Making of: DAMSELS of DESTRUCTION
Our specialty is simple: we treats any crazy idea as a challenge — and takes it on despite all the difficulties!
This time, we received a very Special Request: to destroy an H0 scale model layout…
Why not? It sounded interesting, and ready-made setups surely wouldn’t be a problem to buy or order — or so we thought. Together with our team (and the client), we started searching for a Special Layout for Destruction!
But things turned out to be not so simple. The selection was very limited, delivery was expensive, and the setups themselves were quite modest for their high price:
“But we can do even better setup – why not?” That thought crossed our minds. From that moment on, our lives were never the same 
We stepped into a completely unknown field, with no experience but a lot of enthusiasm!
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The task seemed simple: buy the required scale models online, then find someone who could build the layout.
However, it quickly became clear that transporting a large layout without damage would be impossible, and renting a dedicated location for the entire construction process would be unrealistically expensive. So we decided to build the layout directly on the filming location — and began preparations…
First of all, we found a person (also without experience, lol) who agreed to take on the construction. Together, we sketched a possible layout and started searching for buildings, tracks, and other elements:
For the base, we decided to use modular pallets (which were conveniently purchased in time to take part in the Food Platform Crush).
Extra detail: it was winter and pallets were covered with gel or something that frozen, so we had to wash everything with warm water:
The final layout size ended up being 2 × 2.4 meters — even larger than we initially planned!
We began with some lucky discounted purchases.
The first surprise we encountered: creating even a reasonably good-looking setup — even using second-hand elements — turned out to be far from cheap!
Our first layout was something like this…
Then we received a bridge that determined the fate of the entire layout… “If there’s a bridge, it has to connect something… let’s make mountains with a small village on one side, and a city on the other!”
As a result, the layout became multi-level, with two tunnels and different zones (urban, suburban, fields, and a train station). To be honest, we didn’t expect this from ourselves — but once we started, we had to take it to a Special Level!
Also, since we decided to use a 360° camera in center, we chose to create clouds using special cotton.
What we found making clouds: YouTube timelapses and real life are very different things. Creating the sky took several full days of gluing — and burned fingers:
We came up with more ideas and discovered even more unique details for the layout.
To be honest, it felt like looting — when you spot something cool, your wallet just opens itself 🙂
For example, one day we bought a soccer field, later we found a “Stadium” station, and a month later we stumbled upon a Stadium model! An offer like that couldn’t be ignored:
Around this time, the person who was helping us with the layout left the team, so we continued on our own (and even invited our models to help!)
Working on the city setup:
Later, we moved on to painting and static grass application — a very relaxing process:
One of the challenges was figuring out a background for the layout that would provide enough light and not look boring. Our first test involved projections:
Later we tried different lighting:
New and new elements were added:
Next, we worked on the highway, road markings, and small details.
We had to design and 3D-print the road guardrails, because the ready-made parts were too expensive.
By this point, the construction had already lasted more than 6 months!
We also found an interesting windmill with broken blades — and decided to restore them using a 3D printer:
Now we had a field with a windmill! All that remained was adding details… We were surprised that items bought “at random” fit perfectly — as if they were chosen specifically for this setup.
Meanwhile, the layout had already been under construction for half a year. We kept buying more and more elements (poor client — thank you for your patience!…😇 )
Now it was a time to bring some life into setup!
…and finally make an initial tests with a model!
Later we considered that bright light would be better for final video)
Anyway, using projections as background led to amazing results!
Still, some elements were missing. We ordered 150+ human figurines, signs, and additional small props. (We kept ordering cars constantly — that’s how we ended up with taxis, police cars, and a fire truck at the fire station.) We also added leaves for visual richness.
Finally, after almost a year of construction, the layout was nearly finished…
We returned to the background question and decided to invest in a printed panorama!
16 meters long and 2.5 meters high — it completely enclosed the space around the layout:
Moments of creativity with chromakey..
Right before filming, we recorded videos and took photos of the finished layout as a keepsake… until, at one beautiful moment, the invited models destroyed all our work!
Were we upset? No — and again, no 🙂 It was a spectacular feeling: watching the destroyed objects and realizing that everything had been created for a single moment…
To sum it up, we did an insane amount of work and gained priceless experience. We hope you enjoyed the result!
