Best card?

[Mr Meaners]

Hi

 

Great to find this on RMWeb!

 

I started off with one of the free kits in Hornby magazine (the lineside boxes) but struggled with card thickness (I was using some from a hobby shop that was painfully thin and had to double-up or even triple-up to match the folds in the kit.

 

I've recently bought the low-relief flats and medium-sized station (I'm an OO gauge modeller), and plan to fill most of my layout with scalescenes. However, having bought the thickest card in Rymans (apart from the foam-backed stuff) it's still far too thin. I've seen another thread in this forum that suggests using 1mm or even 2mm thickness, but there's no guidance in the instructions on the card thickness to match the printed sheets.

 

Any help with this, and also good sources of the right sort of card, appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Andy.

[Turnesc]

For the medium card use 1mm card and heavy its 2mm card. I've found that Hobby craft sell mounting card that is about right for the medium and grey card at 2mm thickness. I've only done a couple of kits and it seems to work well.

 

On the instruction sheets it shows on the front medium card oo approx 1mm N approx 200gsm and double for the heavey.

[PhilNE]

For 1mm card try a search on ebay for 1000micron

 

I bought these

 

Haven't used them yet but they look OK

 

Cheers

Phil

[Gloucester Road]

Hi

 

Great to find this on RMWeb!

 

I started off with one of the free kits in Hornby magazine (the lineside boxes) but struggled with card thickness (I was using some from a hobby shop that was painfully thin and had to double-up or even triple-up to match the folds in the kit.

 

I've recently bought the low-relief flats and medium-sized station (I'm an OO gauge modeller), and plan to fill most of my layout with scalescenes. However, having bought the thickest card in Rymans (apart from the foam-backed stuff) it's still far too thin. I've seen another thread in this forum that suggests using 1mm or even 2mm thickness, but there's no guidance in the instructions on the card thickness to match the printed sheets.

 

Any help with this, and also good sources of the right sort of card, appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Andy.

 

I have done quite a few Scalescenes kits including the Low Relief Flats, they are easy to asemble and really look good on ones layout. I wish I could help with card thickness, as mine are done in n scale i cant help with oo. The kits do make mention of what thickness of card to use and in my experience this has been accurate.

[M Graff]

I use regular Matte-board (black) to make my card buildings. They are easy to find in shops that deal in Scrapbooking supplies. The Matte-board is very easy to cut and holds glue very well.

[traction]

Andy,

 

On the instructions it does state what thickness card to use:-

 

For N-gauge:-

 

I print everything out onto normal copier paper, nothing flash.

Thick card is 1mm, medium card is 200gsm and thin card is 80gsm(Just glue to standard copier paper)

 

For OO gauge:-

 

Thick card is 2mm, medium is 1mm and thin card is 200gsm.

 

I buy my card in bulk from artesaver shop on line.

Lots of sheets but card always comes in handy!

Link below:-

 

http://www.artesaver.../Greyboard.html

 

 

Cheers

 

Ian

 

 

 

Hi

 

Great to find this on RMWeb!

 

I started off with one of the free kits in Hornby magazine (the lineside boxes) but struggled with card thickness (I was using some from a hobby shop that was painfully thin and had to double-up or even triple-up to match the folds in the kit.

 

I've recently bought the low-relief flats and medium-sized station (I'm an OO gauge modeller), and plan to fill most of my layout with scalescenes. However, having bought the thickest card in Rymans (apart from the foam-backed stuff) it's still far too thin. I've seen another thread in this forum that suggests using 1mm or even 2mm thickness, but there's no guidance in the instructions on the card thickness to match the printed sheets.

 

Any help with this, and also good sources of the right sort of card, appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Andy.

[David Rickard]

For 1mm card try a search on ebay for 1000micron

 

I bought these

 

Haven't used them yet but they look OK

 

Cheers

Phil

 

I've used the same stuff. Works perfectly! I'm also using 210gsm card from Staples, and print everything onto 90gsm. I only use 90gsm for printing because it holds the ink better than 80gsm.

 

On the topic of ink, I've been spraying the printed surfaces with a couple of light coats of Rust-oleum Crystal Clear matt finish spray (Homebase do cans of it). Despite only giving it a light coat, it has sealed the ink perfectly (I've had zero smudges, something I'm very good at doing usually), and it also seems to help key the surface for any glue going on top.

[Mr Meaners]

Many thanks for all the replies. I foun 2mm card in our local Hobbycraft but no 1mm, so will try the website suggested.

/

Now for the hard bit - how on earth do you cut 2mm card once you've stuck the images onto it? Scissors bend the card, and I don't think I trust my Stanley knife skills!

[Turnesc]

Many thanks for all the replies. I foun 2mm card in our local Hobbycraft but no 1mm, so will try the website suggested.

/

Now for the hard bit - how on earth do you cut 2mm card once you've stuck the images onto it? Scissors bend the card, and I don't think I trust my Stanley knife skills!

 

I use a steel ruler and then a very sharp blade in my craft knife. Cutting card takes it toll and you need to change the blade quite reguarly. Practice first, but remember you can just print the kit out again if you do make a mess.

[David Rickard]

When cutting with a knife, do not try and cut it all in one go! If you're pressing hard, you're just asking for a trip to A&E to say hello to the nurses.

 

With the thicker card, use a steel straight edge. Then cut a few times. The first cut should put a nice little groove in it. Pay attention on the first cut, and make it accurate. Next, still using the steel ruler, go over the line again. By virtue of the fact you have already got a shallow cut, the knife will follow it for the most part. Make sure it does though, and just deepen the cut - it's easy for the knife to wander still. Keep working over it until you're all the way through. I found the 1MM card can take three or more cuts, but the end result is much smoother edges, and no tearing.

 

And - all my finger tips are still present.

[Tel2010]

When cutting with a knife, do not try and cut it all in one go! If you're pressing hard, you're just asking for a trip to A&E to say hello to the nurses.

 

With the thicker card, use a steel straight edge. Then cut a few times. The first cut should put a nice little groove in it. Pay attention on the first cut, and make it accurate. Next, still using the steel ruler, go over the line again. By virtue of the fact you have already got a shallow cut, the knife will follow it for the most part. Make sure it does though, and just deepen the cut - it's easy for the knife to wander still. Keep working over it until you're all the way through. I found the 1MM card can take three or more cuts, but the end result is much smoother edges, and no tearing.

 

And - all my finger tips are still present.

 

 

Good advice David

 

On the small corner shops corner pub i just build,i took the step of useing a couple of sharpened wood chisels to cut out the windows and doors.Just put some scrap wood underneath .

Worked for me on 2mm card.I have arthritus in my arms so find cutting out such areas in thick card some what painful when useing a knife.

 

Terry

 

 

[M Graff]

Many thanks for all the replies. I foun 2mm card in our local Hobbycraft but no 1mm, so will try the website suggested.

/

Now for the hard bit - how on earth do you cut 2mm card once you've stuck the images onto it? Scissors bend the card, and I don't think I trust my Stanley knife skills!

 

That´s the reason why I recommended Matte-paper, it´s softer and way easier to cut. I started with regular cardboard and passepartout-board and gave them up when I discovered Matte-board. A friend of mine; Troels Kirk uses it extensively on his layout:

Coast line RR

[Calnefoxile]

Guys,

 

Is Cereal Packet card good enough for N Gauge use???

 

Regards

 

Neal.

[steve22]

Guys,

 

Is Cereal Packet card good enough for N Gauge use???

 

Regards

 

Neal.

 

If I was modelling 'N' I'd give cereal packets a try, particularly as there's always loads in our house. Try it, if it works you're onto a winner. If not, no matter. I agree with other people here regarding cutting. Metal rule, those with a recess in the centre to keep fingers out of harm's way are very good. Mine has a recess and a couple of rubber 'runners' underneath to prevent it moving. Sharp blade, keep angle low, several gentle passes for smooth, accurate cuts with the blade.

Steve.

[Chubber]

How do you cut 2mm card?

 

 

As has been quite rightly said already, a number of passes with the blade at a low angle along a steel straight-edge, then the point of the scalpel for the corners of windows etc.

 

For ordinary cutting I use a small Stanley Snap-off knife, type 1049. Remember the blade is sharpened in two fine bevels and will have to be held at a slight angle away from the ruler to give a vertical/90 degree cut.

 

As an aid to 2mm or even thicker card [Remember, in OO, a 3mm card equals a 9" brick so giving a convincing thickness of walls in English or Garden Wall bond] you can help yourself by piercing the exact corners of window and door openings with a sharp fine point such as a large needle. That allows you to line up a straight edge on the back surface of the card in precisely the same register as those lines on the front and can help obtain a cleaner easier cut. You can see the tool I use in my post about obtaining square components.

 

 

Is Cereal Packet card good enough for N Gauge use???

 

 

Cereal packet is fine for OO too.

 

 

Remember

 

that all card has a grain, like wood, to get a stiffer sandwich, lay the layers up at 90 degrees to each other.

 

that the coloured side is less impervious to glue/moisture and to stop larger areas [over 6" square] from warping it is preferable to stick you Scalescenes papers to the dull, grey side.

 

The little Pegley and Legbolt building here is made of successive layers of cornflake packet.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Doug

 

[Campaman]

Good advice David

 

On the small corner shops corner pub i just build,i took the step of useing a couple of sharpened wood chisels to cut out the windows and doors.Just put some scrap wood underneath .

Worked for me on 2mm card.I have arthritus in my arms so find cutting out such areas in thick card some what painful when useing a knife.

 

Terry

 

I have not tried a standard wood chisel, but have used the chisel blades that you get in some of the craft knife sets to cut out smaller openings.

[RhBBob]

I have not tried a standard wood chisel, but have used the chisel blades that you get in some of the craft knife sets to cut out smaller openings.

 

But be prepared to re-sharpen the chisel/chisel blades from time-to-time. Curiously, chisels are blunted more easily by cardboard, than by wood or paper.

 

My wood-turning friend still lent me them, though...

 

Bob

[Campaman]

But be prepared to re-sharpen the chisel/chisel blades from time-to-time. Curiously, chisels are blunted more easily by cardboard, than by wood or paper.

 

My wood-turning friend still lent me them, though...

 

Bob

 

I have a set of the cheap small sharpening stones from Poundland that I use to get a bit of extra life from all my craft knife blades.

[Ribsey]

I go around work and take the backs off all the A4 writting pads................but don't tell the boss !!!

[Etched Pixels]

Guys,

 

Is Cereal Packet card good enough for N Gauge use???

 

Regards

 

Neal.

 

Almost all my builds are mostly from weetabix and oatibix packets. Do watch the thickness, there seem to be two thicknesses of weetabix packet for example. Doesn' t usually matter but where you need the same thickness on two pieces check first.

[esca]

For long, straight cuts, I use a guillotine.

[Trebor]

Hi

 

Great to find this on RMWeb!

 

I started off with one of the free kits in Hornby magazine (the lineside boxes) but struggled with card thickness (I was using some from a hobby shop that was painfully thin and had to double-up or even triple-up to match the folds in the kit.

 

I've recently bought the low-relief flats and medium-sized station (I'm an OO gauge modeller), and plan to fill most of my layout with scalescenes. However, having bought the thickest card in Rymans (apart from the foam-backed stuff) it's still far too thin. I've seen another thread in this forum that suggests using 1mm or even 2mm thickness, but there's no guidance in the instructions on the card thickness to match the printed sheets.

 

Any help with this, and also good sources of the right sort of card, appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Andy.

 

I purchased my card from 4d Modelshop in that there London Town, but quickly gave up with that, I have been working on the Arched bridge Kit, the prints are done on Epson R320 using some cheapo photo paper from Wilkos that was just so cheap it was stupid not to give it a go, overlaid onto a plasticard base.

Plasticard easy to work than cardboard and easy to cut and finish.

Cost is bit higher though.

 

.JPG]

[Captain Kernow]

Some very helpful and useful suggestions on this thread.

 

For what it's worth, for almost all my card buildings I use Dalerboard, which is available from art shops in sheets of around 2' x 2'6". They come with one side coloured, or plain both sides. This kind of card is 1.5mm thick, and apart from buildings, I also make my loco boxes from it. It glues well with ordinary PVA, although to glue the Scalescenes sheets to it, I use a Pritt stick kind of glue.

 

I normally just use one thickness of Dalerboard for walls (working in 4mm scale), but once the brick sheet has been glued to it (with the Pritt stick), I then apply a piece of plain A4 type paper either side, put the section in between the pages of a large book (or between two large books) and weigh it down overnight. This helps signficantly, in my view, in preventing warping (although I always brace the insides of my buildings as much as possible as well).

 

I cut the Dalerboard using 10A scalpel blades and a Swann Morton handle. If a blade is losing it's sharpness, I discard it and put a new one it - it's safer for a start and you get a better, crisper cut along the card.

[Worsdell forever]

That's the type of card I use Cap'n and a great bit of advice about the blades they're so cheap but if I can add to it, remember to dispose of them carefully, they might be blunt to us but still very sharp.

[Guest TomTank]

Evening all

 

newbie to scalescenes here, but very interested in the kits I have seen (my Dads the card kit builder making a good few Metcalfe ones)

 

Just to check, would these two be the right card for the 1mm and 2mm....I know it seems obvious but I wanted to check

http://www.artesaver.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww.artesaver.co.uk%2facatalog%2fGreyboard.html&WD=2mm&PN=copy_of_Greyboard.html%23a1_21GBA2P#a1_21GBA2P

 

Cheers

 

Tom