Miss Molly’s Diner is now available to purchase. Check your local hobby store or go to our website. Click the link to learn more about Built-&-Ready® styled like a train car eatery.

Pair Miss Molly's Diner with Just Plug Spotlights to highlight details like the detached classic sign.

Click screen below to watch video and learn more about this unique structure.

Every town has a local butcher to supply the finest cuts around, and Carver’s Butcher Shoppe only offers the best. Click the link to learn more details about this new building and view multiple angles. Also, sign up to be notified of its release!

Purchase a Just Plug Vehicle like Heavy Hauler and place it by the building for realism.

Scene-A-Rama®, one of Woodland®'s Quality Brands, recently worked out a sponsorship with Luke Towan. Scroll to learn more about him and his channel. He started with a kit from the Scene-A-Rama line, and then used Woodland Scenics® products to take it to the next level.

Scene-A-Rama is a great starting place for anyone getting into modeling. The products are approachable for all ages, from young children in school to adults enjoying retirement. Diorama kits provide all of the basic materials you need and walk through easy techniques. Then, as Luke demonstrates in the video, you can take them further with Woodland Scenics products.

Luke constructs a dam for this project, walking through each detail step-by-step. He even offers some unique tips and techniques. For example, he mixes Lightweight Hydrocal® Plaster with paper towel in a blender to create a Sculptamold-like product. He also creates a floating water feature that connects to the wall of the dam.

When we finished watching the video, the results left us speechless. It's truly amazing the amount of realism Luke achieved.

Though the sponsorship was a new venture, we have watched his channel for years and noted how much he used our products. We asked Luke what his all-time favorites are and he told us the following:

Fine-Leaf Foliage™ - "I use it on nearly every project. But what I like to do more is combine it with the Woodland Scenics Tree Armatures to make very realistic tall trees. The kind of trees that are foreground trees close to the front edge of the model or next to a building."

Deep Pour™ Water - "Deep Pour Water is perfect for getting a nice deep river effect. Once ripples are added on top its hard to beat the realism using any other techniques."

Static Grass and the Static King® - "The new range of static grasses is perfect for any location. I model typical Australian scenery, which tend to be dry and brown and there is static grass perfect for that look. Additionally the Static King is the most user friendly applicator I’ve used. Being able to stand it upside down without needing to hold it makes loading the applicator with grass so much easier and cleaner."

In far north Queensland, Australia, Luke Towan enjoys living in a tropical climate with his wife and daughter. He works as a full-time pilot flying throughout Australia and even spent a bit of his career in Fiji. However, these are probably not the things you hear about first when his name is mentioned among modelers.

Luke Towan is considered a household name for many who enjoy watching diorama building videos. He started his YouTube channel seven years ago with a series of videos about constructing an HO scale layout.

"The main reason I wanted to start the channel was to share the techniques I was using. I saw there was a large gap in information online when trying to research different techniques," Luke said. "I had to do a lot of digging around, and I wanted to make it easier for people to find what they wanted.

"Additionally, I also made the videos for myself as well. Before I filmed videos for YouTube, I would make a diorama that I was very happy with. Then, a month later I would come back and continue the model only to forget how I managed to get a specific result. I rewatch a lot of my past videos just to remind myself how I did a specific technique or what colors I used," he added.

Though acclaim was never his intent, Luke's passion and skill resonates with many people. Over 1 million, in fact. His YouTube channel has a current subscriber count of 1.14 million people and is continually growing.

"For me the most rewarding aspect of the channel is seeing others learn and apply the techniques I use. I get lots of comments from people thanking me for helping them with their models, and I get a really good feeling when I see those comments," Luke said.

Working as a full-time pilot while managing a YouTube channel can be challenging. Luke tries not to get too carried away because his family is his first priority.

When we asked what got him into the hobby, Luke said he has always had an interest in modeling. Over the years, he's picked up many hobbies, from railroads (he had an HO train set as a kid) to building model aircraft and rockets.

For a while, he was hyper-focused on his career as a pilot, so hobbies took a back seat. Luke re-entered hobbies in 2013.

"I had a strong desire to make a model railroad after seeing some amazing photos and videos online," he said. "I did some research and found a model railroad club near me and decided to check it out. After that I was hooked and started planning what I wanted to model."

Currently, Luke's channel has just more than 100 videos, ranging from shorter technique videos to full diorama builds.

If he had to choose one favorite project, he'd go with the subway he constructed because it's unique and incredibly detailed. He also finds the train running along the platform satisfying.

Of course, Luke has many ideas for future projects, including a fully operational layout.

"I guess this is somewhat a sneak peek because I’ve been planning on how to film the construction of the layout for my YouTube channel," he said. "In addition to that, there is also a very specific detail I want to try to build and that’s a working escalator. I’ve seen large scale models of working escalators but nothing in HO scale. I’m sure it can be done and when I eventually figure out how to do it you can be sure I’ll share it on YouTube."

We're definitely hopeful for that sometime in the future!

Luke also offered some advice for those seeking to achieve ultra-realistic scenery like him.

"Most definitely practice. My first diorama was nothing like what I’m able to do now! Learning by physically doing is the best way to find out what works and what doesn’t," he said. "You can always get a head start by watching tutorial videos on YouTube but to really improve you need to make mistakes and develop a sense for what looks good according to your eye.

"Another pro tip is to start small. By making small dioramas you can practice those techniques and really hone your skill before applying it to a much larger area. That way you can make the mistakes on a small diorama without a big financial loss if you need to completely scrap your model and start again, and if you need, many of the details you use on the small practice dioramas like trees, figures and buildings can be salvaged later for use on your bigger projects."

Here are some of Luke's recommendations for channels to watch for inspiration and learning:

Real Terrain Hobbies (whom we also have collaborated with):

"Very enjoyable with a wealth of information, Neil likes to take on big projects and seeing how he manages such large models is very useful in showing me how I can take on similar large scale projects as well."

Black Magic Craft:

"Jeremy tends to focus on smaller projects. However, he uses such a wide variety of different techniques and because his projects are smaller in size he focuses on the small details which is great to see. I learn so much from Jeremy and I’m always surprised at what combination of materials he uses and gets amazing results!"

Jazza:

"What can I say? Jazza produces very entertaining videos. These are not tutorials so much but at the same time just seeing someone's process for constructing a project can be very beneficial. And when something doesn’t work he’ll often include it so you know what not to do."

Dr. Faust’s Painting Clinic:

"This is where I go to learn different painting techniques, there is a huge library of videos. While most of the videos are focused on miniature figures he also has quite a number of videos on painting vehicles and some structures, additionally he has a wealth of information on specific painting techniques to achieve specific results."