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Gerry Leone’s Bona Vista RR is a freelanced HO scale railroad modeling a short line in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota in 1953. In this video, follow Gerry as he shows you the 12 locations of mirrors that he used to make the illusion of the layout being larger than what it is.
Fantastic video. I was reading through the comments posted and came across one that referenced "Front Face Mirrors". This type of mirror is best to use for any layout. A lot of people do not know too much about front faced mirrors. These mirrors have the reflective surface on the front side of the glass as opposed to it being on the back, hence: front face mirror. One source I recently found for the mirror is from a old discarded rear projection TV. There is a huge mirror in there that reflects the image form the three projection tubes located at the bottom of the TV onto the back side of the viewing screen. The use of the front faced mirror is extremely important as there are no "Ghost Images". A regular mirror (with the reflective coating on the back) will have a double image, one from the back side and the other from the front side of the glass. It should not be too much of a problem finding a discarded rear projection TV. BTY, you will have plenty of mirrors to cut from the huge mirror that is used in the rear projection TV's. Safety Note, take care when removing the mirror and take it to a glass company and have them cut the pieces you will need. That is what I did. There was a nominal charge for cutting my mirror into the pieces needed. Good luck in your hunt.
What I have always come to value with your video format, the sharing of such great modelling ideas and tips. I thought I did good adding one mirror to my layout. Gerry has given me ideas to install 3-4 others that never crossed my mind. The other point he seems to make implicitly is the simplicity with which he installs the mirrors. Thank you Mr Leone!
Amazing. For most of the video I did not notice the mirrors until he pointed them out. I need to add mirrors to my layout. Thank you Gerry Leone!
Wonderful and very informative. I learned a lot from this well produced video. Thanks so much.
Excellent video and presentation. It would be interesting to know how the mirrors are held in place. One clue appeared to be a wood block attached to the mirror back in the scene where the man is talking to himself. The mirror that extended a street in Glenoaks appeared to jiggle as he lifted the tree foliage at the top to show how it disguised the mirror edge. Are the mirrors merely held in place by the weight of wood blocks cemented to the backside? (i.e., not actually cemented in place) Thanks for a great video.
I would be very interested in an article or video explaining how Gerry constructs his power and phone lines. His are some of the most realistic I have seen. Great video!
Very clever and well executed Gerry!
Watching the video it has been very inspiring, so much so that am am going to find some mirrors and try my hand at this. VERY creative and imaginative, Thanks Gerry
Very impressive illusions! And I agree with the other comments that seeing the video is much more clear than just seeing the still photos. This really inspires me to want to include some mirrors on my layout…
Great job, wonderful narration and beautiful modeling. Thanks for sharing.
genius!
Ditto to the remarks about the video helping to see the tricks better than still photos.
Excellent. Brilliant solution! Enjoyed the tips.. Thanks!
Great information on the use of mirrors.The video really helps seal the deal with the fly over and behind the scene views. I loved the reuse of the empty building as a second street scene for use with the mirror.
WOW!!! Such great use of imagination and using tricks of the eye with mirrors. It has given me the courage to use mirrors in my new layout. Thanks Mr. Leone! I have been enlightened.
Very clever and well narrated.
Where do you get the front surface mirrors?
Being Halloween I was at first hesitant to use mirrors as to expose any vampires who might visit–but it is definetly something to reflect upon!Great Northern ideas for my GN layout-my biggest concern ,if I forget its a mirror and I run my steam engine right through it ! Seven years bad luck?Cereally though it was a real eye opener especially the clever ways to Hyde the edges of the mirrors! Up in Kelowna B.C. Canada Mike Greig
Nice! One of the best yet on any subject let alone on a subject not really often covered since the late great John Allan. the video and its editing were also impressive. I love the mirror ideas and am just setting out early planning ideas for my new model railroad – my fist ever that will be "permanent". All my previous layouts (9 to date) have been designed for public display and portability. Planning for mirrors has been greatly enhanced by this video. Thank you SO MUCH!
Awesome layout, superb detail, beautifully modelled, great video.
I also found that seeing the video about just where, how, and why the mirrors were used was so much more informative than just seeing photos; however well done they are, video does the job so much better! Kudos indeed to Gerry for another helpful, informative, and well-done video that was a pleasure to watch and learn from. Please continue to show as many of his videos as possible, as often as possible. I'm really looking forward to seeing more videos of his new layout.
excellent video and narrative. what an super way to add depth to areas that are back drops. it makes that backdrop scenery come alive. also, a good idea for modeling extensions of streets in small towns. Gerry you have an outstanding layout with great details. thanks for sharing.
Very Impressive. I hope the video remains available until my layout mirrors need hiding It would refresh my memory.
I am glad to see the use of mirrors on your layout. For some reason when I thought about and installed some mirrors, I felt I was cheating on the landscaping. It does give depth and extention to scenes. What you did looks great. Thanks for some confirmation to what I was attemping to do 4years ago on my first layout. I am now thinking of locations to use mirrors on my work in progress layout.
Extremely well done video… and modeling! Informative videos like this are just so… informative! The narration is great, the layout map is most helpful and the quality of the video is excellent. More please, MR.