I have always been a guy that can visualize something I am building in my mind in the real world to the point where people ask me how I do it. In the model RR world anything I have Scratchbuilt so far has been small and straightforward. So now I want to do something a little more complex and am thinking I should draw up a plan, either because my brain is slowing down at the ripe old age of 57, or because it is a model and not full size I just quite can't get my head around the final look.
What do you guy's do?
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
I'd say "most of the time" because I can recall one small office building for the scrapyard that didn't get a drawing, and their might be others.
I don't do nice-looking drawings, though. A sketch will do. I need that to determine how much material I need, and to fit the parts to the stock sheet of wood or styrene.
Since a lot of my structures are brick, I've used DPM and Cornerstone modulars. For these, my planning usually consists of making full-size mockups out of cardstock, which lets me place the buildings and figure out how loading docks will work with track and roadways.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
LIONS do not draw plans.
LION can visualize what him wants, but plan or no plan the claws of him do not do fine, sensitive work. How much work does it take to eat a tasty wildebeest. If I can not do the job quickly and easily, then it cannot be done anyway.
So LION has picture, on paper or in mind, and him works at a project until it looks as best it could, and then says, "OK, its none, next."
Here are nice buildings designed by LION on a computer. Push the print button and glue them to the wall.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
For the few buildings I have scratch built, I at least draw out the major walls. I want to make sure I get the window placement correct. It also helps if you have to selectively compress, as the drawing allows you to make sure everything looks right.
Scott
I almost never draw plans, even in 1:1 construction. I built a two story wood shop with little more than a couple of calculations for things that needed kept track of for proper spacing or something else that's particular.
For laying out large structures, I usually do some calculations like that, but rarely more. I do have a talent for 3D visualization, so am not recommending this for anyone who is more comfortable with drawings. Drawings are a general good, just not always needed.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Most of the time I just do a sketch. Sometimes if what I am building is complicated I draw a full size plan to build it on. I use that for wood tresstles and bridges mostly.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
The N scale section of my website is now uploaded with a lot of various things. Check it out: www.CarlettaTrains.com
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
When I scratchbuilt a four unit apartment building for my layout I had notions of what I had in mind, but it was useful to first do a crude sketch. Then I noticed that the building's first floor was in a sense based on repetitive patterns : two apartments side by side plus two mirror image apartments side by side. (In other words, window+door window+door door+window door+window)
The back of the building was the same concept although the doors and windows differed from the front. Thus one detailed drawing of one door/window pattern was enough to get me through the entire front of the building, and ditto for the back -- not a complete drawing of the building wall but a detailed drawing with measurements of one of the four repetitive patterns that made up the structure.
I also studied some kits of structures of about the same bulk because it was useful to see how the kit designer handled issues of: are the sides as wide as the building, or do they fit within the walls at the ends, and that sort of thing.
Dave Nelson
For scratch building structures or rolling stock I make three scale drawings, scaled to be full size in HO (my scale). A front, a side and a top drawing. It doesn't take that long. If I don't like the way something looks, I change the drawing to make it better. Easier than reworking a model. I use the drawing to lay out the cuts on the wall material. It helps in getting the two sides, and the front and the back to match up. I can check my cut work by laying the cut out parts over the drawing to make sure they came out right.
Squared paper, a sharp pencil, an HO scale rule, and a triangle are all I use to make a drawing.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Generally no.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
I can work from a picture or just what I see in my mind's eye. I have used the East Broad Top RR for inspirations for several engine service area buildings and they turned out quite well IMHO. I use manufactured doors and windows so its just a matter of seeing what is available that is close to the prototype and then scaling it out from there. I make extensive use of a scale ruler. The available space is also a consideration of course.
For vehicles and rolling stock I may draw a rough sketch to get the proportions about right but I pretty much work right from my head. Most of the time it seems to work, although I have one version of railtruck where the box is a bit too long. I did that to accommodate a 1" speaker but now that the sugar cube speakers are available I will be able to shorten it a bit so it doesn't look like its going to fall on its butt.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
My current layout is being modeled portotypically so I have to do a LOT of scratchbuilding.
Being close to the area that I model - I can just jump into the car and run down over the hill and take pictures of the area.
Even though the rails are all gone - the buildings are NOT!
So I take PICs and then put them up on my 25" monitor and can size the PICs to a close scale with my Scale rule and then just build off the screen.
I also pring some PICs and will rescale the sizes using a calculator to give me my model sizes.
I will sketch out some of the larger buildings on paper when I need to compress very large structurers
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I am rather lucky in this regard as I used to work as a draftsman for my architect father and later for the former UCSD County Hospital in San Diego. I still own an older version of a professional architectural computer drafting program that I use to design all of my scratch built layout structures.
I start by searching internet historical sites for examples of period structures in the areas I want to model (1950's Orange County, CA). I also search Google Maps and Street Views to find suitable period structures that still exist in these areas. After printing out the photos and/or street views, I carefully scale out the structure using a single swing door (assumed to be 3'-0" by 6'-8") as a base reference.
Using the CAD program, I next lay out a site plan for each City block I am modeling to determine the available footprint space for each structure I wish to locate on that block. I then add new layers to the City block file for each building and its elevations. Then, I draw the building floor plan based on the photos/street views adjusting as needed to fit the available footprint space. Once each floor plan is complete, I work up the exterior elevations (walls). The CAD program streamlines any "engineering" problems. Once I have the floor plan, elevations and roof plan completed, I print out everything on card stock and tape the structure together into a mock-up of the building that I can place on the actual layout. I also compare the mock-up to the photos/street views to make sure the visual proportions are correct, especially when I am forced to compress the building. If the proportions are off, I adjust the CAD plans as needed and print out a new mock-up. Once I am satisfied with the mock-up, I can use the final printouts as patterns as I create the permanent structure (usually in styrene).
So far, I have constructed 12 different buildings using this method but still have around 20 to go. The first structures I built this way were compressed versions of the old Santa Fe depot and freight house in Santa Ana, CA. It took a few tries before I was able to get all the mock-up proportions to match the available photos (the prototype is long gone) but I think it was well worth the effort. A long time resident and former mayor of Santa Ana just about lost it when he saw the finished model. Because I was able to include certain key features into the model that he obviously remembered, I don't think he even noticed the significant compression I was forced to apply to both buildings.
Obviously, not everyone is going to have access to a professional CAD program but there are several basic CAD programs available on the internet for little money or even free. This approach works for me as I am forced to scratch build most of my structures. Southern California architecture and building materials are simply not represented by most commercially available building kits as most such kits are based on eastern or mid-western architecture and materials (brick buildings are not advisable in earthquake country).
Hornblower
I plan the major items like walls, windows, piping, and equipment, down to the nearest inch using TurboCAD. This way I know what the dimensions and locations will be for cutting out the parts. I like drawing in CAD and can get a better idea how things will fit. Its easier to change things before much cutting is done.
The few structures I've scratchbuilt were mostly built over plans that I drew on light cardboard. I cannot imagine putting a structure together in any other way, having all of the studs properly measured out, and everything drawn to scale. I used an inexpensive CAD program to do a few smaller structures as I needed the printed plans to accompany my articles for a magazine. I had training and had worked as a draftsman in the past, so this was second nature to me.
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/
I usually do some sketches on paper with the major dimensions before I start cutting. I also work from photos. My projects are prototypes that have never been published or built before. I have to do a lot of calculations and brick counting, etc.
Victor A. Baird
www.erstwhilepublications.com
I always draw the basic dimensions/outlines and then build over the top of the drawings using them as a template. Makes it much easier to keep things in plumb, square and the correct dimensions. Most of my scratchbuilding time is spent figuring out dimensions from photos.
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
After thinking about it for a while, I have come to the realization that I do in fact create very accurate drawings of the scratch builds. However, instead of drawing on paper or card stock, I draw directly on the styrene or wood. That gives me a very clear idea of proportions before I start cutting.
A rough drawing I did a few years ago for a carshop for my current layout.
And some parts I made.
A mockup of the building.
Dennis Blank Jr.
CEO,COO,CFO,CMO,Bossman,Slavedriver,Engineer,Trackforeman,Grunt. Birdsboro & Reading Railroad
Dennis:
Nice workmanship!
In my case, it all depends on what I want to replicate. A building..yes...kit bashing, normally no, cut,file and piece. Scratch building details for vehicles no, but I do spend some time getting the correct size of the parts and see what I can use that maybe already available. At the moment, I am working on four projects at once, all centered around my kit bash transload buildings scene, trucks, buildings and area on layout where it will go. I do that so paint and glue I am using has a chance to cure before handling. I just finished scratched building two air cleaners for two Athearn trucks, that are not available, with brass tube, music wire and evergreen styrene stock all cut and shaped ready for paint.
I will eventually show pic's of the building bash.
Take Care!
Frank
On my drying shelf above my workbench is a little dock office, one of two, that will go in the transload kit bash, all made from Evergreen stock
I love scratch-building, and everything on my layout, except some of the rolling stock, is scratch-built.
I don't always do a drawing. Some simpler structures, I just work off the plan I have in my head. But other times I will draw up a very simplified plan to get a handle on the structure's basic dimensions, etc.
I've never done a fully-detailed plan. However, there are a couple buildings which I worked up crude 3d models on the computer. Also, because some of my structures have to fit into a specific space, I will sometimes do a rough mockup out of foam core board to make sure it fits and/or to get an idea of how it will look alongside the other buildings.
Nice! Funny as I was contemplating a Railway Ferry today for the layout! Wonder if I can find a set of plans for the SS Scotia?
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=5959
If one could roll back the hands of time... They would be waiting for the next train into the future. A. H. Francey 1921-2007
I found this interesting and thank those who contributed. I guess I will start with some drawings of what I want to build. Maybe some entre-manure (as Archie Bunker would say) could come up with a 3D Architect program for designing model railroad structures.
Brent,
What are you thinking of scratchbuilding?
Rich
Alton Junction
Rich, there was a Co-op in Saskatchewan I remember coming across, it was somewhere between North Battleford and Saskatoon in a small town off the beaten track if I remember correctly. This thing had obviously been added to at different times over the years and had room for a couple of boxcars on one side and also could accomodate flat cars that would bring in things like tractors and other farm machinery. I wish I had taken photo's of it as it was something a little different that has been in my brain since the mid eighties as something I would have on a layout. I have searched government archives and used Google Earth to try and hunt it down to no avail. So I will go from memory and hope to get close.
I visualize, and build a mock-up with cardboard and hot glue, in the scale I'm building in. Somtimes, that mock-up becomes the base sub-structure for the finished product.
Mike.
My You Tube
FergmiesterFunny as I was contemplating a Railway Ferry today for the layout! Wonder if I can find a set of plans for the SS Scotia?