Nice shots of the layout!
No doubt about it, scratchbuilding may be tedious at times, but it is very rewarding, not to mention creative. Another benefit is that you have something on your layout that is unique; no one else has that structure (or loco or freight car, etc.) on their layout.
I am planning a new HO-scale layout and all scenery and structures will be scratchbuilt from materials found within or near the area of Nova Scotia (Canada) that I am freelance modelling. Rocks, minerals, debris (eg. metal, plastic, rubber, glass) and even driftwood to make my own lumber are being collected, processed, inventoried and used. The only costs are gas for the car for field trips to collect materials, and items like glues and paints. I like the workmanship of the 50s and 60s as archived in magazines like Model Railroader so those articles are my inspiration. I think it's great that you are scratchbuilding!
Yup, it worked, shows 3 pictures of your building. Your off to a great start!
Mike.
My You Tube
So the first link should direct you to my website in order to see the pictures. Still trying to learn how to get this to work especially while working on a cell phone. Might have to switch to the computer.
">I'm new to posting here so bear with me while I try to figure this out.
Before the Roof
brakeman:
There are instructions on how to post pictures at the top of the General Discussion page:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/249194.aspx
Basically, you have to download your photos to a host site like Photobucket. When you post a photo in the forums you will be setting up a link between the MR forum and the picture hosting site.
Sounds a bit convoluted but once you have done it a couple of times it's easy.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
For those of you who are interested, I am working on uploading photos of my work. Anyone know some best ways to do so?
Something I've found helpful when cutting sheet materials with a razor is clamping the steel straight-edge to the work surface, especially helpful with longer cuts.
Happy modeling and regards, Peter
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
http://melvineperry.blogspot.ca/2012/12/my-first-scratch-built-building.html
Clickable link to Mel's website.
While I'm probably more of a kitbasher than scratchbuilder, I've learned that if you want something bad enough, but which either isn't readily available or is unaffordable, chances are you can build it yourself....mind you, my "wants" are usually not overly complicated. A few examples....I needed a large-ish ice house to fit an odd-shaped building lot (the back of the building narrows as it nears the viewer):
You can see the taper better in this photo...
...and some smaller local retail outlets supplied by the main structure...
The same retail outlets needed an enterprise to create some winter income, too, so I added coal sheds to each location, all, like the small ices houses, built to a common plan...
I wanted some competition for the latter, too, so built this version and named it for a friend...
Since most of my small towns are meant to represent such in a rural setting, stock pens seemed like a logical industry to add, and there are/will be one that's just a simple ramp and a couple of small ones like this...
There's also a livestock auction house located in Lowbanks, and the pens there are larger...
Since the backdrop (wall) in Lowbanks and adjacent Port Maitland is meant to represent the north side of Lake Erie, a fish packing house seemed like a logical industry to include. Like the large-ish ice house just around the corner, the back of this one is tapered so that it can be squeezed in between the wall and the tracks...
An easy build for first-time scratchbuilders is small, lineside railroad structures, like section houses, handcar sheds, crossing shanties, etc. Since there are two different (but affiliated) railroads represented, the style is different for each, with shed-style roofs for this road...
...and cottage-style for this road:
These crossing shanties are a little more involved, but not at all difficult...
This overhead crane, a composite based on several prototypes at my former employer, was one of my early attempts, and the first of mine to use styrene for the majority of the construction. The original handrails were milled basswood shapes (angles, channels, etc.) but most have since been replaced with styrene...
This is my most recent scratchbuild, mostly .060" sheet styrene, with a Red Caboose roof, brake details from Tichy, and rivet decals from MicroMark. The lettering is from Speedwitch Media...
The largest I've done was this station, made from .060" sheet styrene...
Like the other structures, windows and doors were commercially-available parts, either purchased separately or left-overs from kits. The stairs for the large coal dealer and the elevated crossing shanties are from Central Valley (much easier than those of the crane ), so, in the older sense of the word, none would be considered "true" scratchbuilds.It is, though, a very rewarding facet of our hobby and the vast array of materials available nowadays puts it pretty-well within anybody's reach.
Wayne
Agreed with all of the above, except: I use strip styrene for strip pieces, as I don't trust my own cuts. Also, I just have some simple squares that I use for the corners; Dave is right, the corners don't have to be exactly perfect; ditto on the windows and doors, though.
Also, I find the cardboard mock-up to be very useful, especially where you have a limited amount of space (like on my small layout) and/or an odd shaped structure that will be the only option for fitting there. I keep old cereal boxes on hand for my mock-ups. very cheap, and you can figure out exactly how your prospective structure will look and fit in a particular space before you actually build the model.
Finally, when converting from 1:1 feet to HO scale inches, I use the conversion factor of 0.138, which is what a foot measures in HO scale. So: 1:1 feet to HO scale inches = (1:1 feet) x 0.138; HO scale inches to feet = (1:1 feet) / 0.138. If you have something in a drawing which says, say 12' 8 3/4", I just round it to 12' 9", or 12.75'. Many modelers use 1/8", or 0.125" to an HO scale foot, but 0.138" is actually what the conversion calculation comes out to be.
Hey brakeman618!
Congratulations on getting into scratch building!! Personally, I find it to be one of the most rewarding aspects of the hobby.
Too bad about the warped sheets. I use Evergreen Scale Models sheets and I have never have a warped sheet yet.
You do need a small square, and in my experience you need to be very observant when using it. I have scribed more than a few lines with the square slightly out of position. It's a case of "measure twice, cut once".
One trick I use to cut perfectly parallel lines is to use V groove sheets instead of plain smooth sheets. I keep a variety of different spacings and thicknesses on hand so I can usually find something where the V grooves are pretty close to the size I need. All I do is scribe and snap the desired width piece and I am good to go. The V grooves can usually be installed to the inside of the model so they don't show.
Please show us your work.
My suggestion is -- Don't let any of this scare you off. In general, scratch-building is a low-risk, high-reward activity. The materials are cheap. Let yourself enjoy the process, and let yourself learn from your mistakes. At worst, you can scrap the project and start again, and even re-use some of the materials.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Will add a few things . First is a set of machinist squares of decent quality(not starett but better than harbor freight). Second I recommend a coffman or other corner clamps. Third is a rotary paper cutter as it makes a easy job of scribbling ling lines to snap plastic with , also a bulk back of #11 blades. On the warpage I have never run into that and I have a large inventory of it. also if you don't know of HABS-HAER it is on the library of congress site.o i forgot to add a steel scale rule.
I have used plastic corrugated sheet and there seems to be something about it that begs to be warped.
The great kitbasher Art Curren wrote that we shouldn't worry too much about perfect 90 degree angles for building corners, since a surprising number of prototype structures are not perfect in this regard either (as any number of modelers have learned when they first shoved a 4x8 into a bedroom corner -- hey! there's a gap!).
The one thing that I think really does detract is when windows and doors are at a slightly "off" angle, worse yet when they all seem at different "off" angles. Don't freehand this! Yes I know, there are any number of old frame buildings where the windows and doors seem out of plumb (old barns in particular) but as a rule they are pretty close and we should strive to be so, too. This is where having the right tools and having some patience is so important.
Dave Nelson
All valuable lessons. Having some small squares, particularly a machinists square can be very valuable. You can use scraps of plastic to make a literal square of plastic, then cut it on the diagonal to make two right triangles, those are really handy for reinforcing corners. With plastic, some 1/8-1/4 in square stock can be used to reinforce corners. Another fun tool is a "nibbler', it allows you to make "square" holes in plastic sheet.
I have found a lot of good plans and pictures for industrial structures at the HABS-HAER website. That brings up another critical tool, the calculator. With a bit of math and a caulator its relatively easy to use drawings of one scale to make something in your chosen scale. Combine that with digital or dial calipers and measuring stuff is a piece of cake. Lets say something on the plan says it is 12'8 3/4" long. It actually measures .945" using the calipers. Convert 12' 8 3/4" to inches, which is 152.75". Divide that by 87 for HO scale, 1.756".
Divide the HO distance by the plan distance (in inches) to get a conversion factor. 1.756/.945 = 1.858. Once you have the conversion factor, measure any dimension on the plan using the caliper and then multiply the conversion factor and it will give you how long in inches an HO scale piece will be.
The door is .348 wide, the HO opening needs to be .65 wide. The wall is 3.58 long. The HO wall is 6.65" long.
Note this doesn't care what the scale of the plan is. That means you can work off a bad photocopy, or some odd scale or even a photo with no state scale. You just need one known dimension (or a reasonable estimate). I have used wheelbase, wheel diameter, car height, door height to give me a dimesnion for photos.
Good luck and keep trying, scratchbuilding and kitbashing is fun.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Around fall of last year, I had the interest to try to scratchbuild a covered railcar unloading shed. After gathering supplies ($35 total costs) and studying pictures of my hoped for end result, I jumped in.
First lesson - review materials before buying for flaws. One sheet of corrugated siding was warped on the long side (as in it had a noticeable hill shape if laid flat). This was discovered after I purchased it and brought it home
Second lesson - perhaps a bit more research and blueprints or drawings could have been obtained.
Third lesson - invest in some squaring to ensure corners are square (whether bracing or tools or such).
With the warped styrene, I figured I could just brace it enough and it would turn out alright. I did so but somehow things didn't end up square. This is most noticeable when I attempt to install the roof.
I still plan to use the structure but minimize the flaws. One wall is probably 5 degrees off of 90 (so 95 degrees measurement). This wouldn't be very noticeable unless viewed from certain angles which should be minimized as the location for the building is near a corner and the height of the layout is about 4.5 feet off the floor (I am 6' tall).
Being my first attempt, it has been enjoyable to get in and try without fear of failure and messing up. It's the mess ups that teach us the most in this hobby.