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


grahame
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Slow progress on this I'm afraid - I've been tucked up with other matters including hospital visits and organising a dinner party.

 

But I have been thinking about the build process which is probably a little trickier than usual with the round end turrets and the conical roofs on them. Consequently I've ordered some 32mm diameter solvent weld PVCu waste pipe to experiment with. I'm hoping to be able to cut out the windows and wrap brick plasticard around the tube. And that 32mm will be about the right size - they look about 15ft diameter. I'll see when it arrives.  

 

G.

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I think the wastepipe will probably be ideal. It certainly seems to be about the right diameter, although I'll need to trim the height, as can be seen in this very rough mock up:

 

post-33-0-96927900-1520432045_thumb.jpg

 

G.

Edited by grahame
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The next stage was to work out the floor footprint, bearing in mind that it's a low-relief building, and cut several identical floors. Then the circular cut-outs were added to accommodate the towers and the corners of the floors (at the cut-outs) were strengthened with some superglue rubbed in to the edges:

 

post-33-0-51435100-1520440790_thumb.jpg

 

G

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Then with some sides cut and the floors glued to them in place, the towers sit neatly in the cut-outs. Already the main structural shape is starting to come together although there's some complicated details to add such as the witches hat conical roofs:

 

post-33-0-54778300-1520442274_thumb.jpg

 

G.

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I've started on the roof tent support/framing although I can't really finish that aspect until I've worked out the angle/slope of the conical turret hats. So I've cut the front wall from brick embossed plasticard. Next is to mark up and cut out the windows and then start to add the relief detail to it:

 

post-33-0-53400700-1520504476_thumb.jpg

 

G.

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Good luck with cutting windows out of the piping!!

 

My plan is to cut oversize window apertures in the pipe with a razor saw and then cover/wrap the tower with brick plasticard sheet in which the correct sized windows are cut out to provide a neat finish.The oversize holes will allow for the glazing. And fortunately there are only three holes to cut on each tower.

 

G.

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This morning I've knocked up a couple of doors to plug the hole in the front. The fascia detail is not an accurate copy but being at the back of the layout (against the back-scene and behind other buildings) it can be a little more impressionist and less detailed. Hopefully it'll still be reminiscent of the real Aston Webb building and I'll get away with a few short cuts. The complex frieze/coping under the top floor windows will be added later but as it effectively continues around the towers will have to wait until they are at a more advanced stage:

 

post-33-0-11179300-1520586748_thumb.jpg

 

G.

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I've cut both the tower wraps out of plasticard, with window cut-outs, and glued one to the pipe with holes in. It's not perfect but with some fudging, painting and weathering I think it'll look okay. The next big issue is being able to add the windows from behind inside the tube - the middle window is just about reachable with a finger or two. It could prove tricky but I hope not impossible:  

 

post-33-0-94377400-1520620246_thumb.jpg

 

G.

 

 

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Holes have now been hacked in the other tube and it wrapped in the pre-cut brick plasticard. And both glued in to position on the card frame:

 

post-33-0-56360700-1520702567_thumb.jpg

 

Here's how it looks with windows sills added and the front wall held in place:

 

post-33-0-43495200-1520702590_thumb.jpg

 

Time to consider the conical witches hat roofs for the towers - which I suspect will be tricky.

 

G.

 

 

 

 

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Holes have now been hacked in the other tube and it wrapped in the pre-cut brick plasticard. And both glued in to position on the card frame:

 

attachicon.gifDSC_4966.JPG

 

Here's how it looks with windows sills added and the front wall held in place:

 

attachicon.gifDSC_4967.JPG

 

Time to consider the conical witches hat roofs for the towers - which I suspect will be tricky.

 

G.

 

How about using a funnel for the roofs?

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How about using a funnel for the roofs?

Great idea - there are small plastic ones available on eBay. Just a matter of finding ones a suitable size. There is still the issue of filling the spout hole (but shouldn't be difficult) and how to add some tile relief (I won't be able to use Redutex).

 

G.

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Hi Grahame

 

Use geometry. Use a clear rule - rest the rule on the edge of the tube at an angle and slide it up until the 0 is where the point of the 'hat' is. No take the measurement that is now at the end of the tube and add some on for the overlap. That is the radius of circle you need to draw on your card. Cut out the circle, and cut from the centre to the edge and slide one under the other to form your roof.

 

I have probably made sound more complex than it is!

 

Regards

Simon

Edited by simonfish45
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Hi Grahame

Use geometry. Use a clear rule - rest the rule on the edge of the tube at an angle and slide it up until the 0 is where the point of the 'hat' is. No take the measurement that is now at the end of the tube and add some on for the overlap. That is the radius of circle you need to draw on your card. Cut out the circle, and cut from the centre to the edge and slide one under the other to form your roof.

 

Yep, I know how to make cone from a circle of paper. Snag is that with sufficiently rigid plasticard it is difficult to bend it so that just below the centre becomes circular - although easy with paper - and join it without an overlap. But perhaps I'll experiment.

 

And of course you can't do that with Redutex as the tiles are in straight lines, rather than concentric circles. I think it's going to have to have a smooth finish.

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Yep, I know how to make cone from a circle of paper. Snag is that with sufficiently rigid plasticard it is difficult to bend it so that just below the centre becomes circular - although easy with paper - and join it without an overlap. But perhaps I'll experiment.

And of course you can't do that with Redutex as the tiles are in straight lines, rather than concentric circles. I think it's going to have to have a smooth finish.

 

How about modelling a lead/copper style roof, with vertical seams from microstrip?

 

post-3744-0-28606700-1520763055.jpg

 

http://www.leadingleadworkservices.com/products.html

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I've ordered a couple of potentially suitable small cheap plastic funnels - thinking I'll opt for the easy more robust option. But I'll wait to see what they're like before a final decision. However, in preparation, for whatever method to reproduce two witches hat conical roofs, I've cut two discs, one from mount card and a thinner one from plasticard using one of these (below) to act as a base. On the real building the edges of the roofs do not overhang the tower walls but seem to sit on top and inside their circumference.

 

post-33-0-49326400-1520790505_thumb.jpg

and have glued them to the top of the towers:

post-33-0-95379300-1520790550_thumb.jpg

Slow progress, I realise, but I'm now waiting on the postie.

G.

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I've ordered a couple of potentially suitable small cheap plastic funnels - thinking I'll opt for the easy more robust option. But I'll wait to see what they're like before a final decision. However, in preparation, for whatever method to reproduce two witches hat conical roofs, I've cut two discs, one from mount card and a thinner one from plasticard using one of these (below) to act as a base. On the real building the edges of the roofs do not overhang the tower walls but seem to sit on top and inside their circumference.

 

attachicon.gifDSC_4969.JPG

and have glued them to the top of the towers:

attachicon.gifDSC_4970.JPG

Slow progress, I realise, but I'm now waiting on the postie.

G.

You've just reminded me I have one of these compass cutters somewhere from my studio days when display panels were handpainted, then Letraset! Must remember your technique if I ever have some conical roofed turrets!

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You've just reminded me I have one of these compass cutters somewhere from my studio days when display panels were handpainted, then Letraset!

Yes, they're handy things and are supplied with spare replacement blades in a little pocket moulded in the end. I've had mine for a long time and seem to recall picking it up for just a pound or two.

 

G

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