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

[Compound2632]

Are the round windows done with a punch?

[grahame]

Are the round windows done with a punch?

 

Nope, I used a compass cutter . . . 

 

 

. . .  that I've had for a while.

 

G.

[grahame]

Before bedtime last light I got the little ticket office/shop almost complete. It looks a little rough and ready but there's still tidying up, adding details, painting and glazing to do. It is a separate sub-assembly (hence being held in place in the pic below):

 

 

G.

 

 

[phil_sutters]

Nope, I used a compass cutter . . . 

 

DSC_4969.JPG

 

. . .  that I've had for a while.

 

G.

Handy for rounded arches and window tops - and van ends. For those who haven't used one, you need to go very steadily, gradually eating into the the material you are cutting, while holding the pivot and the cutting head.. Go too fast and the blade will go off course.

Edited December 4, 2018 by phil_sutters

[grahame]

A little bit more this morning - mainly the roof with the pitched column tops added. Roofs are important in N/2mm as often they are looked down on. The little shop on the corner is falling off in the photo as it is only held in place with some blu-tac (and not very successfully).

 

 

When some paint is slapped on it should cover a multitude of sins and look a little like flat roofing felt.

 

G

 

 

[grahame]

After a nice afternoon and evening out in Richmond yesterday, I've got stuck in to the model this morning before I need to go to the supermarket. 

 

I've changed my mind and decided to include the viaduct parapet wall after thinking though that it shouldn't be too difficult to fit the track bed (to be cut from ply) and even if not a great fit it wouldn't matter too much (being out of view behind the wall and probably easy enough to fill any gaps). Plus it will give some protection to the shop roof top details (aircon units, vents, and so on) and provide a more complete structure. From the pics I have it looks very plain so I've simply made one from mountboard faced (laminated) with embossed brick plasticard and added it in place. The desert yellow is simply to get some basic blocks of colour on and will be heavily weathered later;

 

 

Next to complete the little ticket shop and make and add the pier coping stones. But unfortunately some shopping first.

 

G.

[grahame]

I've started adding some shop front details. This section unclips from the viaduct triangular section wall to enable glazing to be carried out from behind. In the pic below I'm holding it with a scrap piece of card to give an indication of how and where the pavement will run.

 

 

G

[Stubby47]

Are you finding this whole process much easier now?  You seem to have the ability to deconstruct a photo of a building and convert in to a set of 3d components without problems, and especially with this later section you make it seem very straightforward, when we all know it isn't.

 

Very impressed, especially as you're working in 2mm scale.  

[grahame]

Are you finding this whole process much easier now?  You seem to have the ability to deconstruct a photo of a building and convert in to a set of 3d components without problems, and especially with this later section you make it seem very straightforward, when we all know it isn't.

 

Very impressed, especially as you're working in 2mm scale.  

 

Thanks.

 

I don't find it difficult to deconstruct a building in my mind and break it down in to simple geometric shapes (although slopes and curves do add a little complexity) which can easily be made from sheet material. And I do find it fun and enjoyable to see a miniature (near replica) building emerge from some pieces of carboard and plasticard. I does help to have as many pics as possible and undertake some research to get a feel for the building and any changes over time. 

 

I do find I need to think through the build sequence before starting, to hopefully envisage (in my mind as I imagine making the model) any issues that might arise, such as access for adding detail behind frontages (like glazing and so on). Nonetheless problems can (and do) occur after starting and then it is a matter of solving them as you go. Sometimes I might need to cut away a chunk of structure after gluing it in place or remake a part to fit better.

 

The benefit of working in N/2mm is that the models aren't huge (although you might need to make more of them) and that there is no need to add every little nuance and details as much can be hinted at with simple effects and techniques. After all, you're seeing more of the model building in one glance/look than in larger scales so there is more to take in and therefore less detail is necessary and less can be more.

 

G. 

[chaz]

Thanks.

 

I don't find it difficult to deconstruct a building in my mind and break it down in to simple geometric shapes (although slopes and curves do add a little complexity) which can easily be made from sheet material. And I do find it fun and enjoyable to see a miniature (near replica) building emerge from some pieces of carboard and plasticard. I does help to have as many pics as possible and undertake some research to get a feel for the building and any changes over time. 

 

I do find I need to think through the build sequence before starting, to hopefully envisage (in my mind as I imagine making the model) any issues that might arise, such as access for adding detail behind frontages (like glazing and so on). Nonetheless problems can (and do) occur after starting and then it is a matter of solving them as you go. Sometimes I might need to cut away a chunk of structure after gluing it in place or remake a part to fit better.

 

The benefit of working in N/2mm is that the models aren't huge (although you might need to make more of them) and that there is no need to add every little nuance and details as much can be hinted at with simple effects and techniques. After all, you're seeing more of the model building in one glance/look than in larger scales so there is more to take in and therefore less detail is necessary and less can be more.

 

G. 

 

 

I am interested to know why you mix card and plasticard - given that they require different adhesives. I have switched almost entirely to materials that can be glued with PVA. 

 

Chaz

[grahame]

I am interested to know why you mix card and plasticard - given that they require different adhesives. I have switched almost entirely to materials that can be glued with PVA. 

 

Chaz

 

Simply because they have different uses and features. Mountboard card is easy to cut (especially apertures) and is great for structural framework providing a strong shell that still has a little flexibility which is handy for final fitting/positioning. Card is also more pliable than plastic and has a slight texture that is great for road surfaces and so on. I find plasticard and styrene strip is best for small details and where a little strength is required for paper-thin sheets/sections and for embossed finishes like brick and siding.

 

I use cyanoacrylate (superglue) for card to card and card to plastic, but if I'm making a sub-assembly solely from plastic/styrene then I use solvent based glue (like EMA). Superglue (I use a medium CA+) is great for strengthening card edges - it soaks in and can then be sanded to shape.

 

I've now got some more blocks of colour on (which is necessary prior to glazing and adding some details) but discovered that I'm out of white paint so that's it for today. I'll need to go the model shop tomorrow to re-stock. In the pic below the little curved ticket shop is still only held in place with blu-tac.

 

 

G.

[grahame]

Out of interest here's a pic of how Guildable Manor Street looks now (taken from the lower junction with London Bridge Street). The shop fronts have been demolished and pared back to the viaduct arches directly below the parapet wall. The bookies (William Hill) is still there but none of the other arches appear to be occupied. Over the road (like an elevated railway) is the new track approach to the new bridge over Borough High Street. Only the near corner abutment looks to be the original brickwork. And judging from the open building site section it is still not complete:

 

 

And it's one way up the slope whereas it used to be one way down the slope.

 

G

Edited December 6, 2018 by grahame

[grahame]

A bit of a lazy afternoon but I've got some more colour on and dirtied the parapet wall and piers. Hopefully it is starting to look like what it should although it'll never be an exact replica:

 

 

 

And I've made the two rooftop restaurant kitchen vents. These were made from plasticard and at less than half and inch tall and around half a dozen parts each were pretty fiddly to glue together. Fortunately I've got some commercial 3D printed air-con units to add (although I have made those myself before for other buildings);

 

 

 

G

 

 

 

 

[grahame]

I've been away for a few days so nothing much done and I'm shortly off to hospital. But I have managed to cut and get the pavement in place:

 

 

G.

[Siberian Snooper]

One hopes that you will only have a short time in hospital. Best Wishes and get modelling soon.

[grahame]

One hopes that you will only have a short time in hospital. Best Wishes and get modelling soon.

 

I'm back now. It was just a cancer remission check up and monitoring. Still clear and now four months to the next one.

 

G.

[Joseph_Pestell]

What era is the railway going to be? Those round windows are fairly recent, I think.

[grahame]

The aim is to represent a fairly wide period range - late 70s to early 90s - including the start of NSE (1986), so there will be things that changed during the period. For example I've included buildings demolished in the 90s and others not built until the early/mid 80s. And shops changed hands on a regular basis. However, the round windows (in the Italian Restaurant) were there in the B&W pic in post #1081 which looks like is it from the early 1980s (a new looking B reg car [84], no double yellows, no Williams Hills, etc.).

 

The task will be to produce something representative and redolent of the area for the whole period, but I recognise that there's bound to be a few anomalies regarding exact dates. Hopefully the atmosphere and location will shine through and detract from any such issues.

 

G.

[phil_sutters]

A bit late for you - this one was on Railway Approach and backed onto Duke Street Hill - It still seems to be there according to G**gle maps http://www.ipernity.com/doc/philsutters/40529426

[Cornholio]

A bit late for you - this one was on Railway Approach and backed onto Duke Street Hill - It still seems to be there according to G**gle maps http://www.ipernity.com/doc/philsutters/40529426

The phone shop guys are brilliant though, now based around the corner in Kings Head Yard. They have been known to offer significant discounts if a packet of Jaffa Cakes is included in the deal!

[C.A.T.Ford]

I remember that the green shop you have modelled in Guildable Manor Street was once home to ABC (Alan, Brett, Canon) models. They moved there when their shop in Station Approach was turned into the walk way to Hays Wharf. They later moved back to Station Approach where eventually they closed down. My Father was a great user of there Chairway track. in the 1950s.

 

A model of a model shop? A bit early though.

 

CAT

[grahame]

I've gone down with a wretched cold - cough, sneezing, streaming nose and so on - so I'm off food and trying to dose myself up with cough medicine, homemade hot lemon, honey and asprin drinks and so on to shake it off so I can go out tomorrow. And as well as being off food, my modelling mojo seems to be on low. Consequently I've only been able to add the London Bridge Kebab shop shuttered up and with the menu/price list blackboards wiped (as in the pic in post #1078). Just need to add the grubby sign:

 

 

The pic does also show how the road and pavement sections clip and butt-up together which helps give an idea of the road layout round to Guildable Manor Street.

 

G

[Siberian Snooper]

Put a good measure of Scotch, in your mixture, but don't use a good one, a cheap supermarket one will do.

[Number Six]

I find lots of strong coffee helps.

[phil_sutters]

Thought of you as I passed by en route from St Magnus the Martyr to Southwark Cathedral, on a stained glass safari. I think I must have had the camera settings for the stained glass still on, as this isn't my finest snap.

 

The file name is the location's coordinates 

 

Edited December 14, 2018 by phil_sutters