davejay Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Hi there, I really want to scratchbuild my own structures for my upcoming OO loco shed diorama style layout, I did read somewhere about scribing the brickwork on to plasticard, I've tried this using 2mm plasticard, a pointed scribe similar to the point you would find on a dart, I marked out 1mm (approx) mortar courses and bricks approx 3mm long, ran the scribe at a shallow angle along a straight edge for about 3 to 4 passes, all I ended up with was deepish ridges with equally high peaks either side of the scribed lines, I used a chisel edged blade at 45 degrees to the lines in order to take off the peaks but to my dismay this only shallowed the scribed edges..........frustration set in and I retired to the armchair along with my dismay and then contemplated card modelling, but I prefer the relief that plastic can give you........I don't want to go down the lines (no pun intended) of having to purchase will's and slaters sheets as I building on a budget for the foreseeable future!..........any advice would be greatly appreciated and adhered to!!!! All the best my fellow modellers, Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Prism Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Scribing can be done with a pointed scriber, but is better achieved with a scrawker, which will remove material. The problem with a scrawker is that the cuts will tend to be too deep and not wide enough for brickwork mortar courses. The problem with a pointed scriber will be that it merely 'divides' the surface and raise edges, as you describe. The latter can be dealt with only by repeated scribing and sanding, scribing and sanding. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davejay Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 Thanks for that Miss Prism, I knew things were going wrong and I at first blamed myself for my possible inabilities, In the back of my mind are the old adages 'A bad workman always blames his tools', 'The right tool for the right job' and 'If at first you don't succeed- give up!'................anyway, I will be digging out an old blade to fashion myself a 'scrawker' as you have kindly provided me with a link to one and possible a link to scribing success - will let you know results of my efforts. Kind regards, Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 With all due respect Dave, for the small amount of money you'll save, is it really worth it ? Just check out what the likes of Peter Leyland and Iain Robinson, both supreme masters in their own rights, can do with embossed styrene brick sheets - mind blowing. Then of course there are some really terrific brick sheet downloads available these days where you just can't go wrong, any colour, any bond, new brickwork, aged brickwork, it's all there. However, what Dave Rowe used to do when scribing brickwork onto plastic, was to scribe the courses in as normal, then mark the brick end joints in by rigging up a watch cog to turn in a handle where he filed out every other two or three cogs then using a set square he would roll the cog hard down the sheet where it would hit 'n' miss every other row. Lot of work, but Dave, like yourself, wanted to scratchbuild everything and there's nothing wrong with that Dave, many people do, and get much job satisfaction out of it - and would I do it ? well, I used to lay individual bricks once in the form of computer chads...... Cheers. Allan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davejay Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 Thanks for that Allan, I really wasn't expecting a reply from whom I consider to be the master of all things architectural and much more besides, I shall heed your advice to the letter, I may give this scrawker idea a go first, then at least I had a go and I have other options to fall back on. I'm envious of the work you do and have held it high esteem for many years, its a privilege to have a reply from yourself, many thanks, Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Thanks for that Allan, I really wasn't expecting a reply from whom I consider to be the master of all things architectural and much more besides, I shall heed your advice to the letter, I may give this scrawker idea a go first, then at least I had a go and I have other options to fall back on. I'm envious of the work you do and have held it high esteem for many years, its a privilege to have a reply from yourself, many thanks, Dave Thanks for the uplifting comments Dave, but had you have seen some of the rubbish that I've had to bin over the yeras before anyone saw it, I'm sure you'd retract that statement above ! Cheers, any help you might need, well there's plenty readily available right here from a really great bunch of guys that know far more than I'll ever know - even a guy who goes under the initials of I C R who taught me all I taught him and a really great bloke to boot !! - or so he tells me... Cheers. Allan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Prism Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Good luck with the scrawking Dave, but after you've spent an hour on your first square inch, you might well feel the cost of a sheet of Slaters isn't such a bad deal after all... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davejay Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 Thanks for the uplifting comments Dave, but had you have seen some of the rubbish that I've had to bin over the yeras before anyone saw it, I'm sure you'd retract that statement above ! Cheers, any help you might need, well there's plenty readily available right here from a really great bunch of guys that know far more than I'll ever know - even a guy who goes under the initials of I C R who taught me all I taught him and a really great bloke to boot !! - or so he tells me... Cheers. Allan I'm sure what you would consider to be rubbish would probably be like gold to me!!!........isn't ' I C R ' a certain Iain Rice??.........just a guess as I have one of his books about making the most of the Wills scenic kits. and to Miss Prism.....spent a while making a scrawker and another long while in a hot room making a square inch of brick.....could have built a real wall (or part of it) in less time!!........hmmmm texture paper sheets look like the way to go.....just have to budget for printer ink!!! glad I have a Kodak printer (use less ink thankfully and cheaper to run!!!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multiple identity account 2 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 http://www.anticsonline.co.uk/1723_1.html http://www.anticsonline.co.uk/2140_1.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I was going to chime in to suggest Slaters embossed plastic sheets but Jeremiah beat me to it. Much easier to work than Wills (esp. for windows) and larger. Wills sheets do have superb detail and I think I read somewhere that Allan was able to get larger sheets for some of his projects. For paving, roofs etc you can't beat Wills. Another embossed sheet maker is SE Finecast - there are brick arches in that range that Slaters don't have. SEF are not as widely available as Slaters I think - I got mine direct from SEF. I've built (I think successfully) several scratch buildings using a combination of Slaters and Wills. I even rebuilt the walls for the Timbertracks GWR station. I had a MRJ moment and decided I didn't like the way the brick course detail didn't go round the corner. You can find pictures at the blogspot link below. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multiple identity account 2 Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I was going to chime in to suggest Slaters embossed plastic sheets but Jeremiah beat me to it. Much easier to work than Wills (esp. for windows) and larger. Wills sheets do have superb detail and I think I read somewhere that Allan was able to get larger sheets for some of his projects. For paving, roofs etc you can't beat Wills. Another embossed sheet maker is SE Finecast - there are brick arches in that range that Slaters don't have. SEF are not as widely available as Slaters I think - I got mine direct from SEF. I've built (I think successfully) several scratch buildings using a combination of Slaters and Wills. I even rebuilt the walls for the Timbertracks GWR station. I had a MRJ moment and decided I didn't like the way the brick course detail didn't go round the corner. You can find pictures at the blogspot link below. John They also go well with the Hornby kits. If your not pleased with the colour of theirs it can always be replaced Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebs Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I'm with you there on the modelling on a budget Dave, and as such have scribed all the stonework on my station building (link in signature) Mind you, I work for a signage and exhibitions company and we use a compressed pvc product which is softer than styrene and takes to scribing really well - it works more like embossing, although you have to have patience with it. If I had the money, I'd use the styrene sheets, I've tried Wills and it made a very good base for my signal box, but is very thick and hard to work. Have yet to try Slaters, but am interested in doing so. Good luck with your ventures, and I look forward to seeing some of the results Lee Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 As mentioned by John, SEF - South Eastern Finecast - do brick embossed in large sheets than are thin enough to be bent around right angles such as return walls and into window reveals.But of course, they need colouring where I use pastels and crayons to pretty good effect. Anyway, below is a sample seen on this dockside factory. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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