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Superquick Revisited


Spotlc
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I've only built a couple of Superquick kits, but I thought the design and the quality of materials was first class. It's easy to see how they became the de facto standard card buildings from the 1960s onwards. 

 

I continue to try to justify their large station kit :D

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I agree with you SpotIc! There is a charm about some of these old favourites. I have a few Superquick kits on standby for future models. I have recently bought an number of Bilteezi Kits in 00 and N scale, to experiment with, as well as some Alphagraphix kits for a new 0 gauge project. The challenge is in enhancing the models with some 3D techniques. 
 

Marlyn

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I did move on to Scalescenes kits which make into superb buildings.  They are more akin to scratchbuilding and more of a challenge.  You also need a good printer, card and paper.  I think an ideal evolutionary step for ones model buildings.

 

John

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That is a lovely job on the church. :pleasantry:

 

As for Scalescenes, yes a lot of skills to develop and equipment to get.  I did say that they were an evolution for the building modeller.  It is wise to get a feel for handling card kits by building Superquik (and Metcalfe too, they are not to be dismissed).

 

John

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Think I built my first Superquick aged 9 and loved them ever since, your right a charm of there own and my own view more fitting for 60's and older layouts as they look "Grimmer". Look at any old colour photos of the period and most towns & cities building covered in a thick grey/dirty black, sooty, deposit from hundred odd years of coal burning.

 

Superquick grimmer look, definitely looks more realistic than more recent manufacturers which are best suited to post 80's layouts about the time grants given to sandblast urban buildings. 

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John, I completely agree with you! I have made up a couple of Metcalfe kits and they are more like "cardboard engineering" than Superquick, and for me the huge advantage of Scalescenes (and others) is that they can be easily scaled down to 3mm, which I do a lot of !

 

Vivian, thanks for your encouragement!  Go for it!

 

Locomad, thanks for your interest.  Yes, they do have a somewhat dated look that might not be quite right on a modern layout, but in real life there is always a mix of the old and new, and with some careful weathering different styles can all be blended together, much like the real thing!

 

Cheers,  Mike

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Slightly off topic but in a similar vein to highlight the use of "traditional" products, I am currently rebuilding my layout and decided to use Townscenes sheets for a backdrop to my MPD.

 

I know they are "old" drawings as opposed to modern photographic backscenes but there is a charm to them IMO.

 

Patience and a sharp pair of scissors are certainly two key requirements.

 

Here is a couple of photos of work in progress!  Images not glued down yet, and the retaining wall temporarily posed to see the effect. Chimneys certainly need pasting!

 

I'm very happy with it so far.

PICT0161.JPG

 

PICT0167.JPG

 

Edited by cravensdmufan
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I do agree with that.  I made the club layout backscene from these.  That must have been more than 10 years ago and it's still there.  It's a bit knocked about, the chimneys in particular come in for abuse.

 

P1010047.JPG.eda51dde20a1dd453309a9589fdfbe37.JPG

 

I mounted some buildings on foam core to give a bit of relief.  This was taken 10 yrs ago.

 

John

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This is all great stuff!  Although I am a big fan of teccy developments, I also like some of the older methods of doing things, and these last two pics are just what I like!   I am a member of the 3mm Society, and in their list of "scenic delights" they have some Bilteezi sheets scaled down to 3mm, and I have been thinking about getting a few. I remember building one or two in 4mm years ago, and they were excellent, if a little delicate, so these pics have provided the impetus!   Thanks Vivian and John.

 

Cheers, Mike

 

Edit: Careless mistake - it is the 3SMR site that has the Bilteezi's, not the 3mm society!

Edited by Spotlc
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I've always like Superquick buildings, and as the OP says they can benefit from some augmentation. The Victorian Terraces and Corner Shops have a great feel to them, but the printed shop fronts look a little flat. This one is still work in progress but building out the shop fronts to give them some relief makes a huge difference.

 

 

IMG_20210218_193051.jpg

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Great thing about any cardboard model is the ease and speed which many can be repaired here my old favourite Post office on Station road

 

20210218_201504.jpg.443cdaba92db03cb0d622118062c4ccd.jpg

 

Brick paper over tears, etc

 

Other problem with any cardboard is they deteriorate quickly, slag, bend, lose the shape I found best way to keep the shape is a block of scrap wood cut accurately to shape. They stand better after

 

20210218_201604.jpg.70f58e5316f82357388920c7e315d9fb.jpg

 

Course like the real thing require paint (crayon, felt pens,) to finish them off

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56 minutes ago, Spotlc said:

 I am a member of the 3mm Society, and in their list of "scenic delights" they have some Bilteezi sheets scaled down to 3mm, and I have been thinking about getting a few. I remember building one or two in 4mm years ago, and they were excellent, 

 

 

Are these "Bilteezi" backscences, just mounted on thick card ? 

 

20210218_204355.jpg.f2c037754d71e4e72744637c09dc0901.jpg

 

 

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5 hours ago, cravensdmufan said:

Slightly off topic but in a similar vein to highlight the use of "traditional" products, I am currently rebuilding my layout and decided to use Townscenes sheets for a backdrop to my MPD.

 

I know they are "old" drawings as opposed to modern photographic backscenes but there is a charm to them IMO.

 

Patience and a sharp pair of scissors are certainly two key requirements.

 

Here is a couple of photos of work in progress!  Images not glued down yet, and the retaining wall temporarily posed to see the effect. Chimneys certainly need pasting!

 

I'm very happy with it so far.

PICT0161.JPG

PICT0167.JPG

 

I'm certain I've read somewhere on RMWeb of someone "misting" such backscene elements with white from an airbrush to lessen the colour depth, and that this makes them 'recede' into the distance.

 

Certainly if you are building in card it makes sense to keep the background in a similar material - again, somewhere else I've seen someone using such consistency of materials to great effect.

 

Steve S

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3 hours ago, Colin_McLeod said:

@locomad2   I like the use of the Merco arches.  

 

Merco brickpaper is near impossible to get now.  The late Rev Peter Denny was kind enough to send me a sample of the dark Merco brickpaper.  Photocopies of that  sample work a treat to this day.

 

Thanks I've often wondered whose it was, excellent paper which has lasted, built for my first layout 55 years ago, there is actually a hidden siding on other side

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5 hours ago, Spotlc said:

This is all great stuff!  Although I am a big fan of teccy developments, I also like some of the older methods of doing things, and these last two pics are just what I like

This is developing into a very nice thread. Sort of comforting going back to using older methods. Somehow therapeutic during these strange times. Thank you for starting it Mike.

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One very useful teccy thing we have nowadays is that most printers have a scan feature.  So, if you have some of those impossible to get and rare prints, you can scan and print them ad infinitum, for your personal use of course.

 

John

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6 hours ago, cravensdmufan said:

This is developing into a very nice thread. Sort of comforting going back to using older methods. Somehow therapeutic during these strange times. Thank you for starting it Mike.

 

I was cutting some 4x2 timbers into 2x1s three days ago. As well as my 2x1s I now also have a bag of sawdust.  Now where can I purchase green dye in 2021?   Just a thought.....

 

 

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