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Scratch-built card and styrene structures (based on real buildings around London Bridge)


grahame
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And here's my 4th test image with the recent card and styrene buildings. I seem to be getting the hang of image stacking, but it certainly highlights the poor modelling . . . . 

 

post-33-0-16294300-1510242914_thumb.jpg

 

G.

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And here's my 4th test image with the recent card and styrene buildings. I seem to be getting the hang of image stacking, but it certainly highlights the poor modelling . . . . 

 

attachicon.gifStack test 4.jpg

 

G.

If that's poor modelling then I dread to think what you must think of some of mine. Yours is up there as some of the best I have seen.

 

Carl

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If that's poor modelling then I dread to think what you must think of some of mine. Yours is up there as some of the best I have seen.

Thanks for that, although I think it's easy to be self critical as you can see areas that you'd like to improve or wish you had done better. For example, on the near building the horizontal ridge tiles need sticking down in one area and the nearest corner is not particularly sharp with the two faces not forming a neat right angle. And there are other issues I can see. But hopefully I'll get away with it - real buildings are never drop dead perfectly square and neatly formed with everything exactly vertical and horizontal.

 

Nonetheless, here's the next test focus/image stacking result. It's the same row but from the other end to include two more buildings. They look a bit wobbly as they haven't been anchored in place and have just been plonked down on a surface that isn't particularly flat as it needed to accommodate the sub-basements of some buildings and is just some sheets of card balancing on boxes:

 

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If you click on the image it should enlarge to a higher resolution version.

 

G.

Edited by grahame
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I hope I'm not hijacking Grahame's thread here, but I thought I'd show the build of my N-gauge signal box for Charwelton. It's not as awesome as Grahame's efforts above but please remember that this is 2mm/ft scale and the footprint of the box is a mere 63mm x 28mm!

First up was the brick base, this was made from 1mm card using Scalescenes brick paper. The windows are from Brassmasters.
On top of this I built an upper frame using Evergreen plasticard sheet:

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Window frames in and "weatherboarding" attached:

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Upper section now painted and windows installed. The windows were taken from the Metcalfe signal box kit.

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Interior installed. This was a ratio kit. The floorboarding was just a google image shrunk down to size:

post-18139-0-98527400-1510708891_thumb.jpg

...and the lever frame:

post-18139-0-78705800-1510708903_thumb.jpg

Roof on using Scalescenes tiling and bargeboards attached:

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The finished article!

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and here it is sitting on the layout:

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Unfortunately I can't show the reference photo's I've used for the build as they're copyrighted but they are available to view on the Disused Stations Charwelton site.
 

Grahame, I've taken the thread title to mean that anyone can display their scratchbuilt card/styrene structures but if you'd prefer me to open a separate thread then please let me know.

Hector 

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Thanks Grahame. Those downpipes were particularly troublesome as I tried forming the bends by heating the plastic rod in hot water but I couldn't get the sharp bends I was after so then I tried heating the rod over a heat source (a candle), but the heat source proved to be too wide and just as I formed a nice bend at one end the previous bend would then go out of shape! Very difficult to get the bends in the right places and angles too, so in the end I resorted to cutting the rod into small pieces to form the bends which meant cutting at the correct angles with some pieces being only a couple of millimetres long. However, the final effect was a lot better. At least I'm learning from the experience!

Hector

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Grahame, I really admire your work and it's inspired me to have a go at a small low relief building. Have you got any tips or advice on cutting out the window apertures so they are all square etc or is it just a matter of practice? They look ok until I put a window frame in then I can see how un-square they are!

Steve.

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Have you got any tips or advice on cutting out the window apertures so they are all square etc or is it just a matter of practice? They look ok until I put a window frame in then I can see how un-square they are!

 

Apart from the usual advise of taking care and your time, use a fresh new sharp fine bladed knife (so that it doesn't wander and change the blade regularly) and cut along/against a straight steel edge, I'd suggest:

  • Marking up all the windows on one wall/elevation before any cutting. Most in a row are at the same level and height so use a rule to mark up all the horizontal edges as one long line (following brick courses as a guide) and then all the vertical edges in a column of windows. Measure and check the distance between the lines in case the brick courses aren't level.
  • Then first cut all the bottom edges in a row and then the top edges while holding the steel straight edge (rule) in place. Then cut all the vertical edges in a column with the straight edge in place.
  • Then once all four sides to each window have been cut, pop them all out.

However, I'm not so sure that all my window and door apertures are square but fortunately, often in real like, nothing is absolutely true and square on buildings.

 

HTH.

 

G

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks Grahame, I'll keep practising

Steve.

 

Hi Steve - just to pitch in with some ideas that might give you some options. I have built some signal boxes and have a method for the glazed part of the structure.

 

It's quite simple and can come in useful when you have a largely glass structure to reproduce.

 

As you know, cutting fine apertures can be tricky, so going at it from the other way and adding windows to the glazing can save a lot of pain!

 

It involves using sheet glazing and then building up the windows by gluing frames and glazing bars to the clear styrene sheet.

 

I've added some photos which might help illustrate this ...

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Edited by brylonscamel
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Using Grahames work as inspiration I’ve made a start on my first all card building. I usually build in plasticard but this is a big building even as low relief.

The link will take you to progress on the former TWA terminal in Kensington High St. It is now the Hilton Hotel.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/75679-kensington-olympia-in-n-scale/?p=2920541

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  • 2 weeks later...

Where's Grahame gone?

 

Still here. But I've been working on other modelling projects (other than buildings) including editing and producing the NGS Journal. I will be getting back to some more structures, probably in the new year, and including producing resin castings for them where there are lots of repetitive detail.

 

G

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Still here. But I've been working on other modelling projects (other than buildings) including editing and producing the NGS Journal. I will be getting back to some more structures, probably in the new year, and including producing resin castings for them where there are lots of repetitive detail.

 

G

Thanks for reply.  Look forward to your return.

Have a good Christmas.

Regards, Chris.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Grahame,

I have spent several happy hours going through your posts in this thread over the last few days. Wonderful work!! I agree absolutely with your approach - look at the actual buildings (if you can), compress and edit where necessary and get on with it.

Sometimes, it becomes a problem when the demolition people get there first, as we found out several times on Copenhagen Fields, but relevant historic photos are usually discoverable.

Best wishes, I look forward to more posts soon.

John

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Hi Steve - just to pitch in with some ideas that might give you some options. I have built some signal boxes and have a method for the glazed part of the structure.

 

It's quite simple and can come in useful when you have a largely glass structure to reproduce.

 

As you know, cutting fine apertures can be tricky, so going at it from the other way and adding windows to the glazing can save a lot of pain!

 

It involves using sheet glazing and then building up the windows by gluing frames and glazing bars to the clear styrene sheet.

 

I've added some photos which might help illustrate this ...

 

Some very nice modelling there. Can I ask what you use to stick the window frames and the glazing bars to the clear styrene - there doesn't seem to be any fogging of the glazing at all?

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Christmas is over and I'm starting to think about the next building in the series. I've in mind to do the east wing end of Southwark Cathedral - it needs to be low relief and is behind the viaduct and below the level of Borough High Street which passes in front so doesn't have to be massively complex as it won't be easily seen.

 

I'll probably do the tall bell tower (with clock on) as a flat rendition, the choir section of the nave (that finishes with the end wall with a circular window and flanked by two witches hat turrets) very much compressed in length, and with the Lady Chapel extension (with the four peaked sections and small tower on the right hand corner at the end wall) also compressed in length but a little longer. There's not much room to fit it in so that will dictate the total depth of the low relief:

 

post-33-0-55324100-1514410753_thumb.jpg

 

I've sketched up a rough drawing full size to work from:

 

post-33-0-15659100-1514410796_thumb.jpg

 

Now I've got to think about the build sequence and how to represent some of the complex architectural features and, in particular, the windows. I've been checking so see what 'church' windows are available commercially but nothing has caught my eye as being acceptable (although it doesn't have to be drop dead accurate). 

 

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And here's a rough sketch of how I envisage the low relief working and the 3D model dovetailing in to a 2D back-scene. By staging the low relief in zones hopefully it will give an impression of more depth than there is and I'll be able to get in the flying buttresses (albeit thin ones)!

 

post-33-0-05551900-1514414330_thumb.jpg

 

I might add a cursory thickness to the main tower to give it some prominence. Tomorrow and Friday I'll give it a bit more thought before starting to cut card.

 

G.

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Just a quick knock up of the various layers/zones. That's as much depth as I can get - in reality the tower would be located far behind the back-scene but as an iconic and dominating structure for the area it ought to be included. After all Southwark cathedral is often quoted as one of London's premier gothic architectural gems.  So, will my plans work?

 

post-33-0-86631800-1514455320_thumb.jpg

 

G.

 

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A lot will depend on the angle that part of the layout will be viewed from. From street level the tower isn't so prominent, but come up to track level and you would see a lot more. As always I shall watch with interest, having spent much time in the area.

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