What was your first scratchbuilt structure? This was mine, made many years ago. It's pretty basic, and isn't being used on my present layout. But I can't bring myself to throw it away, either.
I've posted some thoughts about scratchbuilding and kitbashing on my blog, together with other photos of first-time and current efforts.
http://cprailmmsub.blogspot.ca/2014/12/scatchbuilding-and-kitbashing-on-m-m-sub.html
John Longhurst, Winnipeg
Great idea for a thread.
The first one in my MRR reincarnation was this bridge. I wanted a girder bridge to span a large cut where the track was curved. No one had one on the market so I built my own.
My first thought was, a girder bridge would never be that long unsupported. I then started going to prototype RR engineering sites and discovered the longest unsupported girder bridge built was a 172' long. They had pic's and I was off to the races, knowing something similar and longer than mine did exist in real life.
How the curve was dealt with.
Had to add fake rivets.
Test fitting on the layout.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
This was my first scratchbuild, a station that now serves in Hesperus. I built it from a planbook (will try to locate) when I was living in Germany as an AF brat. It's also the only model I've ever entered in a contest, where it won 1st place in the youth structure division IIRC at a meet in Frankfurt. So far, that seems to have satisfied any need for contesting, but certainly not scratchbuilding.
The front
The back
The battens are all hand cut and applied, windows and doors all scratched. I think the only manufactured parts were the pinheads used for doorknobs.
EDIT: OK, located the plan. It's from an aticle by Joe Wilhelm called "Sammll Town Station" that was the first plan included in the classic "Easy to Build Model Railroad Structures" edited by Willard V. Anderson of MR. It originally appeared in "Model Trains." The planbook was first published in 1958 and mine is the 4th printing with the price of $1.
Looking through it, I see another structure I still have, a wedge shaped warehouse, which is the Crooke's hardware warehouse in Silverton now. It's the warehouse behind the brown Rio Grande RBL in the middle right side of the pic.
I remember building the station first, now. It's possible I built the warehouse first, because it's simpler and my memory isn't trustyworthy that far back. So I've got it covered anyway, one or the other is first.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I started small, a simple loading dock:
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
This is the earliest scratch built structure I have a photo for. It was made from some thin pressed board, clear document protectors and white glue. It was located where my cow pasture and windmill are now. It was lighted and didn't look too bad in the dark.
Saugatuck Station.
It stayed on the layout for
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
Mine is long gone, the victim of many moves over the years. It was a freelance interlocking tower inspired by an MR plan in the 1950's. The material was rough cardstock, and I think there may have been more glue & paint than cardboard in the final product. But I had fun. I was around 11 years old, I think. You learn by doing, and that was a learning experience.
Tom
This is my first scratchbuild (I think). It is built from pine slabs cut on my radial arm saw. I didn't sand the slabs well enough so there are some saw marks. The ice chutes are too high in the wall as well, but that I will correct once I know the elevation of the track in front:
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Nice work, everyone. It's really pretty interesting that so many first efforts came out so presentable. Heck, Bear's is even quite impressive!
ACYI had fun. I was around 11 years old, I think. You learn by doing, and that was a learning experience.
Exactly. I'm sure it was a satisfying experience for you, even if there aren't any surviving pics.
People should give scratchbuilding a try if they've been wondering about their capabilities. More than likely, it will have a few flaws, but the good will surely outweigh the bad. Then the next project will build on the first and so on and so forth. You'll gain confidence and skills as you go and look forward to solving the challenge each new projecft brings.
My first totally scratchbuilt structure........yard office for my RR.
Dennis Blank Jr.
CEO,COO,CFO,CMO,Bossman,Slavedriver,Engineer,Trackforeman,Grunt. Birdsboro & Reading Railroad
John:
Lots of good work on your blog. I can definately see an improvement in your scratchbuilding skills as you progressed.
I'm at the same point re having built almost all of the structures that I need for my layout. However, having seen the quality of work done by others on the forum, I am tempted to re-do a few of them that I didn't put quite enough thought into originally.
Dennis:
That looks good. What did you use for the corregated roof?
mlehmanHeck, Bear's is even quite impressive
mlehmanPeople should give scratchbuilding a try if they've been wondering about their capabilities. More than likely, it will have a few flaws, but the good will surely outweigh the bad. Then the next project will build on the first and so on and so forth. You'll gain confidence and skills as you go and look forward to solving the challenge each new projecft brings.
I've got pictures of mine, but, as usual I'm having trouble posting pictures on this forum. All of the instructions I've been given just don't jive. When I follow them, the menus, icons, etc. don't appear as described in the instructions. What pictures I have posted have mostly been via cut and paste, but they come out distorted (help!!)
Anyway, my first effort was a fairly complex (for a first effort) grain elevator/feed mill, complete with silos. Sure wish I could show it here. Very frustrating!!
Tom,
What photo hosting site are you using? That will help with guidance on the specific hosting service you use.
Generally, the hosting site will automatically generate several different links. There's oftne one called "forum code" or something similar which is the first thing to try. However, if that doesn't work, try the other until you find the one that works here. For instancde, I use ImageShack and neither the "forum" or "alt" forum codes work IIRC, which is why I use the "direct" code here.
To place the image in your posting here, you should see a series of options on top of the "Post Body" entry form. Mine has three rows of toolbars. You want the middle group of three in the third (bottom) toolbar. Click on the small pic of the mountain and star and you will get a pop-up box to enter your pic code from the pic hosting website. Paste the code in, hit OK, and after a moment the pics should appear wherever your cursor is sitting in the "Post Body" form. Remember that you may need to "allow pop-ups" if your browser setting have been set to prevent them in order to get the pop-up pic posting form.
Wow, great viaduct!
My first scratch-built structures were built when I was a teenager, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. They "near N" scale -- I didn't have a scale ruler so I made them to 1/16" to the foot. I don't remember exactly which one was built first, but I think it was coal mine and tipple. There was also a Victorian house, and maybe one or two others.
As my skills improved I moved on to 1/8" scale, and eventually got a scale ruler and started building in HO scale. All of these structures were on small dioramas, since I had no room or money for a model railroad. At some point, being a teenager, I decided to eliminate my early works by stuffing firecrackers into them. :)
Here's mine, which I built from cereal box cardboard when I was still in elementary school.
http://vanderheide.ca/blog/2014/12/15/first-scratchbuild/
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
First scratchbuilt building i made was a 3 stall roundhouse. Sorry no pictures. Made from balsa wood with plastic trim parts. The exterior was finished and the next thing to do was the interior. Sadly, before i got to do this, i tore it and the layout down. This was back in the 70's.
My first scratch-build was a subway station.
This is so old that it's a scan from a print from a film camera. Someone here asked if it was scratch built. At the time, I looked upon scratchbuilding as something the gods of Olympus did in their spare time, but I had to admit that yes, it was scratch built. At the time, I just thought of the subway stations as something that had to be done before I could progress to the layout above them.
I had this as my screen-saver on my computer at work. A co-worker from New York City looked at and was very puzzled, because he thought he was looking at the IRT but could not place the station name.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Mine's been lost to moves over the years, but the first was a paper & balsa Carolina Foundry from an E L Moore article way back in 72.
Right now I'm working on Moore's Cals Lumberyard with a mix of old and new materials.
jim
After years of building craftsman kits, I finally decided to start scratch building. I am about half done with an ag supply building roughly modeled after one I took pictures of this summer in Boessvain, Manitoba. When I finish I will post pictures. This building is meant to be prototypical and not an exact replica. I even produced a good scaled drawing to work from as I have had experience doing construction design drawings. Don't know why I haven't tried scratch building sooner.
" alt="Freight Station" />
I did lots of kitbashing-this was my first totally scratchbuilt structure in styrene.
Mike
My first scratchbuilt model was an icing platform made from cardboard and balsa using a Model Railroad paperback article; long gone back in the 1960's. This is my second scratchbuilt model, of the house I lived in back in the 1950's and 60's. I just got back into model railroad HO a few years ago when I retired (2007). This model was from old photos that I used to make a CAD drawing and then styrene model. I am working on my 4th one now and really enjoy this aspect of the hobby.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
John L, thanks for the fun thread.
My first scratch build is long gone, but still have the second, circa 1986. Salvaged it when the previous layout was taken down in 2010.
Regards, Peter
Bob,
That house is absolutely gorgeous! It could represent the quintessential residence of any area of North America from 1900 to present. Well done!
Ed
mlehman Tom, What photo hosting site are you using? That will help with guidance on the specific hosting service you use. Generally, the hosting site will automatically generate several different links. There's oftne one called "forum code" or something similar which is the first thing to try. However, if that doesn't work, try the other until you find the one that works here. For instancde, I use ImageShack and neither the "forum" or "alt" forum codes work IIRC, which is why I use the "direct" code here. To place the image in your posting here, you should see a series of options on top of the "Post Body" entry form. Mine has three rows of toolbars. You want the middle group of three in the third (bottom) toolbar. Click on the small pic of the mountain and star and you will get a pop-up box to enter your pic code from the pic hosting website. Paste the code in, hit OK, and after a moment the pics should appear wherever your cursor is sitting in the "Post Body" form. Remember that you may need to "allow pop-ups" if your browser setting have been set to prevent them in order to get the pop-up pic posting form.
Mike,
I'm using Photobucket. None of the options that have been described by others appear on that image hosting site. I have posted some pictures on here, both via the "usual" way (which shows a link containing more pictures than I intended to post), and copying and pasting.
E-L man tomI'm using Photobucket. None of the options that have been described by others appear on that image hosting site. I have posted some pictures on here, both via the "usual" way (which shows a link containing more pictures than I intended to post), and copying and pasting.
OK, maybe one of the PhotoBucket users can provide some specific advice? I know many who do post pics here, so there must be something that works.
Mine was a small depot (as seen on the irght of the picture. It is the red one far right) and dimensions weren't good. I placed in on my first layout, seen on this picture unfinished, but I didn't used it on the second layout, and now it's partly destroyed so I won't reglue it. This layout sadly doesn't exist anymore.
E-L man tom I'm using Photobucket. None of the options that have been described by others appear on that image hosting site. I have posted some pictures on here, both via the "usual" way (which shows a link containing more pictures than I intended to post), and copying and pasting.
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OK, I tried to do as one Photobucket user has said he does. I'll see how this works. Although these are not very good photos of the structure that was my first scratchbuild effort, it gives you some idea of what I did. Hope you all can see them.
[quote user="mlehman"]
gmpullman Bob, That house is absolutely gorgeous! It could represent the quintessential residence of any area of North America from 1900 to present. Well done! Ed
Thanks Ed,
this house was built in 1925 I believe, and has been updated some since then. I have photos of the revised home from last year, thanks to my sister who still lives in NY. They don't build homes like this anymore; too expensive to put in all the architectural details (also took a lot of time on the model!). Every time I look at the model it gives me the chills; it looks so real to me.