Hi All

There are several ways in which building can be constructed for a layout. I have decided that I am going to build them using embossed plastic sheet. Some of the building, like the workman's cottages for the dairy and the gas works can be built by modifying commercial kits, for Kestrel aka Gaugemaster.

I could have built the cottages from scratch from sheets of embossed plasticard. This would have allowed the building to be more individual,but would have evolved much more work.

Modifying kits is often referred to as 'kit bashing', this enables the finished building in this case to be made to suite the prototype and fit in the available space. This visual appearance can be achieved by painting the bricks the correct yellow/red colour and weathering them. The model will be fitted into the available space by building it in half relief, and at the same time we get four half relief cottages from a kit designed to produce two whole cottages.

In order to make the completed cottages strong enough to withstand layout transport they were built on a plasticard plinth and have a blank back wall made from plasticard. The plinth was fitted on place, after the windows were fixed in place. There were six small holes drilled into the plinth to allow the fumes from the plastic weld adhesive to get out, if you don't do this the windows would go cloudy.

Lisa