More free card building kits.

[cypherman]

Hi all,

Just found another site for more free 00 card building kits. Something for every one here I think.

http://www.wordsworthmodelrailway.co.uk/index.html

 

[ISW]

3 hours ago, cypherman said:

Hi all,

Just found another site for more free 00 card building kits. Something for every one here I think.

http://www.wordsworthmodelrailway.co.uk/index.html

 

A really useful site indeed. I found it back in 2015 and it was that site that got me started in cardboard model building.

 

I started off with this one from the website:

 

I then moved onto:

 

And finally this one, although I took the opportunity to 'recess' the windows myself:

 

After that, I moved onto 'designing' my own buildings with Xara Designer Pro X (software) and built them out of paper and cardboard. After a few years of 'practice' I'm building my own buildings for my layout. Here's the station Overbridge building:

 

Ian

[The Johnster]

Impressive.

 

Am I right in thinking that the idea is that you download a file and feed it into your printer or the one up the library to provide a printed sheet of card that you can cut out and build?  I'm not a big fan of card buildings but they are ok for background filling and such, otherwise I prefer my stone or brick to have surface texture and relief, which makes a huge difference IMHO to the 'believablility' of a scene under layout lighting, which of course can be arranged to highlight or downplay this relief to your choice. 

 

It's not just modelling trains and buildings, it's modelling weather, lighting conditions, times of day, and so forth.  I run a WTT which features trains from 05.50 to 00.05, and midsummer high noon lighting looks very fundamentlally wrong when the Miner's Workmans' turn up with the 06.00-14.00 shift!

[cypherman]

On 10/12/2023 at 20:13, The Johnster said:

Impressive.

 

Am I right in thinking that the idea is that you download a file and feed it into your printer or the one up the library to provide a printed sheet of card that you can cut out and build?  I'm not a big fan of card buildings but they are ok for background filling and such, otherwise I prefer my stone or brick to have surface texture and relief, which makes a huge difference IMHO to the 'believablility' of a scene under layout lighting, which of course can be arranged to highlight or downplay this relief to your choice. 

 

It's not just modelling trains and buildings, it's modelling weather, lighting conditions, times of day, and so forth.  I run a WTT which features trains from 05.50 to 00.05, and midsummer high noon lighting looks very fundamentlally wrong when the Miner's Workmans' turn up with the 06.00-14.00 shift!

Hi Johnster,

Yes you use card to print on. The kit tells you what size card to use for each building. Ok they are not up to Metcalf or Superquick standards. But for just the cost of printing they are damned good.....😁

[MartinRS]

Another site, similar to the Wordsworth one, is http://cardmodelsbytony.weebly.com/. The most comprehensive site for card models (of all types) is run by Mauther aka Papermau. (He is a really nice guy. I was in touch with him until about four years ago when my late parents' health problems started to put demands on my time). You can find his site at https://papermau.blogspot.com/. Don't be put-off by the preponderance of cute animals, Santa Claus Ornament etc. Scroll down to the LABELS section on the right-hand side where you will find links to different scales and catergories such as  architecture (4080 files). His site goes all the way back to 2013 so expect some blind links. If you encounter any of these then the backup copy of the web, the Wayback Machine, might help you find historic links. The Wayback Machine is at  https://archive.org/ If you want to try re-skinning any buildings then you will find links to brick paper at https://paperbrick.tumblr.com/

Edited December 12, 2023 by MartinRS
typo

[ikcdab]

On 10/12/2023 at 20:13, The Johnster said:

Impressive.

 

Am I right in thinking that the idea is that you download a file and feed it into your printer or the one up the library to provide a printed sheet of card that you can cut out and build?  I'm not a big fan of card buildings but they are ok for background filling and such, otherwise I prefer my stone or brick to have surface texture and relief, which makes a huge difference IMHO to the 'believablility' of a scene under layout lighting, which of course can be arranged to highlight or downplay this relief to your choice. 

 

It's not just modelling trains and buildings, it's modelling weather, lighting conditions, times of day, and so forth.  I run a WTT which features trains from 05.50 to 00.05, and midsummer high noon lighting looks very fundamentlally wrong when the Miner's Workmans' turn up with the 06.00-14.00 shift!

I've just been out and measured the mortar depth on my bricks. It's only a few mm and in some cases it's flush with the bricks. At 4mm scale that is imperceptible and essentially flat, very akin to printed bricks. I think the greater issue with card kits is the finish which can be shiny.  All my card builds are finished with matt varnish and weathered accordingly.  My opinion is that the result is more realistic than using embossed plasticard where they mortar depth is vastly over scale.

Of course, there are card kits and card kits. In my opinion, the scalescenes kits are the king of kits and top of the range in every way. The 3d effect around the windows and doors etc and the roofing really makes them stand out. And they are very robust indeed. I do not like Metcalf kits because of the corners and the "dolls house" finish to the walls, but I accept than many do. I haven't tried the kits linked in this thread, but these do look flat and rather basic.

I urge you to try scalescenes kits and see for yourself how highly authentic they are before dismissing them. There are some pictures of my own versions on my thread.

[brossard]

7 hours ago, ikcdab said:

I've just been out and measured the mortar depth on my bricks. It's only a few mm and in some cases it's flush with the bricks. At 4mm scale that is imperceptible and essentially flat, very akin to printed bricks. I think the greater issue with card kits is the finish which can be shiny.  All my card builds are finished with matt varnish and weathered accordingly.  My opinion is that the result is more realistic than using embossed plasticard where they mortar depth is vastly over scale.

Of course, there are card kits and card kits. In my opinion, the scalescenes kits are the king of kits and top of the range in every way. The 3d effect around the windows and doors etc and the roofing really makes them stand out. And they are very robust indeed. I do not like Metcalf kits because of the corners and the "dolls house" finish to the walls, but I accept than many do. I haven't tried the kits linked in this thread, but these do look flat and rather basic.

I urge you to try scalescenes kits and see for yourself how highly authentic they are before dismissing them. There are some pictures of my own versions on my thread.

 

I tend to agree with you on mortar depth.  I have used Scalescenes for years and there are many SS kits on my 0 gauge layout.  In the larger scale, you will need to scratcbuild windows and doors although Phil at Intentio made some bespoke for me.  A bit dear though.

 

I've always thought that card model building is an evolutionary process, starting with the simplest (which for me at the time were Superquik) and progressing to kits like Wills Craftsman and Scalescenes.  The kits linked here (and I haven't used them) appear to take a step in the simplistic direction relative to Superquik.  Not a criticism just an observation.  Everyone needs to start somewhere.

 

John

[RobinofLoxley]

I just acquired an lcut signal box kit from their stand at Warley. Not having built anything that requires any painting or finishing I was intrigued to see if the brick lines on them, which have almost no depth to them and are therefore correct in scale, could be mortared or not. Happily they can and the result (no photo as Im still testing) looks good so far.

[john new]

A freebie scratch aid 1:200 card kit  (therefore not too far off for N Gauge) is for the medieval Rufus Castle here on Portland, Dorset. My build photo is here. 

Link to the download files is here. https://portlandmuseum.co.uk/2022/02/08/build-your-own-rufus-castle/ 

 

A short bit also on this video from approx 3:30 to the end.

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by john new
Punctuation corrected

[brossard]

1 hour ago, RobinofLoxley said:

I just acquired an lcut signal box kit from their stand at Warley. Not having built anything that requires any painting or finishing I was intrigued to see if the brick lines on them, which have almost no depth to them and are therefore correct in scale, could be mortared or not. Happily they can and the result (no photo as Im still testing) looks good so far.

 

Good.  I have done a fair few Lcut kits in 7mm.  I am very skeptical of being able to do decent job of mortaring and painting, so I faced all mine with Scalescenes brick paper.

 

Looking forward to seeing your model.

 

My signal box:

 

 

John