Finishing Touches, Model Winter Accessories and Tips

Christmas Village Displays

There are all kinds of finishing touches and decorations that are worth considering when you are laying out your village. Of course, many of these tips are purely personal taste, but all would agree that it is difficult to create a feeling of a crisp winter's day or night without the use of at least a few handfuls of snow.

Plenty of trees, both evergreen conifers and deciduous, should be used and if you have the space, it can be quite striking when these are use to form little miniature copses and woodlands, rather than placing all of them individually. This is certainly a useful landscaping tip, easy to carry out and achieve successfully. Lots of similar sized figurines will create a busy village, where as just a few will make it appear more like a little hamlet, where the residents are tucked up inside their houses, in front of their roaring winter fires.

This picture of a small clock (above) shows how by standing it on a small square of modelling grass, rather than straight on the paving, it appears a little grander and more imposing. The grass has been softened with some snow, and in the background, some window baskets have been borrowed from a dolls house for the Christmas season.


The following photographs offer a few tips and suggestions that will certainly enhance any village display:


Photo of a large Christmas village, viewed from above. This arrangement incorporates a huge quantity of small trees, moss and figurines:



Tiny icicles can add an icy chill and are easy to make by dabbing on small amounts of clear silicone sealant:



Grass tufts often used for war game miniatures add a natural touch to paving, ponds and rooftops:









Cheap plastic aquarium plant matting used for fish tanks can be perfect for creating bushes and hedges, especially when finished with snow spray:







All sizes of model Christmas trees are relatively inexpensive and a real must for any kind of seasonal landscape:













Green-coloured reindeer moss should be used all over any village, in generous quantities. This moss can be purchased from florists, but is far cheaper when bought in quantity online.













Snowflake powder, such as Scenic Snowflakes by Deluxe Materials, is perfect for adding to rooftops and can also be used to disguise the bases of figurines and trees. Some model makers sieve flour or icing sugar to create this effect, while others like to use coarse rock salt or pickling salt, mixed with glitter:











A wisp of smoke can be added to a chimney to make it look all the more real. Here, a small piece of polyester snow fabric has been stretched to form the shape of smoke and glued to the chimney:





Try to match figurines to the scene, such as children and a teacher outside of a school house, Mrs. Claus with a tray of gingerbread men in front of the village bakery, and Christmas shoppers laden with heavy bags next the village shops:







Miniature benches can be a wonderful addition to areas of paving or when sited directly outside a Christmas house. The benches shown here are sold by Lemax.













The following two photos show the official My Village green scatter (flocking powder), used to suggest natural greenery on rocks and pathways. Lots of different colours and textures are available from model shops.













Cork scatter is available in different sizes and is perfect for using to create informal pathways or areas of soil. The edges can be softened by blending with snowflakes







A wishing well, bird bath or sundial can all be welcome inclusions to garden areas. These are good pieces to display with miniature animals, such as model cats, dogs, rabbits, squirrels and birds.





This battery powered Christmas fire will make any village appear colder, particularly when figurines are positioned around it, as if they are huddling around the heat of the flickering flames.