Now to boxfile modelling

[Wallydog]

Hi when making a boxfile diorama do you build directly onto the file card or do you also put in a base

Thanks

[luke the train spotter]

33 minutes ago, Wallydog said:

Hi when making a boxfile diorama do you build directly onto the file card or do you also put in a base

Thanks

I'm still to build a boxfile layout but I'd say you may want to reinforce it with some thin wood or foamboard just to help reduce warping from glues and moisture. Anything thicker than 5mm may be a bit over kill though. 

[Sturminster_Newton]

Also depends what the box file is made from some are card other have iffy chipboard.

 

The next are you building on the 'lid' or in the 'void'.

 

The modern way of doing things, according to Chris Nevard, is to lay the track onto foam mounting board then fix that into the 'baseboard' so should you wish it's easy to remove and use the baseboard for other designs.

 

IF you are building a muddle so that everything fits inside the box file with lid shut then a thick sub base may raise issues with the proportions of structures although it may also allow the building to be set into the sub base which may give things a more realistic finish.

 

No real right and wrong just what best suits what you have in mind.

 

[TechnicArrow]

I'd say it also depends on how permanent you want your layout to be!

I too have never worked with boxfiles, but all my shoebox layouts have used nothing more than two layers of corrugated cardboard (laid with the corrugations perpendicular to eachother) topped off with cereal box card. I'm not particularly concerned about long-term life, since I expect I'll lift the track and buildings to use on something else in the future.

If it's only a short-term layout and you don't want to re-use the box later, gluing track straight into the boxfile would probably be fine - but I repeat I've never used boxfiles.

Alternatively you could fix the scenery to an insert layer as mentioned above, and if you feel it's still too flimsy then a base could be added to the underside, to retain as much of the depth within the box as possible.

[009 micro modeller]

I usually put a bit of board in mine to reinforce them. I did one where the main reinforcement was done with Perspex while the track was on a piece of wood on top of that, but that was needed to represent the prototype.

[steve1]

Usually a foam track base straight on to the bottom of the box after a spray of fixative to set. Then ground cover of whatever is required.

 

I have also used a cork tile and then laid track and scenery directly on to it.

 

My present project, Clowder Street, will have all 3 boxes set onto ply base for strength as they are all joined together.

 

steve

[Andrew Cockburn]

Heres a boxfile layout I built a few years ago, called rather aptly "Filey Yard", and which has since moved on to a new home. It consists of two boxfiles, supported on a framework of 2" x 1" timber, to add extra strength/rigidity, while I used a plywood sub-base, on which the track was laid/scenery was built. Hopefully it may served as a source of inspiration to you ....

Edited July 3, 2020 by Andrew Cockburn

[Andrew Cockburn]

Another former boxfile layout of mine, called rather aptly "Filey Road Halt". As with Filey Yard, it consists of two boxfiles (but in this case, one is used for the actual layout, and one for the fiddleyard/control lsection), once again with a plywood sub-base for track etc., and supported on a framework of 2" x 1" timber, to add extra strength/rigidity. Hopefully this also may served as a source of inspiration to you!

Edited July 3, 2020 by Andrew Cockburn