Macbear

Coachmann, you have bravely brought us back to the point of this thread. Thankyou. Your building challenged me to take a very close second look as it is convincing.

To quote Wikipedia, "There are as many ways of scratch-building models as there are modellers.." The essential probably lies in the personalisation of the making process. The end product may resemble something already produced either by another modeller, kit or even "RTR", but the mix of standard products, "spares" from kits or "raw materials" [such as acrylic sheet, wire, hemp, bits of plants..] could have something to justify the claim of scratchiness. As a relative newcomer I enjoy using Linka plaster casting. I've ditched my "RTR" houses, church, station buildings and invested in carving tools and flat moulds. It's a long job, and as I'm learning on it I don't think I count any of those as finished, yet. With the best part of 3 metres of station platform just casting and modifying flat sections is a challenge.. but good fun. Am I a scratch builder? I like to think I'm an apprentice one. I also thank those who contribute to this thread for their inspiration and ideas.

An excellent piece of work. I don't see any clear mention the scale - and buyers may be better encouraged if that detail is included. Hope it gets a decent price.

I love using Linka and plaster. It can be frustrating if you try to get the castings out of the moulds too quickly or slowly after pouring, and on no account try to speed things up by putting them on a radiator... I bought mixtures from Linkaonline see http://www.linkaonline.co.uk/store/c1/Featured_Products.html and there is a decent beginners' guide to plaster: http://www.linkaonline.co.uk/all-about-plaster.html Curiously, the main man seems to get a tad fed up with mixing up his own recipe dry plaster mix, but he certainly has expertise! Sorry not to have found the query earlier and I hope this may still be of use. My old stock of plaster has been good for many years. Yes, I've started on new stuff as I've recently come back into making my own layout after a good 15 years - it's now for me not the children. A good airtight seal to the storage bin and only opening in a room with low humidity is possibly important - old snap on buckets from DIY projects with sealed plastic bags inside etc seem to do the job. Glue - good old white PVA is fine, but for rapid bonding bits I like UHU. The casts must be properly dry and with large areas a backing such as a cut out from an old cereal box applied with PVA is strong.

I have been looking at flock/scatter and I wonder if this might help [i'm not tech savvy enough to create a hyperlink, but cut and paste into a search engine should do it] http://www.modelscenerysupplies.co.uk/scatter-flock-ground-cover-trees-and-bushes/flowers/coarse-purple-flock-fP392 It's difficult to tell from images, and how coarse do you want the flock. Maybe worth contacting them - their contact page gives a few options. Hope this helps, Macbear.

This is a great thread and Dave's input is amazing. I've only just started my first layout [00/HO] and have been given Gordon Gravett's Broadleaf trees book. An immediate issue - Gordon uses Artex: a far less common material than in 2011 and seemingly only available in large quantity.. mmm. So I like the thought of David's P38 and some type of plaster filler - I have both, and plenty of inspiration so let the perspiration begin! Thankyou. Macbear.

Wow! I ordered some track and fittings yesterday afternoon. They arrived at noon today [Royal Mail do just one delivery here]. The packing was expertly done. Comments about competitive pricing doesn't just apply to products but also to P&P. I'm a fan. Thankyou to other RMweb users for comments earlier in this thread which pointed me to Track-Shack. Macbear.

Ian, very helpful. I'm looking to base my station building on a now long-gone small station in Nottinghamshire. Only a few, fairly unhelpful photographs seem to exist of the prototype. It is built to what seems to be a similar LMS design, but in brick. Your clear images have offered ways forward on some questions in my mind. I model in plaster with fixtures and fittings from various acrylics. Your high standards are a real to challenge to someone who is clearly far less experienced. Thankyou.