A Linka House

[TangoOscarMike]

For those who don't remember Linka, this picture of some of the moulds is probably self-explanatory. Wall pieces are cast in plaster and slotted together to make buildings.

 

 

I had some of these moulds in my early teens (hand-me-downs from some friends who had grown out of them), but I never achieved much with them. It's difficult for all sorts of reasons - brittle material, flawed castings, unsightly joins.....

 

Recently, in a fit of nostalgia, I bought some moulds from Ebay. I've decided to build a house similar to the the Airfix thatched cottage. I'm imagining someone admiring the general layout of the cottage, but wanting a bit more room and slightly higher ceilings.

 

I'm starting with an end wall, and I'm making things easier for myself by using terracotta coloured plaster.

 

 

Getting the pieces to fit requires quite a bit of fettling, and the pieces from some moulds are clearly larger than those from others. My digital calipers are broken, but I estimate that some pieces are 1/3 of a millimetre taller than others.

 

 

I'm gluing them together face-down on a piece of glass, and reinforcing the joints with tissue paper.

 

[Paul H Vigor]

3 hours ago, TangoOscarMike said:

For those who don't remember Linka, this picture of some of the moulds is probably self-explanatory. Wall pieces are cast in plaster and slotted together to make buildings.

 

 

I had some of these moulds in my early teens (hand-me-downs from some friends who had grown out of them), but I never achieved much with them. It's difficult for all sorts of reasons - brittle material, flawed castings, unsightly joins.....

 

Recently, in a fit of nostalgia, I bought some moulds from Ebay. I've decided to build a house similar to the the Airfix thatched cottage. I'm imagining someone admiring the general layout of the cottage, but wanting a bit more room and slightly higher ceilings.

 

I'm starting with an end wall, and I'm making things easier for myself by using terracotta coloured plaster.

 

 

Getting the pieces to fit requires quite a bit of fettling, and the pieces from some moulds are clearly larger than those from others. My digital calipers are broken, but I estimate that some pieces are 1/3 of a millimetre taller than others.

 

 

I'm gluing them together face-down on a piece of glass, and reinforcing the joints with tissue paper.

 

I had fun with Linka many moons ago. I guess I used it as a scratch-aid? I remember modifying brick panel castings that didn't quite do what I wanted with very careful cutting with a razor saw. I built a passable model of the GWR Lambourn Station building. The platform awning involved a balsa wood frame; the roof comprised slates cut from thin card - I wasn't convinced by the Linka roof slate castings, and, when viewed from above, the roof will always be the most prominent feature. The system had its limitations, but repaid creative thinking and thoughtful painting.

[Darius43]

I had a Linka starter set in the late 70s/early 80s.  It was fun but the castellated edges were slightly tapered to aid mould release, which made them difficult to mesh when fitting together.  A lot of fine filing was needed to get them to fit,  the windows were fragile and often broke.  Oftentimes the pieces were slightly bowed - possibly due to shrinkage due to too much water in the plaster mix.  A great concept, but all in all, for me, it was too problematic in use.  
 

I did build a large-ish German station building but it imploded towards the completion of construction.  I never used the system again.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[GeraldH]

I still use Linka, but I've never got on with the brick moulds as the brick courses do not line up with the joints and so it is hard to disguise the latter.  The stone moulds work better and it is possible to fill the gaps with thinned polyfilla and scribe out any excess.  The roof moulds are not great either and so I use strips of scribed card for the slates.  Painting the inside of the buildings with diluted PVA also helps to strengthen/seal them.

 

[TangoOscarMike]

On 08/08/2023 at 00:58, Paul H Vigor said:

I had fun with Linka many moons ago. I guess I used it as a scratch-aid? I remember modifying brick panel castings that didn't quite do what I wanted with very careful cutting with a razor saw. I built a passable model of the GWR Lambourn Station building. The platform awning involved a balsa wood frame; the roof comprised slates cut from thin card - I wasn't convinced by the Linka roof slate castings, and, when viewed from above, the roof will always be the most prominent feature. The system had its limitations, but repaid creative thinking and thoughtful painting.

 

Pictures, perchance?

 

On 08/08/2023 at 01:18, Darius43 said:

I did build a large-ish German station building but it imploded towards the completion of construction.  I never used the system again.

 

 

It would be cruel to ask you for pictures.

 

[TangoOscarMike]

Well, we all agree that the roof moulds don't seem to be much use!!

 

Here is the end wall assembled, with all the ghastly joins that spoil the concept.

 

 

I think the gaps don't matter so much - they will be concealed later by mortar. The real problem is the columns of half-bricks. In an effort to camouflage the joins, I'm covering them with air-drying clay (also terracotta) and then scribing the mortar lines back in with various tools (mainly a toothpick).

 

 

And this is the result. Somewhat improved, perhaps.

 

 

 

One of the risks of using Linka is excessive uniformity in building proportions and features. But as @Paul H Vigor says (and indeed, as the original instructions say) one is permitted to cut up the pieces.

 

These are the ingredients of a porch:

 

 

Chopped into pieces:

 

 

And assembled:

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by TangoOscarMike

[Darius43]

1 hour ago, TangoOscarMike said:

 

Pictures, perchance?

 

 

It would be cruel to ask you for pictures.

 

Alas as it was the late ‘70s and all I had was my Kodak 126 Instamatic there are no pictures.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Paul H Vigor]

1 hour ago, TangoOscarMike said:

 

Pictures, perchance?

 

 

It would be cruel to ask you for pictures.

 

Alas, it never did get photographed. I believe it still exists, packed away in a box in the loft?

[Paul H Vigor]

For us, Linka followed on from earlier 1970s plastercasting exploits involving a Sculptorcraft set featuring Huckleberry Hound & Friends! If I recall, Huckleberry Hound's neck was always fragile when attempting to remove him from the mould!

[Nearholmer]

I’ve never used Linka moulds, but c1990 I built a long waterfront scene in H0 and made moulds to cast wharf-edge panels, “stone” retaining walls with “timber” whatever-they’re-calleds for boats to bump against as the tide rises and falls. There was c10ft of it, so casting panels c8 inches long each was good solution.
 

I was very favourably impressed by the level of detail that the whole process could achieve, but it did take a fair bit of practice to get everything right, especially getting tiny bubbles out before the plaster set. To me it seems an overlooked technique with a lot more potential that people think.

 

Linka I always thought of as more of an advanced toy, aimed at 10-15yo maybe, rather than for ‘serious’ modellers, a bit like Brickplayer before it. My own children had some french (iirc) kits that were a bit like a combination of the two, where one cast lots of stones/bricks and built with them, and at one stage I tried a seriously good Spanish kit which used real stone, some sort of mudstone, mortared with tile cement. The real stone one was very slow going, but produced an absolutely brilliant result for a tipping dock on a 7mm scale layout.

Edited August 11, 2023 by Nearholmer

[Darius43]

10 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

I’ve never used Linka moulds, but c1990 I built a long waterfront scene in H0 and made moulds to cast wharf-edge panels, “stone” retaining walls with “timber” whatever-they’re-calleds for boats to bump against as the tide rises and falls.

Fenders.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[TangoOscarMike]

13 minutes ago, Paul H Vigor said:

For us, Linka followed on from earlier 1970s plastercasting exploits involving a Sculptorcraft set featuring Huckleberry Hound & Friends! If I recall, Huckleberry Hound's neck was always fragile when attempting to remove him from the mould!

 

I remember a casting of Peter Rabbit, probably made by big brother.

 

My opinion of such things these days is that it's not nice to give children craft projects which produce ornamental nick-nacks. Nobody is going to play with a crudely painted plaster cast of Peter Rabbit, even if it doesn't fall apart (which it will).

 

I think it would be (would have been?) better to give children rubber moulds in which (say) 54mm knights can be cast, to go alongside figures from Britains, Airfix etc. Obviously the figures would have to be in very compact poses, but I don't think this would spoil the idea. The Prince August moulds are pretty close, conceptually.

 

I sculpted and cast (in metal) some knights and princesses when I made a toy castle for my daughter some years ago. And I experimented a little bit with figures suitable for casting in plaster. And then time flew by and now we're here.

 

 

[TangoOscarMike]

34 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

I’ve never used Linka moulds, but c1990 I built a long waterfront scene in H0 and made moulds to cast wharf-edge panels, “stone” retaining walls with “timber” whatever-they’re-calleds for boats to bump against as the tide rises and falls. There was c10ft of it, so casting panels c8 inches long each was good solution.

Ten feet? Gadzooks!

 

35 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

I was very favourably impressed by the level of detail that the whole process could achieve, but it did take a fair bit of practice to get everything right, especially getting tiny bubbles out before the plaster set. To me it seems an overlooked technique with a lot more potential that people think.

 

Indeed - very sharp detail can be captured.

 

Bubbles/voids  are a curse, also with metal casting and I daresay resin. For my most recent set of Linka castings I sprayed the moulds with a watery mist (having previously just sloshed water on them), and this was a huge improvement.

 

37 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Linka I always thought of as more of an advanced toy, aimed at 10-15yo maybe, rather than for ‘serious’ modellers, a bit like Brickplayer before it.

 

Oh, absolutely. And perhaps the most serious objection to Linka is the fact that one doesn't get a choice of authentic brick bonds.

 

But I lean somewhat towards the toy end of the hobby, so that's OK.

[TangoOscarMike]

Bricks picked out with felt-tips: pink, red, orange, brown and yellow. The pink one gave up the ghost early on, so there aren't many of those. I might colour in a few more before the next step.

 

I've got a night shift tonight. I should be getting some sleep, not indulging myself on RMWeb.

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by TangoOscarMike
Typo

[Paul H Vigor]

43 minutes ago, TangoOscarMike said:

 

I remember a casting of Peter Rabbit, probably made by big brother.

 

My opinion of such things these days is that it's not nice to give children craft projects which produce ornamental nick-nacks. Nobody is going to play with a crudely painted plaster cast of Peter Rabbit, even if it doesn't fall apart (which it will).

 

I think it would be (would have been?) better to give children rubber moulds in which (say) 54mm knights can be cast, to go alongside figures from Britains, Airfix etc. Obviously the figures would have to be in very compact poses, but I don't think this would spoil the idea. The Prince August moulds are pretty close, conceptually.

 

I sculpted and cast (in metal) some knights and princesses when I made a toy castle for my daughter some years ago. And I experimented a little bit with figures suitable for casting in plaster. And then time flew by and now we're here.

 

 

Indeed, here we are! Older, wiser - and many miles from Milford and Keyhaven? 😎

[pete_mcfarlane]

Even as an under-10 I had determined that I could build better models more quickly out of card and Superquick brick paper than with Linka. The (presumably professional model maker built) models on the box artwork were very impressive though.

 

Looking forward to seeing how this comes along. 

[TangoOscarMike]

21 hours ago, Paul H Vigor said:

Indeed, here we are! Older, wiser - and many miles from Milford and Keyhaven? 😎

Certainly older, I'm not sure about wiser. Maybe slightly less ignorant.

 

And currently 451 miles from home!

[TangoOscarMike]

A few more bricks coloured in. I kept a tally, to help achieve a similar colour-density on the other walls.

 

And a bit of paint around the windows.

 

[Paul H Vigor]

1 hour ago, TangoOscarMike said:

A few more bricks coloured in. I kept a tally, to help achieve a similar colour-density on the other walls.

 

And a bit of paint around the windows.

 

If I recall, Linka recomended you paint the whole wall mortar-colour, then 'pad' the surface of the bricks in the brick colour to leave the mortar-courses between the bricks? It worked quite well if you didn't press too hard! The paint job draws the eye away from the joins. Your building is coming to life! 

[TangoOscarMike]

On 12/08/2023 at 14:02, Paul H Vigor said:

If I recall, Linka recomended you paint the whole wall mortar-colour, then 'pad' the surface of the bricks in the brick colour to leave the mortar-courses between the bricks? It worked quite well if you didn't press too hard! The paint job draws the eye away from the joins. Your building is coming to life! 

 

I'm defying the old instructions and putting mortar on last. This is to take advantage of the terracotta plaster, and because I want to fill the mortar lines a little bit - they are far too deep to be a realistic texture (except for buildings that need emergency repointing). I won't, however, fill the gaps all the way up, because they are tapered. Doing so would result, I think, in excessively wide mortar lines.

 

I masked the edges (they will be finished after the walls are joined together) and then applied two coats of gloss varnish.

 

 

My mortar is a paste mixed from varnish, acrylic retardant, various shades of brown paint, and talcum powder. These are mixed to the colour and texture of gunge. I tried cornflour first, but it was too granular.

 

 

 

After applying my mortar over the whole surface, I scraped it off with a thin piece of plastic, and let it dry. This is the result (photographed indoors and in natural light).

 

 

 

The bricks are considerably dulled by a thin film of the mortar paste. I had a little go at this with 1200 grit wet and dry, and then changed my mind and stopped.

 

I will touch up the paint around the windows, and there will be a coat of matt varnish later.

 

I'm reasonably happy with this. The joints could be better disguised, the overall effect could be more realistic. But I'm not trying to win the Turner Prize, so I will crack on.

 

[Paul H Vigor]

3 hours ago, TangoOscarMike said:

 

I'm defying the old instructions and putting mortar on last. This is to take advantage of the terracotta plaster, and because I want to fill the mortar lines a little bit - they are far too deep to be a realistic texture (except for buildings that need emergency repointing). I won't, however, fill the gaps all the way up, because they are tapered. Doing so would result, I think, in excessively wide mortar lines.

 

I masked the edges (they will be finished after the walls are joined together) and then applied two coats of gloss varnish.

 

 

My mortar is a paste mixed from varnish, acrylic retardant, various shades of brown paint, and talcum powder. These are mixed to the colour and texture of gunge. I tried cornflour first, but it was too granular.

 

 

 

After applying my mortar over the whole surface, I scraped it off with a thin piece of plastic, and let it dry. This is the result (photographed indoors and in natural light).

 

 

 

The bricks are considerably dulled by a thin film of the mortar paste. I had a little go at this with 1200 grit wet and dry, and then changed my mind and stopped.

 

I will touch up the paint around the windows, and there will be a coat of matt varnish later.

 

I'm reasonably happy with this. The joints could be better disguised, the overall effect could be more realistic. But I'm not trying to win the Turner Prize, so I will crack on.

 

It works well! You are weathering the building all in one go! Rock on!

[TangoOscarMike]

This is the assembled porch, with a door at the back and paint on the inside. The wooden stick is a temporary measure to prevent movement.

 

 

There's a risk, I think, of too much uniformity in linka buildings. To avoid too much uniformity in the proportions of this building (and becuase I like to break symmetry anyway) I'm casting rather a lot of this piece.

 

 

Here, prior to trimming, are pieces for the front wall. The arch in the middle is a placeholder for the porch, which is slightly off-centre. The windows will not be glued in the plane of the front wall: they will be projected out a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by TangoOscarMike
Added images.

[TangoOscarMike]

Here is the beginning of the front wall. These pieces, and the connecting wooden strips, were glued together face down on a piece of glass, with the window pieces in place to enforce the spacing and alignment.

 

 

From behind it looks even more haphazard.

 

 

 

Here is the left hand set of projecting pieces with windows, ready to glue into the wall. The window pieces do not have mortar lines on their edges, so I have scratched these in using a piece of piercing saw blade pushed into a broken paintbrush handle.

 

The large and the skinny plain brick pieces do have mortar lines on their edges, but alas they are wrong - the line of bricks does not continue cleanly around corners, but instead there are (effectively) double-sized brick slabs on top of half-bricks. I'm not going to try to correct this - instead I will be content with the general impression of brickiness.

 

[TangoOscarMike]

Here are the four assemblies of the front wall.

 

 

And here they are dry-fitted.

 

 

 

So:

• It might end up being a little grander than I intended, but that doesn't matter.
• There are some errors in the brick courses that must be my fault, although I took care to avoid them. I shall press on regardless.
• The porch is wonky. I think I might remake it in-situ.

 

For the time being, I've glued everything except the porch together, and I'm going to disguise the seams with clay next.