Any model train gurus on here?
My eldest (7) has always been train mad, he’s coming out of the Thomas phase (he absolutely loved it) and has spent his birthday money on a 00 gauge Hornby set.
Now this pleases me, as I now want to build him a nice portable baseboard. Good grief! My imagination is going wild 😆 I think my inner child is appeased by this choice of toy (I loved my Hornby set as a kid). I have an idea that involves using 6’x4′ braced polystyrene wrapped in plaster bandages. Then adding grass matting………… I may need a second job!!

Softboard always worked well for me. Frame underneath and the nails for the track go in easily but it’s rigid and not too bulky.

Ours is pinned to some thick ish MDF.

It’s tough as hell but weighs a tonne.

Get over to the Hornby forum too. Lots on there.

The cardboard kits are much nicer for buildings than the plastic ready made stuff. Something for you to do on a rainy dark evening.

Oh and the costs can ratchet really quick 😯

Oh and the costs can ratchet really quick 😯

And riding a bike is cheap?? 🙄

N scale will get you 4x as much in the same space as OO

Sundeala board is where it’s at

N gauge is getting incredibly good now, personally its too small for me.

Main thing is get the base board solid as ****. Then a thin layer of something soft on top, will reduce sound, and allow some texture to surroundings.

There are many very good model rail forums out there. Be aware you will want tto wiring and may wish to consider being DCC in the future.

N gauge is great now, it’s what I run. It may be a bit small for a 7 year old to handle carefully, though, and he’s already bought the OO set.

Sundeala is popular. MDF is too heavy, especially if you have to put the layout away and get it out. It’d go for a 3-6mm ply top on a frame of soft wood with supports. Something like this-

This makes it very light but strong, and you can fit legs if you want.

I’d wire up every piece of track individually if you’re doing it properly, using the connectors on the track to transfer power can result in running problems and trains not passing over certain bits of track (very frustrating for a 7 year old- and grown ups, actually…).

Newrailwaymodellers is a nice forum that’s patient with beginners.

Hinge the base board off a wall in his room. Had this for mine as a kid till we progressed to the loft layout when we moved house.