Show us your scratchbuilt building

[allan downes]

As I've been saying. Absolutely magnificent.

 

Cheers.

 

Allan

[salmonpastures]

Have only just found this thread and have to congratulate everyone for posting pics of some pretty wonderful buildings.

 

I suppose mine don't really qualify as scratchbuilt as they started life as Howard Scenics terraces,,, but then I decided to make life interesting and put them on a hill.

I used their brickpapers and templates but fitted my own windows as they are pretty close to public scrutiny at exhibitions.

 

I thought they would be a "quick" way of covering the fiddle yard,,,, that was until I got started,,,,, approx 9 months later they were still driving me potty.

But worth it in the end as they generate a lot of interesting conversations,,,, usually " I was born in one of them" reply "you and me both"

 

I just wish I had found Captain Kernows efforts before I started,,,,, what a benchmark to follow.

 

 

Many thanks to Captain Kernow for the inspiration to get mine finished,,, eventually,,, and to "westerner" for the photo's.

 

SAD

[allan downes]

There's some real class modelling turning up on this thread.

 

Better get my finger out !

 

Cheers.

 

Allan

[grahame]

Slowly working on my N gauge scale 'Shipwrights Arms'. I went for the traditional inverted pitched roof for the adjoining building. There's still the left side to cut out the windows and add in place, and plenty of details like rainwater downpipes, and so on to fit.

 

 

G.

[Edwardian]

There's some real class modelling turning up on this thread.

 

Better get my finger out !

 

Cheers.

 

Allan

 

Of where?!?

[Edwardian]

Dave

 

Hadn't thought about doing one or if I am totally honest how to set one up, normally leave this techno stuff to my son to sort for me.

It was only after pressure from friends and family that got me to do something with the layout on the two websites I belong to.

 

Cheers

 

Kevin

I think you should.

 

I think your work is stunning.

 

I admire many layouts, but it is not often I see one and find myself thinking "I wish that was mine!"

 

The structures are beautifully observed and the compositions ingenious and full of interest.  The modelling standard is very high (how I imagine my buildings will turn out, as opposed to how they actually do!), and the subtlety of effect that comes of your use of printed textures is wonderful.  It also seems to me that you have managed to blend this all in with equally subtle and well-observed vegetation, something I am currently scratching my head over.

 

So, I for one, would appreciate seeing more.

[Edwardian]

Have only just found this thread and have to congratulate everyone for posting pics of some pretty wonderful buildings.

 

I suppose mine don't really qualify as scratchbuilt as they started life as Howard Scenics terraces,,, but then I decided to make life interesting and put them on a hill.

I used their brickpapers and templates but fitted my own windows as they are pretty close to public scrutiny at exhibitions.

 

I thought they would be a "quick" way of covering the fiddle yard,,,, that was until I got started,,,,, approx 9 months later they were still driving me potty.

But worth it in the end as they generate a lot of interesting conversations,,,, usually " I was born in one of them" reply "you and me both"

 

I just wish I had found Captain Kernows efforts before I started,,,,, what a benchmark to follow.

 

Melksham 5.JPGMelksham 2.JPGMelksham 3.JPG

 

Many thanks to Captain Kernow for the inspiration to get mine finished,,, eventually,,, and to "westerner" for the photo's.

 

SAD

 

I think you have nailed it with those terraces.  Very South Yorkshire, if childhood memories of driving up to my grandparents hold true.  Great to see 2 whole rows, which is not often attempted, but makes the scene persuasive, and I had a peek at your blog to see how it all fitted in; great layout. Lovely subtle effect.

 

You seem to be living in Norfolk and modelling the North, whilst I ....

[allan downes]

Ah now. That there be the question Edwardian !

Edited August 12, 2016 by allan downes

[Edwardian]

Ah now. That there be the question Edwardian !

 

... am keeping one step ahead of my Creditors ...

[salmonpastures]

I think you have nailed it with those terraces.  Very South Yorkshire, if childhood memories of driving up to my grandparents hold true.  Great to see 2 whole rows, which is not often attempted, but makes the scene persuasive, and I had a peek at your blog to see how it all fitted in; great layout. Lovely subtle effect.

 

You seem to be living in Norfolk and modelling the North, whilst I ....

Edwardian,

Many thanks for your kind words,,,, Sheffield Library has a digital archive of 1000's of photo's of the old city,,, most are in black and white and when I first found the site I could not believe how many photos of the old buildings I remembered were available on line.

The layout is fictitious and based on my youthful memories of trainspotting but most of the buildings are based on actual buildings I remember as a kid,  particularly the terraced houses and shops & the chapel is where I went to Sunday School!!!!

The terraces over the fiddle yard were a "great idea" to stop folk peering into the fiddle yard,,,, but doing 28 different houses became a bit of a chore,,, a field with a few cows would have been so much easier but somewhat out of character for the Sheffield I frequented.

I am happy with the general appearance of the buildings but finding this site I am going to have to read in detail how people get that "au natural" appearance which in reality so far escapes me,,,, mine still look like models.

But it will be great fun experimenting and I am in no rush to get them finished.

 

I copy some "scratch" buildings I have done from the library site and I really enjoy the challenge of converting old photo's into a working drawing.

Probably a pointless excercise but I do get a kick from having buildings nobody else has got.

 

Many thanks to all for the notifications and "westerner" again for the photo's

 

SAD

[Mrkirtley800]

I very much like the way you have granite setts. The whole model reminds me of the area where I used to live in west Leeds. One of the main roads had setts which became shiny with the traffic using the road. That and the tram tracks made it lethal on a bike. I have come off many times, if I didn't get the wheels stuck in the tram lines, I would be skidding around corners on the slippery surface.

Derek

[Signaller69]

Lots of inspiration and superb modelling on this thread, great stuff! Some of my own efforts, taken from my "Crinan" thread, most of what is seen in the photo below is scratchbuilt ie the Canal-side cottage, the Yacht, the swing bridge and the landing stages, mainly from plasticard sheet and Evergreen plastic sections. Fine sand was used to pebble dash the cottage, along with Wills windows and garden fencing.

 

The yacht hull was made from a 3 layer sandwich of thick, soft plastic based board I was given years ago (a form of foamboard I think) used in the sign making industry, which is easy to cut and sand to shape but is also easy to glue with UHU. The stowed sail is formed from Milliput around the plastic rod mast/boom which is braced with brass wire. The fenders are short lengths of plastic tube with fine fuse wire to "tie" them to the safety rails.

[KNP]

I think you should.

 

I think your work is stunning.

 

I admire many layouts, but it is not often I see one and find myself thinking "I wish that was mine!"

 

The structures are beautifully observed and the compositions ingenious and full of interest.  The modelling standard is very high (how I imagine my buildings will turn out, as opposed to how they actually do!), and the subtlety of effect that comes of your use of printed textures is wonderful.  It also seems to me that you have managed to blend this all in with equally subtle and well-observed vegetation, something I am currently scratching my head over.

 

So, I for one, would appreciate seeing more.

 

Thanks very much for your comments.

 

I will certainly give it some thought and try and work out which topic heading would suit?

 

With regard to your comment on observation this touches on something I keep banging on in the other website I am involved with (Railwaymodellers.com - KevinP) and that is to observe what see, model what you see and not what you think you should see.

By this I mean not all grass is green, not all tree trunks are brown, not all brickwork is red etc.etc, you know the sort of thing I mean.

And the other issue is that nothing is smartly painted, clean and tidy unless of course the Queen is visiting that day!!!!

 

I use numerous photographs (they are so easy in this digital world we live in) as this makes the eye focus on the area in question with no peripheral vision involved so highlights mistakes, problems or errors like nothing else. I can say I have thrown away quite a few buildings that just didn't look or feel right.

 

Kevin

Edited August 13, 2016 by KNP

[alant]

Hi Kevin,

 

Some great work, I hope you do start a thread for your layout so we can all see more.

 

Alan.

Edited August 12, 2016 by alant

[allan downes]

Lots of inspiration and superb modelling on this thread, great stuff! Some of my own efforts, taken from my "Crinan" thread, most of what is seen in the photo below is scratchbuilt ie the Canal-side cottage, the Yacht, the swing bridge and the landing stages, mainly from plasticard sheet and Evergreen plastic sections. Fine sand was used to pebble dash the cottage, along with Wills windows and garden fencing.

 

The yacht hull was made from a 3 layer sandwich of thick, soft plastic based board I was given years ago (a form of foamboard I think) used in the sign making industry, which is easy to cut and sand to shape but is also easy to glue with UHU. The stowed sail is formed from Milliput around the plastic rod mast/boom which is braced with brass wire. The fenders are short lengths of plastic tube with fine fuse wire to "tie" them to the safety rails.

IMG_20160319_135645.jpg

 

As I said before. There's some amazing modelling turning up on this thread.

[salmonpastures]

I very much like the way you have granite setts. The whole model reminds me of the area where I used to live in west Leeds. One of the main roads had setts which became shiny with the traffic using the road. That and the tram tracks made it lethal on a bike. I have come off many times, if I didn't get the wheels stuck in the tram lines, I would be skidding around corners on the slippery surface.

Derek

Derek,

Thanks for the compliments,,,, I also have "happy" memories of trams,,,, like driving round town with father circa 1956-8 in his standard 10 van,,, my vocabulary expanded considerably each time we got stuck behind one,,, my expletives knowledge came from a different source,, the shed foreman and his various henchmen at Doncaster works.

We weren't vandalising anything but we did have a manic desire to get a few more cops in the Ian Allans compendium,,,, oh happy days,,, but looking back for sure it was hazardous but luckily long before the days of "Def by Elf & Safety"

The granite sets are from Wills,,,, I toyed with the idea of modelling clay and scriber but the deadline for the next show got the better of me once again,,,, I started off by trying to get the "grain" all going the same way but quickly realised it was going to cost me a fortune,,, compared with a cost effective mix n match approach!!.

Luckily where the shops are is about 3 feet from the viewing public and so hopefully not as noticeable when compared with a quality camera about 4 inches away.

Another of westerners shots and perhaps my personal favourite,,, it shows the foothills of the pennines just how I remember them.

The older trams really did "grind" up the hillier routes. 

I also get rather frustrated with the tram as it was added as a novelty,,,, but it generates more questions at shows than anything else.

I know very little about trams apart from Sheffields solar powered versions!!!

I know this pic has been on RMweb before and I apologise for that.

 

SAD

[PMuller]

I discovered this thread  a couple of weeks ago and I like the quality of the models!

My current project is a row of five shops. They will get a place at the back of my small layout.

The scale is OO.

 

Pieter

[allan downes]

Derek,

Thanks for the compliments,,,, I also have "happy" memories of trams,,,, like driving round town with father circa 1956-8 in his standard 10 van,,, my vocabulary expanded considerably each time we got stuck behind one,,, my expletives knowledge came from a different source,, the shed foreman and his various henchmen at Doncaster works.

We weren't vandalising anything but we did have a manic desire to get a few more cops in the Ian Allans compendium,,,, oh happy days,,, but looking back for sure it was hazardous but luckily long before the days of "Def by Elf & Safety"

The granite sets are from Wills,,,, I toyed with the idea of modelling clay and scriber but the deadline for the next show got the better of me once again,,,, I started off by trying to get the "grain" all going the same way but quickly realised it was going to cost me a fortune,,, compared with a cost effective mix n match approach!!.

Luckily where the shops are is about 3 feet from the viewing public and so hopefully not as noticeable when compared with a quality camera about 4 inches away.

Another of westerners shots and perhaps my personal favourite,,, it shows the foothills of the pennines just how I remember them.

The older trams really did "grind" up the hillier routes. 

I also get rather frustrated with the tram as it was added as a novelty,,,, but it generates more questions at shows than anything else.

I know very little about trams apart from Sheffields solar powered versions!!!

I know this pic has been on RMweb before and I apologise for that.

 

SAD

expic5.jpg

 

Good grief. This has taken railway modelling to another level all together !

 

Absolutely stunning stuff.

[KNP]

There's some real class modelling turning up on this thread.

 

Better get my finger out !

 

Cheers.

 

Allan

Edited August 13, 2016 by KNP

[KNP]

Have only just found this thread and have to congratulate everyone for posting pics of some pretty wonderful buildings.

 

I suppose mine don't really qualify as scratchbuilt as they started life as Howard Scenics terraces,,, but then I decided to make life interesting and put them on a hill.

I used their brickpapers and templates but fitted my own windows as they are pretty close to public scrutiny at exhibitions.

 

I thought they would be a "quick" way of covering the fiddle yard,,,, that was until I got started,,,,, approx 9 months later they were still driving me potty.

But worth it in the end as they generate a lot of interesting conversations,,,, usually " I was born in one of them" reply "you and me both"

 

I just wish I had found Captain Kernows efforts before I started,,,,, what a benchmark to follow.

 

Melksham 5.JPGMelksham 2.JPGMelksham 3.JPG

 

Many thanks to Captain Kernow for the inspiration to get mine finished,,, eventually,,, and to "westerner" for the photo's.

 

SAD

 

Effective and well the worth the time it took to complete

 

Kevin

[MrSimon]

This is a great thread, thanks for sharing everyone - lots of inspiration and plenty of food for thought!

 

Here are a few of the buildings I've scratch-built for my N gauge layout:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I should really hurry up and get the layout finished!

 

Cheers

Simon

Edited August 13, 2016 by MrSimon

[KNP]

Looking through my archives I found this poor quality picture of the creamery!!!!!!!

Or is it........?

 

Kevin

Edited August 14, 2016 by KNP

[salmonpastures]

Effective and well the worth the time it took to complete

 

Kevin

Kevin, Allan,

Many thanks for your encouragement, & it really is appreciated.

The considerable number of winter nights in a luke warm shed suddenly become worthwhile.

For me a hobby has to be enjoyable otherwise why do it,,,,, but there are times where I question my "enjoyment level".

Forums such as this are a wonderful way of improving your skills and taking on different perspectives/approaches.

Long may it continue and thanks to all for contributing.

 

SAD

[salmonpastures]

This is a great thread, thanks for sharing everyone - lots of inspiration and plenty of food for thought!

 

Here are a few of the buildings I've scratch-built for my N gauge layout:

 

 

I should really hurry up and get the layout finished!

 

Cheers

Simon

Full credit to you Simon,,,, you are achieving 4mm levels of detail whilst actually modelling in 2mm.

Not easy,,, particularly with an urban landscape. 

Lovely modelling sir.

 

SAD

[allan downes]

I tried N gauge modelling once and a Graham Farish loco put me off forever !

 

Allan.