bases for buildings on layout

[jag193]

I use Evergreen 0.040 styrene for the bases of my O-scale buildings so that I can incorporate some details and scenery before "installing" on the layout.  That way, the blending into the rest of the scene becomes a little easier for me.  Here's an example of a building on the styrene, with local scenery, and temporarily placed on the layout to see what other details need to be added.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3285/2416273992_ab653d8988_b.jpg

and

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/2415453293_d5fcbb2f62_b.jpg

Jim

 

[Hansel]

ham99,

Do you have any photos you can post of your foundations?

Thanks, Hansel

[ham99]

I usually make a foundation out of 1/8" masonite painted concrete gray.  A second piece of Masonite that fits exactly inside the building goes on top of the base to keep the structure in place.  Interior view blocks and lights are installed on the base.  I can lift the structures off the base, but they won't dance around the layout from vibrations.  Scenery [ground cover and grass] can be laid right up against the Masonite without gluing the structure to the layout.

[Hansel]

Here is my $0.02

I believe one of the most toy looking phenomenom is when you look at a building and it looks like god just plopped it down on the surface of the earth.  I believe that the base or foundation is the cornerstone of making a building look realistic.

Again just my $0.02

[wm3798]

Urban don't necessarily mean flat...  Ever been to Pittsburgh?

This building was previously installed on a former ex-layout, which had a very hilly terrain, even in the city.  You can see how I brought the sidewalk up along the right side.  I got this idea from just looking at buildings in Baltimore and other cities to see how their designers dealt with less than flat terrain...

I would build the streets first to see where the grades would be, then install a level surface that would provide the "basement" of the block.  This could be removeable.  The sidewalks would be attached to the structures, and act as a flange the hold the block in place, and seal the gap between the buildings and the street.  Hope this helps. 

Lee 

[superbe]

Mr. B,  What thickness of styrene are you using? As usual your scenicing is superb.

Bob

 

 

[MisterBeasley]

I draw the lines for my sidewalks with a #2 pencil.  You can see them in the "House of Haggis" restaurant picture up above.

[n1vets333]

 I recently read an article in one of these raiload model magazines about using masonite for a base and concrete for under buildings. It really caught my attention as I do o scale and different manufacturers use different style sidewalks and for some odd reason different heights as no one seams to stick to scale. I disconnected all stock sidewalks and cut the masonite to the shape of the buildings with excess left for the sidewalk. Then used a razor to cut the lines of sidewalk into the masonite. to smooth out the edges where the sidewalk meets the street I used masking tape and then used concrete color paint and then gave it a coat of india ink to bring out the lines in the sidewalk and it looked really good. I now have a technique to use on all my buildings so they could all look uniformed. I hope this helps it sure helped me out.

[Courage8]

Beautiful work on the interiors, and in showing them off with good lighting and window detail!

[tcf511]

Great work. I want interiors in any of my buildings where you might be able to tell it has one. I have to lift my buildings off my modules to transport them. Your way of doing things makes that much easier. Thanks.

[R. T. POTEET]

I use open grid benchwork and when I need a foundation for a structure I just put in a riser or two and bolt an appropriate length of 1/4 inch ply to the riser(s).

And as far as plastering atop something; you can plaster just about anywhere including the top of trackwork - your trains sure don't run very good in that circumstance. A few years back I flipped a spatula and plastered the top of my head!!!

[MisterBeasley]

I've built a couple of more "urbanized" areas where the sidewalks come right up to the buildings.  I started with a flat base, and first added a layer of styrene which defined the sidewalks and the building bases, leaving only the road area as uncovered pink foam.  Then, I used Durhams Water Putty to fill in the road space, even with the top of the styrene.  Next, I cut another identical layer of styrene, but this time I cut out the footprint of each of the buildings.  I glued this down to the first styrene layer, leaving shallow holes for each building.

This shows the scene after painting.  The foreground building is Model Power's "Annie's Antiques," which comes with a base and interior detail, including lighting.  The block behind it is for DPM's "Other Corner Cafe," which became the House of Haggis Restaurant on my layout.  I scratch-built the interior for this one:

(Click on the pictures for a larger view.) 

Here's the House of Haggis in place.  Because it fits inside the sidewalks, you don't see the bottom of the building, and light doesn't leak out below the walls.

 

 

[donhalshanks]

Lee, that is really nice work.  I'm getting close to putting insome buildings and had the same question as the subject of this thread.  Helps a lot!

Hal

[wm3798]

I try to build a foundation for my structures.  If you look at actual buildings, they very rarely sit flat on the ground.

I used some sheet styrene to build up a foundation for this building so the floor would be level with the floor of a boxcar.  The front parking area is level with the floor, but the track drops down about 4 scale feet.

This station is built up on a basement.  This is the track side, where the foundation is below grade, with platforms and track level even with the first floor.

This train order station has a pretty typical foundation.  I cover the flat part with scenery material.

Here it is installed.

Lee 

 

 

[P&G Northern - Calgary]

What do you use for a base under your buildings in relation to both the trackwork or to the roads/streets? I used woodland scenics Roadway tape & Smooth-it to make my roadways. Can you plaster on top of the cork to do the rest of scenery such as grass etc. around my buildings?