OK,
Probably the last installment for this thread. The thing is done enough to put in the garden. As the picture shows, it is a reasonable facsimilie of a house, though clearly not in line to win a scratchbuilding contest. The folks have put on their Sunday best to show it off all the same...
I will put on a base and a few detail parts. The crew asked that they be able to put furniture and the like in it, so the building will not be attached to the base. The roof topper, incidentally, is the broken tip of an epee, perhaps the most useless piece of steel known to man. I left the barrell on as an inside joke for my fencing buddies to find. While I do like how solid the hardiebacker was, I did find it too hard to work with given my limitations in skill, tools, and workspaces. I think I will use it as the base for this and future projects, and I could see it forming the core of something again going forward, provided that something did not require open windows. Aloha, Eric
I will put on a base and a few detail parts. The crew asked that they be able to put furniture and the like in it, so the building will not be attached to the base. The roof topper, incidentally, is the broken tip of an epee, perhaps the most useless piece of steel known to man. I left the barrell on as an inside joke for my fencing buddies to find.
While I do like how solid the hardiebacker was, I did find it too hard to work with given my limitations in skill, tools, and workspaces. I think I will use it as the base for this and future projects, and I could see it forming the core of something again going forward, provided that something did not require open windows.
Aloha,
Eric
Quick Update:
So, from hoping to whip up a quick hardiebacker, I have actually have had to learn about glues, my Dremel, and project damage control!
Have a great week!
plastic light grid
Some people have used these (found in the big box stores) to simulate pains, or have used wire mesh
Furtive progress continued over the weekend...
I'll try to get some window panes and doors cut and the whole lot painted and trimmed. This is not shaping up to be a thing of beauty, but it is shaping up to be a building. Oh, and it is still PLAYMOBIL sized, so it is still relativel "G Scale.
I'll post pictures when this is done. There is not much to learn from grinder / file / Dremel follies!
Tom,
FYI, total bust. I must've had too few holes, and I snapped wall. I can still salvage this, as I planned to plank over the walls, anyway. The process was not as easy as i had thought it might be, and I am not sure I will use it again absent acquiring a saw to cut out windows and doors. Worth a try, cost me nothing, taught me something, and, in the end, will provide a building (Though by the time I am done filing, it may be O scale .)
In the meantime, my Hotwire Foam Factory kit arrived today, so my options have expanded! I have sheets of styrofoam to practive on before plunging into EPS.
Thanks. I'll use this trick to salvage what I have, hopefully by this weekend. Teh resulting building will fill space, and I won't weep if the kids break this one! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Next try will be foam.
My one and only attempt was a bit successful. Instead of cuting out the doors and windows, I drilled them out. 1/8 inch drill bit every 1/8 (or so) inch spacing along the window edge. Second 'drilling', place the drill bit in an existing hole and wobble left and right to about 45 drgrees baisically connecting the existing holes. Then slice through the remaining material with a heavy duty box knife. Final edge clean up with a small file. I thought it was good for a first attempt, but, CFO said"NO". You do good in plastic and wood, stay there.
Tom Trigg
Aloha All!
I tried to make a building as described by Mr. Cameron Charles in the April 2017 issue of GR. I got a piece of scrap, borrowed the angel grinder, marked out doors and windows, and set-to. Based on advice from another forum, I also tried using a fence to keep longer cuts straight.
Leaving aside "straight" is relative, I had a real issue with the windows. The grider is too big for the windows I had in mind; the Dremel doesn't have the "oomph" to be the primary cutting tool. i decided to halt while the project was nominally salvageable and seek furhter advice.
I am inclinded to simply make bigger windows, each roughly the size of the grinding wheel's diameter. The building would look guilty, but, at this point, this is a salvage operation in addition to a technique experiment. Is there a more elegant solution I may be overlooking?
Thanks!
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