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Superquick Revisited


Spotlc
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37 minutes ago, Colin_McLeod said:

 

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.....

 

 

 

green food colouring?

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Interesting thread, while on the subject has anyone noticed Superquick seems to have got a bit bigger over the years. I've noticed more recent additions are larger in comparison to older models and don't quite look right if place next to each other, notice the doors of these two different models

 

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The one on the left is bigger I've measured it as well, its 26.2 mm high, one on right 25.8 mm, at 1:76 that's about 1inch in real terms. Not much I know, however the terraced houses look bigger and out of place  compared to older models.

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Well,  I am surprised at the interest this has generated, it seems I'm not the only one who dabbles with stuff from an earlier era occasionally!  Just to quickly make a few comments on some of the posts: Andyman7 - I'm sorry I didn't compliment you on your efforts with the shops. Good stuff!  Locomad2 - I don't honestly know if those are Bilteezi sheets, but they look similar to some I've seen in the past.  SteeveyDee68 - Yep, lightly misting almost anything with an off white or very pale grey with the airbrush will have an ageing effect, but gently does it!  Colin - yes, I think Merco sheets disappeared ages ago, but I think Superquick still do some texture sheets, I did buy a few some years past, and they were very good, and you can download a bewildering number of textures from Textures.com, but ideally you need to have a graphics program like Illustrator, Inkscape or Corel to transform them into useable sheets.  Locomad2 - I reckon there have always been variations in the range, the almshouses are nearer to Ho, and the hotel is similar.  They have changed ownership a couple of times - I think they are now owned by a company in Bristol - so different printing/stamping might account for the differences.  Again, thanks for all the encouragement and interesting comments.

 

Cheers,  Mike

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There are a couple of superquick kits which I think are classics. To my mind one is the low relief Red Lion and tea shop kit and the other is the older version of the two shops, where one of the shops was half timbered. I remember kitbashing two of those to create a double shop and being very proud of the result.

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Good Evening All,

This thread is certainly a blast from the past, I seem to remember in the early 1970's deciding that my four year old son needed a train set [ehm] and a Triang clockwork oo set was bought while on holiday along with my very first Railway Modeller on the cover was a photo taken in the Birmingham Transport museum. Unfortunetly for my wallet the bug bit hard and fifty two years later I am still at with shaky hand and lamp oil running low I think scratch building all my model buildings should come to an end. 

To come to the point of this diatribe, card kits look interesting and advice on adhesive for card modelling is now the norm. When I first started we used shellac coated card and Gloy glue bought from the local newsagent, Superquick followed by Builder Plus papers were the only ones available and the windows were provided by the kit manufactures.  

Other than the usual scratch builders toolbox what else would you all advise to go back to card kit modelling.

Must close now the guide dog needs feeding

     Regards 

 

Cessford Alan [in the very wet Outer Hebrides]

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14 hours ago, Colin_McLeod said:

 

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.....

 

 

 

 

Try food colouring, you can get a multitude of colours on the bay and as its food colouring rather than paint you can dry it in the oven on a tray or microwave it ! :good_mini:

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There is quite a good write up on wiki about Superquick, what I found out years ago from a Model mag was the creator actually went into the business because he had spare capacity on his printing machines, a similar reason Kitmaster kits was created by Rosebud then a Doll manufacturer. Both these manufacturers had a big effect on the railway model industry at the time by providing cheap, good value products, to us the consumer. 

 

My other reason why I ended up making so many superquick kits was because at school there was "craft and cooking" lessons. Us pupils had to pay for our own materials, wood, metal etc, been at the time a shortage and materials expensive, plus of course  lack of school tools and a qualified woodwork teacher, it was decided we could make Superquick models in crafts instead. 

 

Amazing at the time pupils could choose which to do, most choose crafts cause it was cheaper, so for about 2 years whole classes would turn out "cities" of superquick models. Been easy to construct requiring only glue (pots of PVA) and a simple ( shared) knife or even scissors, we would compete with each other to produce the best model, prize at end of term - a more expensive superquick models.

 

Amazing after 50 years later these models often appear in local car boots, model shows, toy fairs, with the name and class number of the builder on the back.

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Hi folks - well guess what I found at the bottom of one of my crates of "to do" projects?!

 

Three unbuilt Superquick kits which I must have purchased ooh, only around 25 or even 30 years ago! 

 

Country station Building (£1.50 :) from the excellent Hadley Hobbies near London's Liverpool Street, long since gone :() plus a couple of Platforms.

 

I shall never use these particular kits as they don't suit my modelling era.  In the light of this thread it seems a shame they are just lying there never seeing the light of day. 

 

I will send them FOC to anyone interested (UK only please) -  maybe these could be the start of a layout?! :yahoo:

 

Just a couple of quid donation into a charity box (preferably for Motor Neurone Disease) would be nice.

 

If interested then please PM me to arrange.

 

Cheers.

 

Vivian

PICT0023.JPG

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I love what you have done with the church.  I was sent one last year and am building for my son.  I dare not show him the picture of what you have done - he'll want the same!  

 

I was actually surprised by how much more fiddly the SQ kits were vs Metcalfe. Almost a halfway between those and Scalescenes.  Going to go and have another look now...

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On 25/02/2021 at 06:01, Shanghai Diver said:

I love what you have done with the church.  I was sent one last year and am building for my son.  I dare not show him the picture of what you have done - he'll want the same!  

 

I was actually surprised by how much more fiddly the SQ kits were vs Metcalfe. Almost a halfway between those and Scalescenes.  Going to go and have another look now...

Thanks for your nice comment about the little church, much appreciated!  If you do have a go at one, bear in mind that the spire is a bit flinsy, and will benefit greatly by having a couple of generous coats of shellac on the inside, once it has been glued up and fixed to the tower (use a long handled brush!)    You're right about the fiddly nature of SQ's - Metclalfe are more like cardboard engineering!

 

Best,  Mike

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I remember getting that church kit  from a Sydney model show back in the  '70's when I was about 10, my brother got the police station I think.

 

It started me down a life time of building model architecture, through SQ and the BIlteezi kits, to scratchbuilding via John Aherns book and Alan Downes' Railway Modeller articles to now where its 3D CAD models printed on a 3D SLA printer...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Continuing on with this thread, I am a member of the 3mm Society, and they sometimes have odd things advertised in their newsletter, and I was lucky enough to buy these three very elderly, un-opened Superquicks. They are the two town shops, the island platform, and the Greystones hayloft.  The marked prices varied between 3/- and 3/6 !

 

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They must be very old, because the makers were S. Q. Developments, 4. Drapers Garden EC2, and the trade distributor was E. Keil, Wickford, Essex, presumably they of KeilKraft model planes etc. There were also a few sheets of ashlar stone paper,  and a tiny 1/100 scale kit for a tunnel mouth and a low relief house/pub, produced by Nifty Kits of Morecambe, included. so I shall be amused for some time!

 

IMG_4391.JPG.2385420817df339fe172861772d32503.JPG

 

Best,  Mike

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  • 2 weeks later...
5 hours ago, Campaman said:

I butchered and old Superquick Barn I had, looks better in real life than the photos.

WP_20170425_16_48_47_Pro.jpg

WP_20170429_18_24_41_Pro.jpg

 

Very nice - Is that a barn converted into a house?

If so you need a little model of Kevin Mccloud standing outside banging on about how the new bit melds in with the old bit etc.

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I am not really a builder but obviously buildings do look good on most layouts so my only answer in my OO days was Superquick!  Instead of the correct house, station, whatever, there was a Superquick substitution.  Worked for me!

  Now what about those Micromodels?:) 

            Brian.

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On 24/03/2021 at 21:12, Campaman said:

looks better in real life than the photos

 

Photos are tough!  I find that when I post things onto the Scalescenes FB group.  But "great" for seeing errors, but much harsher than real life!  Anyway, like what you have done.

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Despite my main interest being 3mm scale, I could not resist making a start on the early version of Two Country Town Shops that I bought a couple of weeks ago. Compared to the more recent version that I pictured at the beginning of this thread, they are very slightly smaller, and a bit more complex to assemble. This is because they use two layers of card for most of the outer surfaces, the inner one positioned to form a rebate for the adjoining piece, either a wall or floor

 

389750653_IMG_4394S.JPG.ad16dabfa9ec72c1ba65bdec0f59fb14.JPG.

The card is also a bit thinner (though I haven’t bothered to measure it), so it needed a bit of reinforcing but I do this to the current versions as well, not only for strength, but also to make assembly easier. First, once the antique shop walls were assembled I cut and glued a one piece floor from 1.5mm card, which keeps everything square.

 

 

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This still leaves the upper part of the building a little wayward, so a similar false floor was fitted at eaves level, and a horizontal support for the roof ridge between the two gables makes them much more rigid.

 

 

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The Peacock Tea Room is, as they say, “terribly twee”, but it is a lovely little model and deserves a bit of care in assembly, so another false floor was cut, and I cut out some curtains from a spare Scalescenes sheet, to be even more twee! Here it is ready to be united with the other building.

 

886602755_IMG_4393S.JPG.69c2a617aea00f591fbce9c99931df1d.JPG

 

This is as far as I’ve got now – the bay window has been glued to the pavement and front wall, and the ground floor walls and floor glued to the gable end.   I’ll post some more pics when I’ve made a bit more progress.

 

Cheers, Mike

 

 

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Bit more progress, and it's beginning to look something like a building!

 

1548845425_IMG_4403S.JPG.e93a895ddd58a715a60a615dad16e0b3.JPG

I've assembled the upper part of the tea room and fitted another full size floor at eaves level, and a ridge supportbetween the gables, so the model feels quite solid now.

 

IMG_4405.JPG.9728be987474e0afce500048ce976f24.JPG

Here the false roofs of 1.5mm card have been cut and glued in place flush with the walls and gables.   I always use this method for any model building - the actual roof is made from thin, rigid card (tea bag boxes!), covered with Scalescenes tiles or slates printed on self-adhesive label paper. It is far easier to manage, and the roof overhangs are nearer to scale thickness than with thicker card.

 

Cheers,  Mike

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  • 2 weeks later...

2078551529_IMG_4430small.JPG.96ae49a22c68d54b95ca7942965d4176.JPG

 

Finally  got round to finishing the fifty year old Superquick!  It's more or less as per the instructions up to the top of the walls, but the roofs are strips of Scalescenes slates and tiles, reduced to 75% (The full size print looked a bit too large on this little model), and the chimney stacks are made from wood with Scalescenes brick paper and lead flashing.  the chimney pots are turned from bits of scrap brass rod

 

1892669306_IMG_4431small.JPG.f61ac4e0b42c7bba99b45b6bf53f9182.JPG

 

I left off the dormer on the shop building, it looked rather artificial to me, and as I already have an antique dealers, it's become a secondhand furniture shop. The downpipes are from copper wire with "brackets" made from tiny slivers of shrink sleeve, and the guttering is from wet pressed paper.   Just a bit of weathering, and the shop sign glueing level to finish!

 

Cheers,  Mike

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2 hours ago, Colin_McLeod said:

Fifty years to build a kit.  Is this a record or are there other kits out there unbuilt for longer? ;)

Very good, Colin!  Actually, I only bought this quite recently, but it certainly dates from before 1971, when decimal currency was introduced in UK, because it was marked three shillings and threepence!   I did take my time over building it, but not quite the fifty years!

 

Cheers,  Mike 

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Good reason why I still like Superquick is they have lasted although this is my 7th layout  and 5th house move, and admit the street scene road etc looks a bit tatty, all these building are at least 50 years old and built by myself as a youngster. 20210411_160038.jpg.1887f061b5408768d6f8a25ddb9e4c9d.jpgPlus Iam still building them or restoring old ones found at toy fairs 

 

Slight off topic the pub sign is one of those "marketing gimmicks" of the 60's, instead of a cocktail stick. Certainly worked as took it home thinking what a great sign it would make, worked as courting years later would always know telephone number of a popular eating place as it was outside "my pub", still outside now although telephone number changed20210411_160140.jpg.b35469bf7a889ab25d8bc61326e6ef4b.jpg

 

 

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On 12/04/2021 at 01:02, locomad2 said:

and admit the street scene road etc looks a bit tatty,

 

But this is not something to apologise for, locomad2 - I like the slightly careworn appearance, in fact it's something I strive to achieve!   It's just a personal opinion, but I think a lot of nice models appear less realistic than they could, just because they are so pristine - people go to endless lengths to weather locos and rolling stock, and then have them run past supposedly 100 year old buildings that look as if the scaffolding was taken down yesterday !

 

IMG_3603-001.JPG.dd426655314e7989327a7dfe70f31a9a.JPG

Here's a few Scalescenes "row of cottages", built as pairs, so they can descend a rather scruffy lane towards a paper mill.  I'm some way towards the effect I want, but still more to do.  I grew up in surroundings not too different to this in the immediate post-war years, and from distant memory, those surroundings were pretty grim!  Each to his own, naturally, but I've always tried to avoid the rose tinted specs!  Your Superquicks have certainly stood the test of time - you must have built them well - Bravo!

 

Cheers,  Mike

 

 

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17 hours ago, Spotlc said:

 

But this is not something to apologise for, locomad2 - I like the slightly careworn appearance, in fact it's something I strive to achieve!   It's just a personal opinion, but I think a lot of nice models appear less realistic than they could, just because they are so pristine - people go to endless lengths to weather locos and rolling stock, and then have them run past supposedly 100 year old buildings that look as if the scaffolding was taken down yesterday !

 

IMG_3603-001.JPG.dd426655314e7989327a7dfe70f31a9a.JPG

Here's a few Scalescenes "row of cottages", built as pairs, so they can descend a rather scruffy lane towards a paper mill.  I'm some way towards the effect I want, but still more to do.  I grew up in surroundings not too different to this in the immediate post-war years, and from distant memory, those surroundings were pretty grim!  Each to his own, naturally, but I've always tried to avoid the rose tinted specs!  Your Superquicks have certainly stood the test of time - you must have built them well - Bravo!

 

Cheers,  Mike

 

 


Well said, Mike! That is a beautifully rendered image of those times. Our 1950s cities were grubby, gritty, grey places, but my memories of those times are still fond, despite the trials and tribulations our parents had to endure during the post war years!

 

Marlyn

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