Pat Nakamura inherited her father's incomplete N scale layout in 2011, and what started as a way to honor his memory turned into a full-blown passion. Her background in landscape architecture gives her a unique perspective on creating realistic miniature scenery, and she's become known in online forums for her detailed tutorials on vegetation and water effects. She runs a small design firm in Portland and models mostly Pacific Northwest logging and short-line railroads. Pat's writing tends toward the practical and encouraging-she remembers what it felt like to be overwhelmed by a hobby that seemed to have endless unwritten rules.