounds and raised ground.
- Embankments — raised banks that carry railways, roads or paths above the surrounding landscape.
- Engine sheds — railway buildings used to house, service or maintain locomotives.
- Engine shed yards — working areas around engine sheds, often including ash pits, coal facilities, water cranes, inspection pits and grime.
- Electricity substations — small utility compounds or buildings containing electrical equipment, often found near railways, industrial areas and housing.
- Electricity pylons — large metal towers carrying overhead power lines across countryside, industrial land or urban edges.
- End-terrace houses — houses at the end of a terrace row, useful for urban, suburban and railway-side scenes.
- Estate gates — entrance gates to estates, farms, large houses, parks, factories or private roads.
- Estate walls — boundary walls around estates, parks, farms, manor houses, schools or institutional buildings.
- Exhibition layouts — portable model railway layouts designed for transport and display at shows, often built with scenic presentation in mind.
- Exterior staircases — outside stairs fitted to buildings, signal boxes, industrial structures, flats, fire escapes or loading areas.
Details & Accessories
- Electrical cabinets — small cabinets used beside railways, roads, industrial buildings, substations and modern infrastructure.
- Electrical conduits — pipes or trunking carrying cables along walls, platforms, factories, tunnels and trackside areas.
- Electrical junction boxes — small boxes used on buildings, poles, walls and railway infrastructure to represent cable connections.
- Equipment cabinets — trackside or roadside cabinets used for signalling, telecoms, power, lighting, utilities and industrial control systems.
- Estate fencing — fencing used around parks, estates, large gardens, private roads, schools and formal grounds.
- Exhaust vents — vents used on roofs, walls, kitchens, factories, workshops, tunnels, car parks and industrial buildings.
- Exit signs — small signs used on stations, shops, public buildings, car parks, factories and commercial areas.
- Exterior lamps — wall-mounted or pole-mounted lights used outside houses, stations, shops, yards, depots and industrial buildings.