Welcome to the D section of the Model Scenery Glossary, where we explore modelling materials, tools, techniques and scenic features beginning with the letter D. This page covers useful terms such as dirt scatter, dry brushing, diorama bases, drainage channels, dock walls, doors, downpipes and dry-stone walls.
Whether you’re building a model railway layout, diorama, wargaming board or scale model scene, these D terms will help you understand what each item is, where it might be used, and how it can add realism, texture and character to your modelling projects.
Modelling Materials
- Das clay — an air-drying modelling clay used for cobbles, brickwork, stone walls, terrain texture, figures and small scenic details.
- Decal paper — printable or specialist paper used to make transfers, signs, vehicle markings, shop fronts and custom scenic details.
- Decals — thin printed transfers used for signs, labels, posters, road markings, vehicle details and building decoration.
- Decorators’ caulk — flexible filler used for sealing gaps, blending terrain joins, smoothing baseboard edges and creating rough groundwork.
- Decorators’ filler — general-purpose filler used for shaping ground, filling cracks, making banks, smoothing surfaces and blending scenery.
- Diatomaceous earth — fine mineral powder sometimes used for dust, dry earth, industrial residue or light ground texture.
- Dirt scatter — fine brown scenic material used to represent bare earth, paths, embankments, disturbed ground and soil patches.
- Dried leaves — natural material that can be crushed and used for woodland floors, leaf litter, compost heaps and autumn scenery.
- Dried tea leaves — fine natural scatter material sometimes used for leaf litter, rough ground, compost, mulch and garden soil.
- Dry pigments — powdered colour used for weathering, dust, rust, soot, earth effects and subtle surface staining.
- Dust powders — fine weathering powders used to create road dirt, dry mud, dusty roofs, faded surfaces and general grime.
Tools
- Deburring tool — a hand tool used to remove rough edges from drilled holes, plastic parts, metal tube and cut components.
- Decal setting solution — a liquid used to help decals settle into surface detail such as brickwork, planks, panels and rivets.
- Decal softening solution — a stronger liquid used to make decals conform to curves, raised details and uneven surfaces.
- Detail brushes — fine paintbrushes used for small parts, figures, signs, doors, windows, dry brushing and weathering.
- Digital calipers — precision measuring tool used for checking scale dimensions, material thicknesses, clearances and small components.
- Dividers — measuring and marking tool used for transferring distances, setting out curves and spacing repeated details.
- Drill bits — small cutting bits used for making holes in plastic, resin, wood, plaster, card and metal.
- Drill press — bench-mounted drilling tool used for accurate, repeatable holes in wood, plastic, metal and baseboard components.
- Dropper bottle — small bottle with a narrow tip used for applying glue, washes, scenic cement, diluted paint or weathering fluids.
- Dust mask — protective mask used when sanding, spraying, cutting foam, working with powders or using dusty scenic materials.
Skills & Techniques
- Decal application — applying waterslide or self-adhesive transfers to signs, vehicles, buildings, road surfaces and scenic accessories.
- Detail painting — painting small features such as door handles, signs, lamps, figures, tools, window frames and accessories.
- Diorama building — creating a self-contained model scene, often with terrain, buildings, figures, vehicles and scenic storytelling.
- Dirt layering — building up several earth tones and textures to create realistic soil, paths, yards, embankments and worn ground.
- Distressing — intentionally ageing or damaging a surface to make it look worn, chipped, cracked, rotten or weather-beaten.
- Dry brushing — using a nearly dry brush to highlight raised details on brickwork, rocks, timber, figures, walls and machinery.
- Dry fitting — test assembling parts without glue to check alignment, fit and appearance before permanent assembly.
- Dusting — applying fine powders or pigments lightly to create dusty roads, roofs, vehicles, wagons and industrial surfaces.
- Dyeing scenic fibres — colouring fibres such as jute, sisal or static grass to create reeds, weeds, straw and varied vegetation.
Infrastructure
- Dairies and milk depots — railway or roadside facilities used for handling milk traffic, often modelled with loading platforms, churns, tanks and delivery vehicles.
- Deck bridges — bridges where the roadway or railway sits on top of the supporting structure.
- Depot buildings — structures used in railway, bus, tram, industrial or service depots, including offices, workshops and stores.
- Ditches — shallow channels used for drainage alongside roads, railways, fields and industrial sites.
- Dock walls — retaining walls used along harbours, canals, quaysides and waterside industrial scenes.
- Docks — waterside areas used for loading, unloading, storage, shipping and industrial activity.
- Dockside cranes — cranes used for loading and unloading ships, barges, railway wagons or lorries.
- Doors — essential building features used on houses, shops, warehouses, sheds, stations, factories and outbuildings.
- Drainage channels — channels used to move water away from roads, platforms, yards, embankments and buildings.
- Drainage ditches — open ditches used beside railway lines, rural roads, fields and low-lying ground.
- Drains — surface or underground drainage features used in roads, yards, platforms, pavements and industrial scenes.
- Dry-stone walls — traditional stone walls built without mortar, common in rural, upland and countryside scenes.
- Duck ponds — small ponds used in village, farm, park or countryside scenes.
- Dwellings — general term for houses, cottages, flats, terraces, bungalows and other residential buildings.
Details & Accessories
- Danger signs — warning signs used around railway lines, substations, construction sites, quarries, depots and industrial areas.
- Delivery crates — small crates used beside shops, warehouses, stations, markets, farms and loading docks.
- Derelict vehicles — abandoned cars, vans, lorries or machinery used for scrapyards, farm corners, industrial sites and overgrown scenes.
- Diesel tanks — fuel storage tanks used in depots, industrial sites, farms, workshops and modern railway facilities.
- Dustbins — everyday bins used in yards, alleys, gardens, station areas, shops and street scenes.
- Dog figures — small animal details used in gardens, farms, parks, station scenes, streets and rural layouts.
- Downpipes — vertical pipes carrying rainwater from gutters to drains, found on houses, stations, factories and other buildings.
- Drinking troughs — water troughs used in farmyards, fields, horse yards, market scenes and rural locations.
- Drums — barrels or cylindrical containers used in depots, workshops, garages, farms, factories and dock scenes.
- Dumpsters — large waste containers used in modern industrial yards, streets, commercial areas and service yards.
- Dunnage — scrap timber or packing material used around yards, warehouses, docks and goods-loading scenes.