No idea where to begin

[Anonymous]

I am hoping to scratch build a couple models from a small railway in the Açores, but all that I have to go off of are photos.

Any advice on how using limited knowledge of a prototype's appearance I could build it?

[cabbage]

Well normally photos are all that is left of the locos that I wish to model.... My first step is to get as many of them of this loco that I can find. You can normally get a manufacturers side and front profile shots.

The next step is to import the side photo into a simple "draw" program and then scale up the side photo to the correct scale size. So, if the loco is 19m long then at 16mm scale the drawing is just under 1m. Then print out the scaled drawing onto A4 sheets of 2mm sq ruled graph paper.

You now have a scale image of what your locomotive will look like when built. You can measure off it, and place things on it to see if they will "fit".

Have a look here:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sheila.capella/cabbage/default.html

All the models are made from junk and scraps that I have found. Examine the section "Kitchen Sink Engineering" -I do honestly tell you that all of the models are made on the piece of work top between the cooker and the kitchen sink. The only "power tool" is my pillar drill which I bought for £29.99p

[Anonymous]

All that I know for sure is the gauge. That's about it.

 

[cabbage]

Do you have a picture of the locomotive? If you like I can practice my art on it!!! The gauge is really a good guide -although I presume this is not an Iberian Gauge locomotive?

Click on the "send e-mail" icon and give me an address to send you a blank one that you can simply attach the photo(s) to and I will have a go for you.

regards

ralph

[John Busby]

Hi portuguesePRIDE

First off having chosen what you want to make you need a good scale drawing.

This can be got two ways one by finding the manufacturers archives and obtaining a copy

can cause wallet to go into melt down.

Or second using the dark arts to scale it from photos you need to know one piece of information that will help the process.

I would strongly suggest taking up cabbage's offer to do this as it requires a bit of know how to do it.

once you have the drawing its a case if grabbing the material and working through til you have

the model you want.

If you get into dire straights someone on the forum will be able to assist

regards John

[S&G Rute of the Silver River]

Be better if you had some pics up, but that aside, I'd scrounge evilbay and elsewhere for a loco that'll work and rebuild as needed.