
Mastery of scene composition is probably the foremost skill Mike Confalone employs to put him on the list of all-time hobby greats.
Throughout any given year, there’s the recurring thread of what makes a model railroad great. Given the subjective nature of the topic, everybody’s answer will be different. Not discussed that often is what sets these layouts apart. What do the greats do differently?
Without question, modeling skill matters. They are….highly skilled…damn good modelers. That can be a little misleading, though. Basic modeling skills aren’t what sets their work apart. They approach things differently at the strategic level. The groundwork for their success begins before the first piece of track is laid. Conversely, hobbyists at large are behind the eight ball from the get-go because they take the opposite approach.
At the core of visual success, the foundation of everything, is composition. Awareness and mastery of this fundamental truth are what set these guys apart. Composition refers to the elements selected, their size, shape, relative position, and, of crucial importance, the space between them.
The hobby greats start with identifying a certain look, a certain feel to their work. They study prototypes intently to identify what it is about them that makes them what they are.
The hobby greats have a keen awareness of spatial relationships. They are relentless in creating ample space between scenes and between elements within a scene. If a desired element squeezes into that no fly zone of negative space, they give it the axe.
They start with a blank canvas and the goal of creating an overall look. It’s the overall sum that drives everything, not one specific kit or element. They don’t wander off the range and go, “Wow, that’s a cool Walthers structure, where can I squeeze that in?” They rely heavily on kitbashing to get the structures they want. They don’t succumb to the temptation of visual dopamine fixes, the proverbial blinking lights everywhere. Their comfort zone is that of the ordinary, not the extraordinary.
By contrast, the hobby at large tends to be very element-driven. Their starting point is a very large bucket of “must-have” elements that they feel compelled to jigsaw puzzle onto the layout. Before they’ve even started, they’ve dug themselves into a hole that is impossible to get out of, the visual death sentence of over compression, squeezing too much into a layout of individual scenes. Often, the elements chosen are only loosely related to any central theme. Using existing kit inventory is a driving factor. There is a general discomfort with kitbashing a structure. The focus of the layout is a carnival of blinking lights, each competing for attention, rather than the overall look.

Compositions like this are what put Tom Johnson into the rarified air of all-time hobby greats. Note the spacing between elements, the overall openness. Note the ordinary nature of the elements and the scene as a whole. Note the massive space given to an ordinary parking lot.
The Hobby Greats:
1. Study what makes a scene what it is. What are its defining, and generally quite ordinary, elements? They emphasize the ordinary.
2. Their focus and emphasis is on the overall look, not individual pieces.
3. They spread their scenes out
4. They create space between the elements in a scene.
5. They kitbash to get the look they need from their structures.
We all have our own goals as to what we want to get out of the hobby and how deeply immersed we want to be in it. I always caution folks to get away from external validation as a means of judging their work. Instead, look at what you have in your layout room. If you’re happy, grab a beer and stay happy. If you’d like to nudge the needle a bit further in the skills department a good starting point is to closely study the work of the greats. (Study means examining photos and reading, not scanning photos for a second at a time on social media.) Here are five folks I’d study intently: Tom Johnson, Mike Confalone, Seb SG, Tim Nicholson, John Wright (Federal Street Pennsy layout).