Styrene structrual shapes.

[Anonymous]

I am considering scratchbuilding a rather large steel bridge in HO, and don't have any good hobby shops within reasonable distance. I'm looking for a source of plastic I beams, lattice work, etc. that I can get "on-line". Any tips would be great. Thanks in advance.

Todd C.

[dknelson]

I would explore Central Valley for lattice work, Micro Engineering for various bridge parts, Three Brothers for embossed rivets on sheet styrene, Plastruct for I-beams. Check out the Walthers catalog. My experience is that Caboose Hobbies often has parts that even Walthers itself is temporarily out of stock on, and they have a very good website and internet ordering system
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

Don't forget to check 'Evergreen", too, it's a good line of styrene shapes, sheet siding, etc.
Dave / Todd...I could be mistaken, but I thought Plastruct was some other kind of plastic,[ABS?] not styrene, and may have glue-up problems unless you use a different adhesive, like for ABS????
regards / Mike

[Anonymous]

Well that's a good point Mike. I don't know either, but if it IS a different type of plastic, then there certainly could be problems. The last time I used any Plastruct material was at least 20 years ago. Things just seem to keep changing... Anyway, thanks for the "heads-up" on different materials.
Todd C.

[Anonymous]

Plastruct introduced a line of styrene shapes a few years ago. The shapes in this line are, if I remember correctly, white plastic. These will bond with the usual plastic cements like Testors, Tenax, etc. The line also includes imbossed sheets representing brick, stone, block, sheet metal, etc.

The original (grey colored) line is ABS plastic and does need a different solvent/adhesive than the typical styrene.

I feel that the cross sections on the styrene line are much better than on the ABS line. I had previously stuck with wood shapes rather than using the overly thick ABS on my scratch building in the past but now use the new shapes.

Hopes this clears things up.

Doug

[Anonymous]

Thanks Doug, I totally missed the release of the Plastruct styrene line...not having a local hobby shop does that kind of thing to a person.And maybe it wasn't 'glamorous' enough to be reviewed in the model press???
regards / Mike
I will keep an eye out for some.

[dknelson]

as posted above Plastruct now offers both ABS plastic and styrene -- I think most items in both with some exceptions. Actually the Plastruct line is far more extensive than the Walthers catalog would indicate and I would urge scratch builders to invest $5 in the Plastruct catalog. The Evergreen line is very good. Don't forget wood --
ABS plastic does not work well with glues meant for styrene that is for sure. Fortunately good old Walthers Goo works on both :) I have such bad luck with ACC -- if it were not for Goo I do not know if I could get ANYTHING to stick together -- at least not intentionally (ACC does work great on fingers. There is not much call for HO models made entirely of severed body parts unfortunately)
Dave Nelson

[bfsfabs]

Dave,
I thought I was the Lone Ranger as regards ACC. I am somewhat relieved to hear that somebody else has had not too much success with ACC. For some reason, probably operator error, it just doesn't work for me. Thank God for Goo and 5 Minute Epoxy.

Lowell Ryder

[Anonymous]

You might try some of the new gel type ACC's if you are having trouble.

Personally I put a drop of the regular ACC on piece of paper and use a pin to deposit it where I want it. The only problem I've had this way is when I laid my hand down on the paper and it stuck.

Doug

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the chuckle Dave. After a really bad night at work, your comment about the fingers and severed body parts made me laugh for the first time today. I miss being in a MR club, I used to be in one as a kid, but now that I live in a small town, this site is about the only way I can interact with other model railroaders. Anyway, you brought a smile to my otherwise "disgruntled" face today.
Todd C.

[Anonymous]

As others have pointed out plactic/glue compatibility can work for or agin u. I have made beams with white styrene. I weld with MEK and a kids drafting pen. I cut PVC pipe to make jigs for the H shape. I used MEK to clean PVC before gluing with a different glue. Be sure you work in a nicely ventilated space when using any of the plastic glues or solvents.

[Anonymous]

Hi Todd. I have recently built Walthers Tri-State Power plant and am using it in a diorama where I am building what will eventually look like an extension to the power plant. All the model I-Bars and T-Bars I would need along with all types of angles and tubing I would need in the scratch build section of Walthers catalog. Try there, you probably will find all you need. Good luck on your project.
Pop

[Anonymous]

I have been figuring out the scale measurements on this project. To perfectly duplicate "High Bridge" in HO scale, it will be over 13 feet long. Needless to say, I'll use "selective compression".This is truly a spectacular bridge that was cut up in 1955. Some 90 feet high, and over a quarter mile in length. For more info, explore the C&O h.s site.
Todd C.

[Anonymous]

I have been figuring out the scale measurements on this project. To perfectly duplicate "High Bridge" in HO scale, it will be over 13 feet long. Needless to say, I'll use "selective compression".This is truly a spectacular bridge that was cut up in 1955. Some 90 feet high, and over a quarter mile in length. For more info, explore the C&O h.s site.
Todd C.

[dknelson]

A few more thoughts on this structural shape topic. I have spent the weekend reading a new book by Dean Freytag called Cyclopedia of Industrial Modeling. It is a followup to the wonderful book on steel that he wrote for Walthers and contrary to the title, is not an overall look at industrial modeling but a closeup view of his fabulous Davies Steel plant on his HO layout, with some other people's work shown as well. But once you grasp his concepts you will in fact be equipped to do just about anything in the way of crafting from structural shapes and parts -- including building a bridge. The techniques and ideas and bits of wisdom are what count. Also Freytag's work looks ultra detailed but when you really examine it you realize he allows mass and realism and good weathering to take the place of a billion rivets etc.
The key thing for this posting is that the book was written with the assistance of Plastruct and each project has a list of Plastruct parts. When you read it, it is absolutely ESSENTIAL that you have a complete Plastruct catalog ($5 from Walthers) nearby -- the Walthers catalog itself has been a fraction of the Plastruct line, and I think you will be surprised by some of the things that Plastruct has -- of the "why doesn't anybody make ....? variety.
The fun thing about Freytag is that he is not afraid to use Legos, Odd Lots toys, parts from O scale Plasticville toys, and bits punched using ordinary paper punches to give the effect he wants.
If you have ever attended a clinic by Dean Freytag at an NMRA meet you know he is one of the best, most friendly, and entertaining clinicians around. The shocker is when he passes around beautifully crafted models for you to touch and examine close up.
Reading the book is like hearing him talk, meaning parts of it are a bit breezy and not always easy to grasp without the visuals (although the book is filled with color photos, all of models). An accompanying video or DVD would have been a great extra but the book is already a bit pricey.
By the way, the Plastruct catalog comes with a price sheet. Those Plastruct displays you see at hobby shops are very very expensive! Hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Think about that next time you "dream" about owning your own hobby shop, or get mad at your shop because it does not stock everything.
One classic display is the revolving four-sided styrene sales display. It goes for about $450. And when a local hobby shop when out of business a couple of years ago I bought theirs -- for $15. At the time I had no idea what the list price was.
Maybe that is why I am more willing to experiement with structural shapes than some people are.
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

Dave is right on the mark about Dean Freytag.
Good post Dave & regards / Mike