Wall thickness

[JimF51]

I've printed out the free Weighbridge kit from Scalescenes, to use as a small coal merchant office.

 

The instructions call for the inner and outer wall base pieces to be cut from 2mm card. When built, they are glued back to back, which now gives a 4mm thick wall, which would be a scale 1 foot. Isn't that a bit on the thick side, especially for such a small structure? Would a 6" wall be more correct, buy just using the interior wall printed on paper or thin card, and just applying that to the inner face of the 2mm thick exterior wall?

 

Thanks.

 

Jim

[BG John]

I think you'll find that if you change the wall thickness you'll have trouble assembling it. I've done it in both 4mm scale, and blown up to 7mm. I used the same thickness card in 7mm, and had to make some alterations to get it to fit together, so it's rather like making the 4mm one with thinner material, but everything is easier to work with because it's bigger. The 4mm one was a bit fiddly anyway, so messing with the thickness will make it even more fiddly!

 

I'd suggest making one following the instructions, then making another with alterations if you want to.

 

Things to watch out for include the door end internal wall doesn't have a painted brick overlay like the other walls have, and the door knob on the inside of the door is on the opposite side to the one on the outside! Also, watch the instruction about making up the window. I think the wording is a bit unclear, and I made up two windows with the paper frame on one side of each, before I realised there's only one window! You actually stick one paper frame on each side of the same piece of transparent plastic!

 

Here's my 7mm build, and a bit on the 4mm one.

[Spitfire2865]

From my experience with architecture, exterior walls are typically 10" or so while interior walls usually are 4-6".

[rab]

From my experience with architecture, exterior walls are typically 10" or so while interior walls usually are 4-6".

Agree; not sure what it is now, but in the good old days it was 4" external brick\block wall, 2" cavity (air gap), 4" internal block wall, 10" total, so for scale thickness, 4mm is not far off.

[BG John]

If you look at the bond of brickwork in the brick version, it's obviously a 9" (approx.) solid wall. It's also available in stone, which would probably be much thicker. I don't think the thickness is too obvious though.

[Colin_McLeod]

Most materials are over scale. I have a full size semaphore signal and it is half inch thick. That would scale at one sixth of a mm. That would be very flimsy. 1/16th brass is often used for loco frames. That is 4.76 scale inches!

[agt613]

Brick walls are based on the dimensions of a standard brick which is a little under 4.5" x 3" x 9". Solid brick walls are either one brick (9") thick or one and a half bricks (about 14") My Victorian house has a mixture depending on load. However, doors and windows are set within this rather than behind it so the reveal is much less than the full width of the wall, more like 2 to 4 inches.

[BG John]

Just to make it clear what's being discussed, here are mine. The first photo shows both of them, with 2mm card being overscale for 4mm, and underscale for 7mm. The second photo is the completed 7mm one, as I'm more pleased with it than the 4mm version!

 

 

[stevejjjexcov]

My take on this is quite simple, that is- if it looks right, itt is right. The wall thickness viewed from outside can appear different depending on the depth of the window/door reveals. If the interior can be seen then the second wall lamination can have the apertures cut larger to disguise the thickness. Or failing that ask Allan Downes or Ian Robinson they will know more than me!

[Happy Hippo]

From a structural point of view, one of the reasons for having a thick shell is to add structural integrity to the model.

 

This leads to there being less chance of the model warping or bending out of shape.

[stevejjjexcov]

When I first started to make my own buildings from card I had a problem with walls bowing in. A gentleman who used to come into the local model shop told me that before covering with brick paper to paint the whole thing inside and out with shellac and to let it dry for 24 hours before progressing. Has/does anyone else done/do this now or has the idea gone? I still do it with large buildings and it seems to work

[BG John]

When I first started to make my own buildings from card I had a problem with walls bowing in. A gentleman who used to come into the local model shop told me that before covering with brick paper to paint the whole thing inside and out with shellac and to let it dry for 24 hours before progressing. Has/does anyone else done/do this now or has the idea gone? I still do it with large buildings and it seems to work

I bought some knotting recently, as recommended by someone as a good source of shellac. I used a bit on a roof I made, and it seemed to stiffen it, but I haven't started seriously experimenting yet.