Small Stone Engine Shed from Dapol Church and also Station

[bertiedog]

It also seems that Freestone Models supply white painted Scene Setters clear glazing sheets in patterns of various sixes that could also be used for the frames, but the frames will have to be measured up carefully to see what sheet matches the Airfix frames

[Southwold]

When I was modelling in OO9, I started converting the Wills Corrugated Iron Chapel kit into a small engine shed, but shortly after discovered that O16.5 was a better option for me due to a combination of age, eyesight and fiddly pieces. Interesting topic, sadly the options for O16.5 are fewer!

 

Ken

[bertiedog]

The Wills kits looks useful for the Brewery 00 line,, but the 009 buildings are best stone and slate finish. The cost is a bit higher with Wills against Dapol prices, but not too bad.

Must get in some plain plasticard for modifications to the Dapol stuff, better try Ebay as the shops locally are a bit pricey for plastic sheet, even plain.

Stephen

[DonB]

If you have a "Games Workshop" locally It my be that some of their structural Injection moulded parts are suitable for the larger scales. The people in the Derby store (Sadler Gate) seem approachable and last week were constructing a ruined cathederal / abbey from a series of moulded panels about 3" x 5"  for display. They also have a limited range of Railway items in a separate but linked shop where last week there was a well made WW2 diorama.   The guys in the GW shop do tend to lose interest when Railways are mentioned!

I'm told that their mouldings are designed and made in Nottingham.

 

No connection, Just bought polystyrene glue and matte varnish!  

[bertiedog]

Most of the Games Workshop type structures are to large a scale to get parts from, but oddly some N scale items will do for 009, tunnel entrances and some bridges work, as do textures meant for 2mm use.

But the larger stuff does not scale down so easily. There are the war damaged Airfix buildings series available on Ebay, not sure if currently made.

There are of course the HO building kits, but the prices are way, way, above the Dapol kits or even the ready to use Resin houses etc from Hornby and Bachmann.

I did pick up some cheaper S/H hand resin buildings, and re-furbished and detailed they are good apart from the semi filled interiors.

A Hornby Ticklepenny Cottage and new bridge are going on the 009 layout, being re-painted at the moment, shots soon.

 

Stephen

[PhilJ W]

When I was modelling in OO9, I started converting the Wills Corrugated Iron Chapel kit into a small engine shed, but shortly after discovered that O16.5 was a better option for me due to a combination of age, eyesight and fiddly pieces. Interesting topic, sadly the options for O16.5 are fewer!

 

Ken

I was thinking about converting the Wills tin chapel to a rural fire station. I intend to cut out the plain panel at the rear to take the folding doors for the fire engine. A little bit of extra height may be required to accomodate the fire engine with its ladders this will be done by mounting the building on a plinth, this will also make it easier to fit the rear extension to the side. The front porch area which is now the back will have the porch area infilled with possibly a window added and the eclesiastical windows replaced with rectangular ones. For a hose drying/practice tower I have a watch tower from an old military kit IIRC made by Fujimi.

[The Stationmaster]

I was thinking about converting the Wills tin chapel to a rural fire station. I intend to cut out the plain panel at the rear to take the folding doors for the fire engine. A little bit of extra height may be required to accomodate the fire engine with its ladders this will be done by mounting the building on a plinth, this will also make it easier to fit the rear extension to the side. The front porch area which is now the back will have the porch area infilled with possibly a window added and the eclesiastical windows replaced with rectangular ones. For a hose drying/practice tower I have a watch tower from an old military kit IIRC made by Fujimi.

 

Mine is set to become the local Men's Reading Room which will involve some alterations, removals and additions.

[bertiedog]

I was thinking about converting the Wills tin chapel to a rural fire station. I intend to cut out the plain panel at the rear to take the folding doors for the fire engine. A little bit of extra height may be required to accomodate the fire engine with its ladders this will be done by mounting the building on a plinth, this will also make it easier to fit the rear extension to the side. The front porch area which is now the back will have the porch area infilled with possibly a window added and the eclesiastical windows replaced with rectangular ones. For a hose drying/practice tower I have a watch tower from an old military kit IIRC made by Fujimi.

Don't forget you will need the figures added of Will Hay Moore Marriot and Grahame Moffat, as in the film  "Where's that Fire"......as incompetent Firemen.

 

[PhilJ W]

Don't forget you will need the figures added of Will Hay Moore Marriot and Grahame Moffat, as in the film  "Where's that Fire"......as incompetent Firemen.

 

wh.jpg

I was thinking of the sitcom 'Go to blazes'.

[bertiedog]

Took a few days to get the plastic kits in by mail order for the conversions, there must be more interest in these old Airfix kits than I realised. Two churches and the station building, and booking hall to work with, plus some L cut laser cut windows for both the booking hall, and the sheds.  Also some plasticard sheet and thin plywood for the bases.

Lots of cutting up to do first, plus taking a cast of the plain back wall, as a spare to mould a vinamold mould on to it, to cast spare sections in plaster or resin for use patching any alterations to the windows.

 

Stephen

[phil_sutters]

Don't forget you will need the figures added of Will Hay Moore Marriot and Grahame Moffat, as in the film  "Where's that Fire"......as incompetent Firemen.

 

wh.jpg

Don't forget that there is a specialist supplier of Fire Brigade figures and appliances http://www.freewebs.com/firebrigademodels/figures/fire/176/index.html

I have no connection - I am just aware of its existence.

[rue_d_etropal]

There is actually quite a lot of military modelling/wargaming building kits available which are pretty close to scale. 1/72 is a common scale  in wargaming, but is often referred to as 20mm.Not sure of the logic as 6ft would be nearer 25mm. Much of it is only available online. Have a search on ebay, and you might find something different. Obviously there does tend to be more ruined buildings, but there are others which are complete.

I am messing around designing for 3D printing, and one military building which makes an excellent narrow gauge egine shed is the Nissen hut. The new Peco/Ratio kit is OK, but is a bit of a design mashup, which is why my own design includes inside corrugations, framework, as would be seen if the end was open.

 

what you see is a mixture. The big one is Roco Minitank(24ft shed), the one next is roof from Ratio kit(a 20ft shed) with scratchbuilt ends,the closed end ones(16ft sheds) are a mixture of Ratio and vac formed ones(some from same company which supplied Airfix). The open ended one is my own design, as is the framework.

[phil_sutters]

There is actually quite a lot of military modelling/wargaming building kits available which are pretty close to scale. 1/72 is a common scale  in wargaming, but is often referred to as 20mm.

This is one of a series of laser-cut Russian buildings, which I think could make a narrow gauge station building/station master's house - possibly for one of those estate railways, given its decorative bits around the windows. Some of the barns/sheds could be useful. Some in the listing show dimensions and they are quite compact. Even their 'large' factory is only about 9" square. The prices seem quite reasonable. I have not seen them or have any knowledge of the makers or retailer. I am quite tempted by the factory as it is quite close to something I have started to build.

http://theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1332

 

Have you come across these vac-formed Nissens http://www.amera.co.uk/product.php?range=s ? There is one with windows and one without. They seem similar to the old Bellona ones.

[rue_d_etropal]

Th Amera huts are the vac formed ones I got. From what I can tell they are the ones produced originally for the Airfix diorama kits. I have mixed and matched parts of them, as the roof is better curved for the 16ft hut.The roof in the Ratio kit is the one from the coal depot and coach shed and the joins in the corrugated sheets are in the wrong place. It should only be 3 sheets not 4. The lack of a join on the Amera one is less obvious than one in the wrong place.It could be cut up and stuck back together, but once well weathered it all blends together.

 

I had not looked at the smaller scale kits from Sarissa. I have some of the 28mm ones which are very nice. Laser cut works well for some things. The 20mm chateau looks nice.The Russian building would need a different roof, or have slates added to it.

I have found best retailer for Sarissa  on ebay. Sarissa will supply direct , but their postage is higher.

There are also a few people doing resin buildings and accessories, which you won't find in shops.

For low cost laser cut, check out the 'Inthegreenwood' ones. The market building they do, might make a nice engine shed.

[phil_sutters]

For low cost laser cut, check out the 'Inthegreenwood' ones. The market building they do, might make a nice engine shed.

Thanks for that suggestion. Their goods shed is another option for my timberyard saw mill.

[phil_sutters]

Don't forget that there is a specialist supplier of Fire Brigade figures and appliances http://www.freewebs.com/firebrigademodels/figures/fire/176/index.html

I have no connection - I am just aware of its existence.

Having just looked further into this website, they do 1/76 police and fire stations to provide 'homes' for their emergency service vehicles, but they also do several 3 to 5 storey urban buildings. Again these are so their fire-fighters have got something to squirt their hoses on. Probably not relevant to your current project, but worth noting for future reference.

[bertiedog]

I have made some plaster of Paris moulds from the back wall, that can be cast again to make a positive to take a vinamould casting, that can then produce cast resin or plaster replicas of the stone work.

 

Vinamold is a hot mould making material when pourable, and cannot be used directly on the Airfix Dapol parts. You could put grease on the plastic, well wiped away and cast a cold silicon sealant mould direct to the wall, this is then used to take the resin direct for the parts. However the silicon is expensive and plaster cheap, and the vinamold is reusable. I use the red grade, relatively soft for this type of casting.

 

It is all to plan for replacing or altering the window openings to get away a bit from the Church style. There may be the need for some roof items to be cast as well, although poly sheet will do as well. The Dapol plastic is said the be recycled, and it is a bit softer than original Airfix, but just as strong when bonded with a solvent glue. There is a bit of extra flash to remove from some of the parts, but the moulds can hardly be blamed, they are almost 60 years old in some cases.

 

Stephen.

[rue_d_etropal]

Thanks for that suggestion. Their goods shed is another option for my timberyard saw mill.

The only design detail I don't like is the brick bond. I can understand why so many opt for stretcher bond, and and for terraced houses it is OK(certainly up round here), but industrial and railway buildings used other bonds(no wall cavity). I would prefer it if they did a pseudo stone effect,in effect just bigger bricks. The market building is OK as the brick is only at bottom.

At least they don't cost too much so you can chop and change them easily.

The ex Airfix church did suffer a lot from flash at one time, but now is not so bad. The plastic was also a bit odd , suggesting a poor mix of recycled plastic which can result in poor moulding. It is a pity Dapol did not continue with the ex Triang/Hornby  multi coloured building kits(same series as the Hornby church) as there were some useful buildings in te range, especially the industrial ones, which might have got lost before Dapol took over.

[bertiedog]

The plaster,( dental grade), master moulded from the far side has worked but the resin copies are difficult to glue to the polystyrene Dapol Airfix mouldings, so ordered in third Church kit for spares, and using the resin cast copies on other walling requirements on the layout. The plaster moulds transfer the stone pattern quite well, but have a slightly rougher finish, not unexpected. No bubbles or holes though and the resin set without any sticky residue.

 

All this spare stone work at least gives consistency across the whole layout. The only brickwork is the Airfix Station Booking hall, and that would be difficult to remove or overlay stone work on it, so leaving it basically brick finish

 

Stephen

[PhilJ W]

Has anyone looked at the possibilities of some of the Airfix wargames kits. I don't mean the modern resin castings but the old plastic kits that Airfix still produce from time to time. In particular the Waterloo farmhouse of which the stable block can be used with little modification and the barn which must have several different uses.

[bertiedog]

Has anyone looked at the possibilities of some of the Airfix wargames kits. I don't mean the modern resin castings but the old plastic kits that Airfix still produce from time to time. In particular the Waterloo farmhouse of which the stable block can be used with little modification and the barn which must have several different uses.

Is the scale right, I thought these were for larger figures.............

[teaky]

Is the scale right, I thought these were for larger figures.............

There are a few in larger scales bertiedog, but most of the Airfix kits are 1:76 or 1:72.

 

https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/shop/dioramas-buildings.html

[phil_sutters]

The plaster,( dental grade), master moulded from the far side has worked but the resin copies are difficult to glue to the polystyrene Dapol Airfix mouldings, so ordered in third Church kit for spares, and using the resin cast copies on other walling requirements on the layout. The plaster moulds transfer the stone pattern quite well, but have a slightly rougher finish, not unexpected. No bubbles or holes though and the resin set without any sticky residue.

 

All this spare stone work at least gives consistency across the whole layout. The only brickwork is the Airfix Station Booking hall, and that would be difficult to remove or overlay stone work on it, so leaving it basically brick finish

 

Stephen

I think I would have used Slater's Plasticard random stonework sheets. You can see it here -  http://www.anticsonline.co.uk/1723_1_1046069.html  OK it needs to be laid on to a structural backing, but I think it is a reasonable match for the Airfix church stonework. As it is fairly thin, IIRC, you might find you could clad your booking hall in it.

[PhilJ W]

Is the scale right, I thought these were for larger figures.............

As a matter of fact the Waterloo farm house is underscale compared to the prototype (which still exists) nearer to 1/100 IMHO. However Airfix have enlarged the door and window openings to suit the advertised scale (1/72 or 1/76 according to the box). Apart from a few doors moulded as part of the walls no doors or windows are supplied. I have seen the stable block used on a layout with an overlay of Slaters plasticard embossed brick. It is a 'snap together' kit  consisting of three main buildings, the stable block which is long and narrow 10" X 2", the barn 6" X 3" and the farmhouse which is slightly larger than the barn together with walls and an entrance gateway

[phil_sutters]

As a matter of fact the Waterloo farm house is underscale compared to the prototype (which still exists) nearer to 1/100 IMHO. However Airfix have enlarged the door and window openings to suit the advertised scale (1/72 or 1/76 according to the box). Apart from a few doors moulded as part of the walls no doors or windows are supplied. I have seen the stable block used on a layout with an overlay of Slaters plasticard embossed brick. It is a 'snap together' kit  consisting of three main buildings, the stable block which is long and narrow 10" X 2", the barn 6" X 3" and the farmhouse which is slightly larger than the barn together with walls and an entrance gateway

I remember discounting it when I was modelling back in the 60s/70s. I think that the fact that, even then, it came with the flexible polythene soldiers, which I wouldn't have wanted, and was to the smaller scale ruled it out. I don't remember most of the others. apart from the airfield control tower and refuelling/rearming sets, being around then. I am amazed that anyone would pay £22 for a set of 'European city steps' and I am not sure why they are specifically European!