How did you learn to scratch-build?

Well, first I had some real life building experience which was helpful in knowin how structures are actually build. Second, I built a number of kits which helped in some of the basic skills. Third, I read a lot of articles and some books on stratchbuilding a variety of different types of structures out of a variety of materials, Finally, and most importantly, I dove in and tried it. I started with a kitbash or two, then tried the complete scratch build. I learned by trial and error, not being afraid to try and mistakes (after all we learn much more from our mistakes than from our successes), and continuing to read and draw from the knowledge of more experienced/skilled modelers.
Ron

Several ways
1) neccesity
2) boredom
3) trial and error
4) lots of pictures
5) Lego

Trial and Error was probably the most used. Alot of things I've needed were never available or were to expensive.

Ditto what Fergie said.....

I usually don't get up one day and decide I'm going to scratchbuild something. Usually there is something I want or have an idea, but can't find or modify something to meet it. The only real way is to jump in and do it. Make some mistakes and learn. Find some of the older MRs and RMC from the 70-80s when folks were doing alot of it and get some ideas on the basics. Trial and error....

Mostly, I just "did it". I think my first scratchbuilt structure was a shotgun house built out of basswood when I was 12-13. Of course, I spent my childhood playing with Legos, building kits, and later working on construction projects around the farm, so gluing little bits of wood together wasn't really a big deal. And later (after college), once I had tackled a few resin freight cars and Bowser kits, scratchbuilding the odd building or freight cars didn't seem so intimidating.

Nowadays, I absolutely love scratchbuilding, especially structures. I think I've scratchbuilt over 40 structures in both HO and N this year alone! (OK, 25 of them were N scale section houses, all identical. They weren't the hardest things in the world to build! I think they cost me $2 apiece, mostly for the two Tichy windows in each of them)

I started scratchbuilding as a teenage model railroader because I couldn't afford the expensive kits. I think I used plans from magazines and cut the basic shapes out of cardboard, scribing siding on with a dull knife. Basswood wasn't around much then, so I used balsa wood for the inside supports, window and door framing and trim. Some were painted with some house paint my father had around, diluted with paint thinner. Kinda crude I guess but served the purpose at the time.

Later as an adult when I got back into the hobby, I did as others have mentioned, I assembled some expensive kits by Campbell and Fine Scale Miniatures. It dawned on me that I could use the very same methods to make my own structures, which I did.

In rolling stock, the Roundhouse "3 in 1" kits were a great learning tool too. They weren't actually kits, but some of their bits and pieces from their lines with plenty of good instructions. Best of all they told me exactly what I needed in styrene sheets and strips, and what sizes of Plastruct shapes to get. I made their steam shovel, Jordan Spreader and several more. Not quite like the RTR kits of today!

Bob Boudreau

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon Ditto what Fergie said..... I usually don't get up one day and decide I'm going to scratchbuild something. Usually there is something I want or have an idea, but can't find or modify something to meet it. The only real way is to jump in and do it. Make some mistakes and learn. Find some of the older MRs and RMC from the 70-80s when folks were doing alot of it and get some ideas on the basics. Trial and error....

Funny thing is sometimes I'll start a project get one third of it done and then let it sit for a month or even a year. Then one day I'll pick it up and run with it.

I call these my "back burner projects" for the simple reason I sometimes don't have the knowledge to finish something and I'll let it sit in the3 back closet and let the grey matter figure it for me. It's a subconscious thing...... I think?

Mainly Trail and Error.

When I was living in Newcastle, one of my local modeling buddies was an avid Colorado Narrow Gauge modeler. (I think scratchbuilding is a pre-requisit in that genre) so he would show me something cool. Then I would want something just as cool, so I would pick uo some strip wood, cardstock and styrene and have it it. I have since scrapped alot of my early stuff as compared to what I can do now, my early stuff is quite attrocous.

This modeler i refer to was also a wheathering god as well.

James

Well, I was a lego nut when i was abotu 4-8, so that helped some. Then I used to cut cardboard out, tape it with maskign tape, and then paint it, and then finally I tackled the styrene stuff this summer. I really enjoy it now. My first styrene attempt wasn't perfect, but hopefully my next will be better, the old trial and error thing.

Noah

Trial and Error. More errors than I care to remember, but all worth it!

Wow...I forgot to mention my very first scratch building project. I had very little money and could not buy wood or plastic supplies. I used cereal boxes for the nice cardstock. I laminated layers of this cardboard together to form a nice rigid sheet of workable material. I then built a small freight station with covered platform. I carved grooves to represent planks. Windows were cut out of business cards laminated into the wall. Looked great, but alot of work. Sure is nice to have the modern materials these days.
Just gotta go for it. No fears. You can always start over it you don't like the result.
Happy Scratch-building, Keith

I watched one of the masters - Howard Zane. I saw how easy he made it look and then I gave it whack. It wasn't that bad after all!

I learn a some of my scratch building by reading MR and a few books but most of my learning was done by trial and error.
It was 20% trial, 70% error and 10% dumb luck.

Scratchbuilding uses pretty much the same set of basic skills one learns in elementary-school art--cutting bits of cardboard or wood and gluing them to other things. I started scratchbuilding with cardboard and constructon paper, moved on to wood and brick sheet, and just kept going from there. It's a skill you learn by doing--sure, your first project probably isn't going to be a masterwork, but the next one will be a little better from the lessons you learned, and the one after that better still.

Comic artist Berni Wrightson said that every artists has 10,000 bad drawings in them, and the way to produce good drawings was to get those 10,000 bad drawings drawn so one can start producing good ones. Fortunately for us, scratchbuilding has a lot easier learning curve than professional comic art.

I have picked up tricks and ideas from reading various model railroading books and back issues of MR, but the actual skills came from cutting stuff out and gluing it together.

If you have never scratchbuilt anything, just grab some cardboard and an X-Acto knife and give it a try. Cardboard is cheap. If you don't like it, smush it and start again--eventually you'll have something worth keeping, or replicating in styrene or wood (or just make really good cardboard models--people do!)

[#ditto] fergmeister, and more:
Simplicity
Appeal of the structure/car
A few Craftsman Kits.
My first Scratchbuild was (I think) a "Civil War" flatcar. Built 3-4 of them, still have them. Structure was a "Dollar Model" of a RIP frame. Later I got my hands on Ambroid (Northeastern) car kits, (Open Platform B&M Coach, etc), and Alexander's 100-ton Coaling Tower. WOW! [:O] That opened my eyes! Been progressing ever since. Some sucess, some disaster. Just tried my 1st. "laser" a year or so ago. Now, I almost whip some of these out without thinking about kits too much.