scratch building structures

[medic_149]

I am going to scrach build the structures for my layout..I am building in N-scale. Does anyone know where you can get blue prints for buildings in this scale? I have always been good at building models and detailing them, so I thought I would give it a try at scratch building my own structures...any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated...thanks....medic

[n2mopac]

I also scratch build most of my structures in N scale. I draw my own semi-scale plans from plans in other scales or from photographs mostly. All you need is a point of reference of a known length and a ruler with fine increments.
Ron

[Jetrock]

medic_149: You can use blueprints for ANY scale. Just have a scale ruler handy for that scale--you can then determine measurements and transfer them easily to your scale. If the drawing is in HO, measure with your HO ruler--if something is, say, six feet long in HO, you know that part will have to be six feet long in N. Or you can just scan it with a computer, resize it to your scale, and bang, custom blueprints!

[orsonroy]

I'm currently working on a series of 12 N scale houses for a friend. These are simple 1920s-1930s one story starter homes. No blueprints required, just a basic knowledge of old architecture.

In Model railroading, getting something to "look right" is generally more important than building something to exact scale. Let's face it, we're used to seeing a lot of stuff on our layouts that are grossly underscaled. Houses, factories, and even trees are usually built much smaller than the real thing. Who here has 100 foot trees on their layouts?

I once built an N scale bungalow exactly to scale. 28 feet wide, 35 feet long, with a top peak of 20 feet, sitting on a 3 foot high foundation. Pretty common stuff. It dwarfed most commercial house kits on my Ntrak modules, and looked horrible! The starter homes I'm working on now are 18 feet wide, 25 feet long, have a 14 foot peak, and are on a 2' foundation. They look "better" than my completely scale house, because they blend in with the commercial stuff.

[Anonymous]

Here are some useful links to plans for all kinds of buildings:

http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/plans/
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/hhhtml/hhhome.html
http://ghostdepot.com/

If you haven't got one yet, get an N-scale ruler - preferably steel. That makes reading plans so much more straightforward - no need to "convert" the plans to N-scale. If a beam is 40 feet long on the plan, just use your ruler to measure a 40 scale foot beam.

Hope thet helps.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Incidentally, I made my own N-scale ruler(s) by drawing them on my computer at work, then printing them out, with my CAD software. By folding the paper over, then "laminating" it between two strips of clear scotch tape, I ended up with a fairly durable if flimsy measuring tape. The benefit of doing this is that I can draft it in whatever increments I wish, and with two sides of the ruler, I can do two different sorts of units / increments. When one ruler gets worn out, I'll eaily be able to print off another. And, if I need to work from blueprints in another scale, it is a simple matter to print the same ruler out at that different scale.

The way I laid my ruler out, I had major divisions in ten-foot increments, minor divisions at 5-foot intervals, then for the first 10-feet I included divisions each foot. Beyond the zero point, where negative numbers would be, I added extra divisions for another ten feet, with divisions at 15 inches rather than 12 along one edge, and divisions at 9 inches along the other edge. By numbering from right-to-left along the top edge and left-to right along the bottom edge, I could repeat the process on the other end of the front face, because there'd be a right-hand zero point as well; the ten-foot "negative numbers" extension could be in different increments there, such as perhaps 7 inches and 10 inches (standard dimensions for stair risers and treads). Of course, I haven't even gotten to the back side yet, which could be in metric if I wanted...

The point is, I crafted a tool specifically geared towards my needs, for the cost of a laser print and scotch tape. However, if you attempt to do this, make sure you use a drawing program like CAD which has reliable control over scale; don't just make reductions/enlargements on a photocopier, since these tend to distort proportions slightly. Check your final output by measuring a long dimension; in N-scale, 160 feet would measure one actual foot, so an 80-foot scale ruler would measure exactly 6 inches long. If this comes out correct, then you've got a good print.

[dehusman]

Thanks Masonjar, that "memory" site may be the best tip I've gotten off theis board in a year.

Dave H.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Avondaleguy

Incidentally, I made my own N-scale ruler(s) by drawing them on my computer at work, then printing them out, with my CAD software. By folding the paper over, then "laminating" it between two strips of clear scotch tape, I ended up with a fairly durable if flimsy measuring tape. The benefit of doing this is that I can draft it in whatever increments I wish, and with two sides of the ruler, I can do two different sorts of units / increments.

Clever, and inexpensive. Flimsy can be a good thing in some cases, and you can make them rather short if needed. I especially like the idea of different increments, as you can tailor those to your needs, even vary them on the same side. Even my good eyes cross trying to count some of those increment marks.

---jps