buildings and etc. from scratch

[Anonymous]

I have as much fun building structures from scratch as i do running trains. I get a lot of ideas from Model Railroader. Some tips I have picked up over the years.
1. buy a box of coffee stir sticks. I bought a whole case of 10 thousand for 20 bucks. They are perfect for wooden siding, fences, or scale lumber etc... ....
2. use foam board. sometimes called sturdy board. its cheap comes in colors and available at walmart or office supply stores. Cuts easily with a straight edge razor blade, is very strong and light. I'm using it right now to build a new coal tipple for my layout.
3. another siding tip. buy a sheet of the evergreen styrene "metal siding" .100" spacing. I found it too expensive to use extensively so I buy heavy duty reynolds wrap...and use the plastic sheet as a form. I press the aluminum foil into the plastic sheet using a piece of balsa. A little grey spray paint and you've got a scale piece of metal siding....and it really is metal. Glue it on with goop.
4. use your own dirt. Sift it with an old tea strainer. Glue it down with elmers white glue and water.
5. I use old artificial christmas trees to make trees for my layout. A little bending and twisting and cutting and you can turn out hundreds from one throw away tree. I finish em off by gluing some woodland scenic folage on them.
6. For roads...consider old roofing shingles. I flip em over to the smooth side....trim with tin snips and glue em down with elmers.
7. i use a lot of blue foam board to create hills and mountains. for steep mountains...ie where you want a mountain but only have four or five inches for a base...nothing beats 1/4 inch plywood, a double layer of screen wire and paster of paris with a little joint compound mixed in.
John

[Anonymous]

I have as much fun building structures from scratch as i do running trains. I get a lot of ideas from Model Railroader. Some tips I have picked up over the years.
1. buy a box of coffee stir sticks. I bought a whole case of 10 thousand for 20 bucks. They are perfect for wooden siding, fences, or scale lumber etc... ....
2. use foam board. sometimes called sturdy board. its cheap comes in colors and available at walmart or office supply stores. Cuts easily with a straight edge razor blade, is very strong and light. I'm using it right now to build a new coal tipple for my layout.
3. another siding tip. buy a sheet of the evergreen styrene "metal siding" .100" spacing. I found it too expensive to use extensively so I buy heavy duty reynolds wrap...and use the plastic sheet as a form. I press the aluminum foil into the plastic sheet using a piece of balsa. A little grey spray paint and you've got a scale piece of metal siding....and it really is metal. Glue it on with goop.
4. use your own dirt. Sift it with an old tea strainer. Glue it down with elmers white glue and water.
5. I use old artificial christmas trees to make trees for my layout. A little bending and twisting and cutting and you can turn out hundreds from one throw away tree. I finish em off by gluing some woodland scenic folage on them.
6. For roads...consider old roofing shingles. I flip em over to the smooth side....trim with tin snips and glue em down with elmers.
7. i use a lot of blue foam board to create hills and mountains. for steep mountains...ie where you want a mountain but only have four or five inches for a base...nothing beats 1/4 inch plywood, a double layer of screen wire and paster of paris with a little joint compound mixed in.
John

[Wdlgln005]

On another site' I've seen a guy use cereal boxes turned inside out!
Make whatever building the size you want & draw in any detail. Cut out the windows. When that is completed, use any material you can find to simulate the effect you are looking for. You could always use a paint program to color in some areas & paste it to the cardboard. Then you have a pattern before cutting any styrene or wood & make all the changes you want cheaply!
I have found that the trick in using drawing programs is to think in terms of what shape things are & then apply a color to the surface to get closer to what you need.

Have fun model railroading

[Wdlgln005]

On another site' I've seen a guy use cereal boxes turned inside out!
Make whatever building the size you want & draw in any detail. Cut out the windows. When that is completed, use any material you can find to simulate the effect you are looking for. You could always use a paint program to color in some areas & paste it to the cardboard. Then you have a pattern before cutting any styrene or wood & make all the changes you want cheaply!
I have found that the trick in using drawing programs is to think in terms of what shape things are & then apply a color to the surface to get closer to what you need.

Have fun model railroading

[Anonymous]

I have made some buildings out of 1/8" wood for walls and roofs. I have also started using matte board (I got mine at Michaels crafts. Just ask for scraps of matte board and the price was right - FREE!). As for ground cover - I mixed some fine sawdust with water and paint and let it dry for a few days on newspaper. I have a couple of hills carved out of 2" styrofoam. I just painted it with tan latex paint and then sprinkled the painted sawdust on the wet paint. It looks great.

[Anonymous]

I have made some buildings out of 1/8" wood for walls and roofs. I have also started using matte board (I got mine at Michaels crafts. Just ask for scraps of matte board and the price was right - FREE!). As for ground cover - I mixed some fine sawdust with water and paint and let it dry for a few days on newspaper. I have a couple of hills carved out of 2" styrofoam. I just painted it with tan latex paint and then sprinkled the painted sawdust on the wet paint. It looks great.

[Anonymous]

i was just trying to find a few ways to make buildings for a small o gauge layout from scratch, or other relatively inexspensive ways to add detail to a layout.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

i was just trying to find a few ways to make buildings for a small o gauge layout from scratch, or other relatively inexspensive ways to add detail to a layout.

Thanks