scratchbuilding with styrene

[MrMick]

I will be starting my first scratchbuilding project shortly: SS-178 on the New Haven RR in HO scale.  This switch tower is very much like many others on a lot of RR;s.  My question for which I am looking for suggestions concern the rows of windows - 4 or 5, depending - separated by about a foot of wall. Am I better off trying to cut out one large rectangle and then fitting windows and wall sections, or trying to cut out 4 individual window openings separated by a scale foot or so of 'wall'.  This is the first time I will have worked in styrene.  Thanks for any suggestions...

[dknelson]

MrMick

I will be starting my first scratchbuilding project shortly: SS-178 on the New Haven RR in HO scale.  This switch tower is very much like many others on a lot of RR;s.  My question for which I am looking for suggestions concern the rows of windows - 4 or 5, depending - separated by about a foot of wall. Am I better off trying to cut out one large rectangle and then fitting windows and wall sections, or trying to cut out 4 individual window openings separated by a scale foot or so of 'wall'.  This is the first time I will have worked in styrene.  Thanks for any suggestions...

 

I suspect either way would work with careful and precise work.  A commercial kit would likely have the one scale foot (or so) intervals between the windows be integral with the walls so that you'd just slip the windows into the gaps.  With practice I am sure it is possible to scratchbuild that way too.  But in my experience there are enough little surprises involved that I would assemble the window/interval/window/interval/window/interval/window piece separately and THEN measure and cut the gap for it, rather than hoping it fits a gap that has already been cut for it.

 

I think you will find styrene wonderful to work with.  The scribe and snap method is a joy. 

 

Dave Nelson 

[tstage]

MrMick,

Obviously it would be easiest and less time-consuming to cut one "long" single opening vs. four (4) "shorter" separate openings.  The issue is: How do you add the 1-foot "wall" (0.138" wide in HO-scale) sections between the windows?  One solution is to cut out a single opening then glue 5/32" (0.141") wide styrene separaters (for the walls between the windows) using a thin watery adhesive like Testors (essentially MEK, or methylethylketone).

For cutting openings: Use a drill bit to remove as much material as possible then use a #11 X-acto blade to trim it close to your window lines.  You can then use a flat file to fine-tune the opening for a snug fit.  Be sure to cut your styrene with fresh blades and do it in several passes - i.e. applying light pressure and letting the blade do the cutting.  If a blade starts to get dull, switch it out for a new one.  A dull blade will be harder to control (in a straight line) than a sharp one.

Tom

[G Paine]

Take a look at Tichy or Grant Line windows. if there is a single window that looks similar, you can cut off one side and glue as many as you need together to get a multiple window set.

[hon30critter]

MrMick:

Congratulations on getting into scratch building!

I have done lots of scratch building with styrene and I have always cut individual window openings. Doing that eliminates any awkward joints in the wall that normally wouldn't be there.

Cutting the openings can be a bit of a challenge if you are using heavier styrene, like .040" for example. It takes multiple passes to get all the way through the styrene. I suggest getting yourself a good supply of #11 blades and, as was mentioned earlier in the thread, change the blades as they get dull. I bought a bulk pack of 200 a couple of years ago and I am about half way through it. Some people have the patience and ability to re-sharpen the blades but personally doing that is way too tedious for me.

There is a much easier way to cut the openings. Get yourself a nibbler shear and the job will be a breeze! I bought one after doing several buildings and I kicked my butt for not doing it sooner.

http://www.micromark.com/nibbling-cutter,7761.html

Also, follow Tom's advice to use a file to finish the opening to the exact size, especially if it is a masonary wall. Go easy on the glue when you are installing the windows. Too much can cause the delicate window frames to swell which can cause the muntins to distort. Don't ask me how I know!

If you can post a picture of the tower we can give you a lot more specific advice on how to get it to look right.

Here is one I did from a picture in the Walthers catalogue:

Dave

[doctorwayne]

If you're doing fine cutting in styrene, X-Acto blades work well, but for window openings and cutting out larger pieces, such as walls and roofs, I prefer a utility knife.  The blades not only last longer but are cheaper, too.  The tip of the blade is less likely to break-off than that of a #11 blade, and the heavier blade and larger handle of the utility knife is better suited to the big cutting jobs.  I use 4'x8' sheets of .060" styrene for most of my scratchbuilding projects, like the main station in downtown Dunnville.  The windows are leftovers from a couple of Walthers Warehouse kits:

For wooden structures, Evergreen has a good selection of sheet styrene representing clapboard (two different reveals), board and batten, shiplap (novelty siding) and scribed siding, plus an extensive line of strip styrene in both HO scale dimensional sizes (2"x4", 4"x4", etc.) and thousandths (.010"x.080", .125"x.125", etc.)

This not-yet-sited storage elevator is made of Evergreen clapboard, with the dump shed sheathed with 1"x12" "boards".  It sits on a foundation made of wall sections from an MDC 3-in-1 kit:

Stockpens made using Evergreen strip material.  I built each side flat on a sheet of waxed paper pinned to a sheet of 1/4" balsa wood, then assembled the sides on the layout, with corner posts inserted into the "ground":

More of the same for this coal dealer's shed, along with beams and stairways from Central Valley.  It's covered in Campbell corrugated siding:

Evergreen also has a pretty good selection of structural shapes in styrene.  I used them to construct the runway for this crane:

The crane itself is a composite of two real ones and is mostly styrene (pre-dating Evergreen by a couple of decades, I think), with some basswood structural shapes - angles on the bridge and trolley, plus most of the handrails.  There was no fine angle-stock in styrene available at that time.  The motors, gearboxes, and electrical cabinets are made from sheet styrene, too:

For small structures with lots of windows, I use Evergreen strip along with leftover bits of their siding material.  Doors and windows are from either Tichy or Grandt Line (both styrene), and the stairs are from Central Valley, also styrene, while the shingles are from Campbell (paper):

Wayne

 

[richhotrain]

doctorwayne

If you're doing fine cutting in styrene, X-Acto blades work well, but for window openings and cutting out larger pieces, such as walls and roofs, I prefer a utility knife.  The blades not only last longer but are cheaper, too.  The tip of the blade is less likely to break-off than that of a #11 blade, and the heavier blade and larger handle of the utility knife is better suited to the big cutting jobs.  I use 4'x8' sheets of .060" styrene for most of my scratchbuilding projects, like the main station in downtown Dunnville.  The windows are leftovers from a couple of Walthers Warehouse kits:

 

Wayne, please stop posting photos that include that gorgeous red brick multi-roof structure in the foreground.  

If you won't give me that highly desired structure for my own layout, at least keep it out of public view so that I don't have to look at it.   

Rich

P.S. Where did you acquire the skills to scratch build that huge building in the background?  It is absolutely beautiful.  

[doctorwayne]

Rich, I actually thought about trying to crop-out the portion of the picture showing Bertram's Machine Tool Works, simply out of consideration for you - then I thought better of it. 

Actually, there wasn't much skill required to build that station.  The two Walthers Warehouse kits each had a double set of windows, and I used the one-piece ones for the P&M Languay factory.  I felt that the overly-heavy window muntins wouldn't be too much of an issue on it, as it's mostly a background structure, albeit with its own siding.

The second set of windows had only the perimeter and main crossmembers as part of the castings - the others were printed on clear acetate film, a material which I no longer use because it yellows with age. 
For the station, I removed the arched top from most of the windows, then simply cut openings in the .060" sheet styrene to suit.
The layout work for the walls and roof was done with a carpenter's square and a 4' metal straightedge.  The three visible walls are scribed to represent Ashlar stone blocks, but that doesn't show in most photos.  Probably the only difficult part was the fact that, because the tracks are not parallel to the wall which forms the backdrop, the whole structure had to be tapered.

Here's a picture with it removed from its place:

As you can see, there's a ground level represented on the ends, as the tracks are on an elevated right-of-way.  The back, where the main street-level entrances would be, is plain styrene, with a couple of interior partitions to keep the visible sides straight.

This aerial view of the removed Languay building better illustrates the taper needed to fit the available real estate:

The inspiration for my station came from this one, in my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario:

Mine, obviously, wasn't intended to look like it, but this street-side view shows, to the left, its elevated right-of-way and partial platform canopies.

There were a couple of wall sections and roofing left over from Languay's (I used plain styrene for its roof and unseen sides), so I built this partial structure to fill an otherwise unuseable piece of real estate in the same town.

 

Not just a scenery item, it's rail-served, too, albeit from a staging siding representing otherwise unmodelled industries.  The access track runs between this structure and the one behind it, and also doubles as a run-through track when the grandkids just want to see the trains run.

Wayne

[richhotrain]

doctorwayne

Rich, I actually thought about trying to crop-out the portion of the picture showing Bertram's Machine Tool Works, simply out of consideration for you - then I thought better of it. 

Wayne, I am willing to relent, just this one time, if you will agree to post a photo of Bertram's Machine Tool Works.  It is an excellent example of scratch building at its best.

Rich

[doctorwayne]

Thanks for your kind words, Rich.   I'd classify Bertrams as more of a kitbash than a scratchbuild, so it could probably be replicated fairly easily if you can find the appropriate components.
The "factory" portion is Walthers' Vulcan Foundry, built with both long walls facing the viewer.  I added a foundation made from .060" sheet styrene, and used the same material for the needed longer roof.  The clerestory also used both long parts on the viewing side, but because it's see-through, I replicated the window arrangement on the rear side by using strip styrene for the heavier vertical members, then simply painted the window muntins and mullions onto the clear styrene window "glass".

The entire complex stretches for a city block, and the add-ons include a shipping/receiving area for trucked goods (the area with the concrete loading dock with the yellow safety railings) along with a boiler house (the Vulcan smokestack was used, but appears taller, as its base is actually in the attic of the boiler house).  The brick wall material here is from MDC 3-in-1 kits, while the roof is made from roofing material from a Vollmer roundhouse (the roundhouse was re-built as a small locomotive shop, in use elsewhere on the layout).

Between the boilerhouse and the green and red truck is a large door for coal delivery - there's a coal dealer directly across the sidestreet seen at the lower right corner of the photo.  Trucks back to the open door, then dump the coal into the enclose pit, where it's fed by auger to the furnace. 
The truck shown is backed to the stores area, used mostly for office supplies and small items needed in the manufacturing process.  It's constructed from more MDC parts.

Closest to the viewer in the above photo, and seen from the opposite side, below, are the general offices.  It was built from a LifeLike Bottling Plant, with the walls re-arranged and a few bits added.  It houses offices for upper management, the sales and purchasing departments, and, of course, design department and blueprint storage. 
Also visible in the photo below is Creechan's Fine Fuels, coal supplier for Bertrams.

Bertram's name and business was appropriated from the real Bertrams because of an obscure personal connection, but is not intended to replicate the prototype.  Creechan's Fine Fuels, mostly scratchbuilt, is a fictional business inspired by a real one, but named for a good friend.  It also looks nothing like the prototype which inspired it.

Here's an older photo taken from across Walnut St....

...and one of the general offices, taken from across the tracks at Liberty St., which dead-ends at the tracks:

I'm pretty sure that this photo was taken by the same photographer as the one above:

This aerial view, taken from the north, is courtesy of Secord Air Services:

Wayne

[richhotrain]

doctorwayne

 

[MrMick]

Thanks for the suggestions, and the pictures to show what's possible (with practice, much practice). I feel a little better at attempting this stuff. Mr. Mick Modeling the New Haven ( East End)

[farrellaa]

Wayne,

Supurb model work and photography as ususal. Great stuff! Always welcome to me.

   -Bob