Show us your scratchbuilt building

[allan downes]

Luffly  work, the subtle weathering around the hopper woodwork is masterful, as always.

 

Some questions, if you wouldn't mind

 

What are the particular GWR colours you are using, how do you achieve the rivet effect on the tank, how big is the model, I'm guessing about 1 ft high, and how do you get the window details so crisply finished?

 

Doug

 

Edited to ask 'do you have a patented jig for stair construction?'

 

D

 

Hi Doug, hope you don't mind me butting in here for a moment but, and as you probably know anyway, stairs are a right swine to construct and of course I could well be wrong, and usually am !, but I wouldn't have thought Peter wouldn't have used a jig but instead relied upon his incredible skill ( says I as he slips my cheque in the post !) to scratchbuild them freehand.

 

When it came to signal box steps - equally as swinefull to make ! - I used to use either Plastruct ready assembled steps and hand rails, or Ratio Signal box kits which included all the detailing parts - steps, barge boards, finials, hand rails, everything and the kits come in both 00 and 7mm.

 

Cheers.

Allan.

Edited August 3, 2013 by allan downes

[Jack00]

My first ever scratch built...anything!

based on a farm house. i know its not perfect or flush in places but im kean to keep trying.

 

 

 

Thanks Jack.

[Jack00]

The Stables in 4mm. just needs a pony..!!

 

 

 

 

And Bridge street taking shape.

 

 

Cheers

Jack.

[Guest Celticwardog]

I like the pebble dash render effect, sandpaper of some sort?

[Jack00]

Yes very fine sandpaper, being flimsy it needed alot of support inside.

[zoro]

I can't find my original photographs at the moment, but, here is a couple of links

Penorwic Slate Quarry    

Curzon Street  

[marc smith]

The other buildings from Ogmore Road;
The overbridge hides the entrance / exit to the fiddle yard
This was 3 tracks in total - the line into the platform, the loop and a bay at the rear of the platform

It was on quite a steep angle, but I have something of a penchant for angled bridges - strange, I know
I couldn't find a prototype for this arrangement

But the bridges on the Cowbridge and other Taff Vale lines were made of similarly sized blocks of stone...

I based the design on studies of single track bridges, and partly on the bridge on John Spencers' "Ruyton Road"
It's the ubiquitous Wills stone sheet, with the single brick arch from a 2nd hand Wills brick overbridge,
the brick arch from the double span being scribed myself - that's not as neat as the Wills arch, I know

The goods shed, like the station building was built using the plans from the book "The Cowbridge Railway"
By Colin Chapmann. Two examples of this shed existed on the line
One being at Aberthaw Low Level

It's made of corrugated plasticard
I still have the building, but the goods shed doors have now warped

I will use it again, one day....
I always liked the style of these goods sheds - they're a bit different
to the more standard designs

Cheers again 

Edited August 5, 2013 by marc smith

[Gravy Train]

Hi Chubber,

sorry for a slow reply, been out withy the Grandchildren this weekend :-)

 

The GWR colours are the Precisian paints , no1 and no3 stone.

 

Crisp windows, Ah well werever possible I use reay made plastic or etched but more often than not i have to scratchbuild them with microstrip directly onto the clear plastic sheet.

For this I use a slaters Mek Pak brush, a real must in my opinion as the bristles are superb, they hold the solvent really well and form a point at the head of the brush to enable accurate aplication ( capillary action ) i think is the word as the solvent is applied,it also helps when you are doing it as a day job as you learn to get proficient at it as with anything els eyou may do regularly.

I hope that gives you some ideas.

cheers

Peter A L.

[Gravy Train]

( Zoro and Marc Smith ), some beutiful modelling there, great stuff.

 

Jack00,

keep it up your heading in the right direction and there is something special about creating your own building, its easy to take one ready made out of a box and fix in place but a diffrent kettle of fish to construct one oneself, very well done  :-)

 

cheers

Peter A L

[Gravy Train]

Hi folks,

The Imposing ( LITTLE & BALLANTYNE BUILDING ) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[westerhamstation]

That's just brilliant.

[marc smith]

That's just brilliant.

 

Indeed!

Well done gravy train

I like the look of the whole thing...

Its' style, proportions, the roof line, the different styles of window -

which just seem to work well together in this instance

 

And I really do like the stairway / fire escape on the side of the building...

What did you use to make that?

As Allan Downes has said, stairs can be really tricky

 

Cheers

 

Edited August 5, 2013 by marc smith

[The Dorset Wanderer]

Latest part of the farmyard yet to be detailed- need to make some 3mm straw bales!

[Gravy Train]

Hi Mark,

Yes, stairs can be a bit of a pain when nothing available suites, Plastruct as Alan pointed out is about the best available and I use by the ton load and used it here on this building along with microstrip to form the handrails.

Plastruct also do Handrials both stright and sloping/angled.

 

If I am to construct stairs from scratch: I lookat what the width of the stairs need to be and cut a strip to that width 20/ 30 thou plasticard then cut strips off it at the width determined by the angle of the stair sides say for example 4mm, If you look at my signal box thread I have a stage by stage photo images showing how this is achieved from start to finish.

 

cheers

Peter

[allan downes]

The open tread steps that can just about be seen on this ash plant are 'fold up' brass etched by Scalelink.

 

[Jaz]

Gravy train you have some lovely work, do you have a link for your layout? Would love to see these pieces on a layout.

[Gravy Train]

Hi Jaz,

I have only ever had 2 exhibition layouts that more or less exhausted the exhibition circuit, first on was Shaw Bridge EM gauge LYR and later Wainthrop Bridge EM LYR.

Both were in high demand at the time and were easily accomodated in an exhibition being around 12tf x 15" in a self containd cabinet/ glorified working diorama which is quite popular today.

I will post up a thread on both layouts later for you to look at but other than that most of the buildings I create go elswere on private layouts etc. 

cheers

Peter

Edited August 6, 2013 by Gravy Train

[Jaz]

That's a shame, because I really like your work. Would have been lovely to see it in situ.Very envious of the standard you achieve. 

Now now Iain and Allan you know I drool over yours too. 

[wagonman]

The main station building for 'Colerne' based on the William Eassie designs used on the Golden Valley Railway. This is Abbeydore, more or less. I've just noticed a bit of warping in the eaves!

[Campaman]

A water tower from card & paper.

 

 

Edited August 8, 2013 by Campaman

[freebs]

wow, that water tower is really something!

[Campaman]

A small gents loo block......

 

 

 

[Campaman]

A grounded van  made from an ASDA Smartprice Eggbox (They are made from thin styrene)

 

 

And a Tudor style building. I am currently redoing the upper storey with plain card, as the foamboard didn't work as well as I wished.

 

 

Edited August 8, 2013 by Campaman

[Campaman]

A low relief row of shops, based loosely on Cromer high street

 

 

 

And finally for now a GWR station building from the Fairford branch

 

 

 

 

Sorry about the poor quality of these, taken with a phone camera, and ignore the wonky supports....

 

[freebs]

A brilliant series of card models - very impressive