Show us your scratchbuilt building

[alant]

Yes Scoobyra please share with us.

 

Alan.

Edited September 21, 2016 by alant

[KNP]

I was going to post a couple of pictures up of a bridge that I built but after looking through this thread, I'm not going to bother. How you guys can build such great models is unbelievable and to make them look so realistic is just beyond my comprehension!

 

Remarkable!

 

I totally agree with the comments made, we all have to start somewhere and a little constructive advise can go a long way.

Look forward to seeing the posts.

 

Kevin

[aBReal]

These overwhelming scratch-built buildings are bullying me! Wow, I could never do that good even if I tried my best 

[Revolution Mike B]

.....here's the bridge....

 

 

The brick arch has since been painted but I don't have a picture of it finished.

 

Mike

[Edwardian]

IMG_0001.jpgTo be honest Edwardian, I agree with you about the station building - and in fact it is actually scheduled to be the next item for replacement.

 

My original aim whwen building Orford was to get everything 'covered' as quickly as possible just to give it an appearance of overall 'completeness' (I don't like playing trains on 'bare boards') and the intention always was to go back over it later to replace many of the structures with something more prototypical/better. That process is now slowly but surely under way.

 

You mentioned the Goods Shed (more pictures below) and were kind enough to say you liked it (thanks) but in fact that building probably doesn't qualify for this thread at all, since technically it is not 'scratch built'.

 

I cheated and in fact it was just cobbled together over a weekend from two of these,

 

40175.jpg

 

together with a bit of Wills roofing, some Ratio downpipes and a bit of valance from York Model Making.  It does at least go to show that Metcalfe kits can at least provide a starting point. I used ALL the bits from both kits (roofs excepted) but almost all of the bits were either re-cut, re-shaped, patched and/or re-positioned to fit, as appropriate, including the various interior parts.

 

DSCF7926.JPG

 

DSCF7927.JPG

 

DSCF8090.JPG

 

DSCF8089.JPG

 

The model (within the constaints of the starting point) was loosely based on the shed at Aldeburgh in Suffolk (of which branch 'Orford' is supposed to be a ficticious extension).

 

IMG_0001.jpg

 

IMG_0002.jpg   

 

Well, I have seen Metcalfe kits form the basis of some very good model buildings, but your treatment of the goods shed is truly transformative.   I think it captures the look of a GE prototype very well.

 

I like Aldeburgh and I have decided that a version of it will do very well for Achingham on the West Norfolk Railway!

[grahame]

These overwhelming scratch-built buildings are bullying me! Wow, I could never do that good even if I tried my best 

You never know. You could probably do even better with a little time, practice, application and feedback. So look on what has been posted as inspiration and don't feel bullied (no one is trying to do that). And post away with your efforts.

 

G.

[aBReal]

I didn't mean it in a bad way(if that's even possible!). And I might soon be posting.

[stevejjjexcov]

I was going to post a couple of pictures up of a bridge that I built but after looking through this thread, I'm not going to bother. How you guys can build such great models is unbelievable and to make them look so realistic is just beyond my comprehension!

 

Remarkable!

[stevejjjexcov]

Scoobrya the bridge is fine. My goods shed looks ok to me but on close inspection there are a lot of mistakes (glazing bars for one)but the more we do the better we get. So keep on trying

[allan downes]

I can understand some folk who are just starting out to be overwhelmed by the standard of scratch building on this thread but we all had to start somewhere so instead of underestimating yourself keep on trying but, whatever you do, post ALL your efforts on here where all you'll get is nothing but encouragement from a group of really great and talented guys.

 

Now where's that windmill...

 

Allan

[Edwardian]

.....here's the bridge....

 

Bridge 2.jpg

 

The brick arch has since been painted but I don't have a picture of it finished.

 

Mike

 

Sorry, I missed this as I was evidently responding to Orford when you posted.

 

For my part, I don't think you have any cause for diffidence with this bridge. It is to a very good standard; to a standard not always achieved in exhibition layouts! 

 

It is an attractive design. It looks the part.  The stone courses and arches look realistic and the painting is subtle and effective.  It looks like a skew bridge, if so, not such an easy thing to pull off, but you evidently have.

 

I would be pleased and proud if I'd produced such a bridge for my layout!

 

It's a good bridge!

 

Well, I have seen Metcalfe kits form the basis of some very good model buildings, but your treatment of the goods shed is truly transformative.   I think it captures the look of a GE prototype very well.

 

I like Aldeburgh and I have decided that a version of it will do very well for Achingham on the West Norfolk Railway!

 

PS, I realise that the new goods shed is also in a new location. I hope we see more of Orford and its developments on RMWeb.

[Revolution Mike B]

Sorry, I missed this as I was evidently responding to Orford when you posted.

 

For my part, I don't think you have any cause for diffidence with this bridge. It is to a very good standard; to a standard not always achieved in exhibition layouts! 

 

It is an attractive design. It looks the part.  The stone courses and arches look realistic and the painting is subtle and effective.  It looks like a skew bridge, if so, not such an easy thing to pull off, but you evidently have.

 

I would be pleased and proud if I'd produced such a bridge for my layout!

 

It's a good bridge!

 

 

 

 

Thanks, I wasn't expecting a reply like that!, Yes it is a skew bridge and it's also lower on one side than the other. I've never built anything like this before but didn't have a lot of choice as there wasn't anything suitable for my layout. Unfortunately, the stones are wrong for the area I've modelled but unless I'd used the Wills stone sheets (which are a bit to thick for my modelling skills at present), I was unable to find anything else that would do the job.

 

Mike

[grahame]

.....here's the bridge....

 

Bridge 2.jpg

 

The brick arch has since been painted but I don't have a picture of it finished.

 

Mike

 

The bridge look very effective. The architecture is convincing and the design is complex (skewed and bowed road surface line) making it difficult to model but that has been achieved with aplomb.

 

G.

[salmonpastures]

Thanks, I wasn't expecting a reply like that!, Yes it is a skew bridge and it's also lower on one side than the other. I've never built anything like this before but didn't have a lot of choice as there wasn't anything suitable for my layout. Unfortunately, the stones are wrong for the area I've modelled but unless I'd used the Wills stone sheets (which are a bit to thick for my modelling skills at present), I was unable to find anything else that would do the job.

 

Mike,

 

 

 

Mike, 

I bet there are numerous people looking at your bridge thinking, "I wouldn't mind that at all".

That's your bridge and you built it to fit your layout.

NICE ONE

The really important thing is you have had a go,,, you may not be 100% happy with it but you can always improve it or replace it at some point in the future.

What was the old cycle wheel and stick analogy,,,,"once you've got going if you don't keep hitting the cycle wheel with the stick IT WILL fall over".

 

SAD 

Edited September 22, 2016 by salmonpastures

[orford]

.....here's the bridge....

 

Bridge 2.jpg

 

The brick arch has since been painted but I don't have a picture of it finished.

 

Mike

 

Well, Scoobyra - I took the liberty of copying your picture onto my PC and really blowing it up way beyond full size in order to really look at the detail. And I have to say I don't see much - correction, I don't see anything - wrong with that at all.

 

OK the underside of the arch is not 'stone' detailed BUT on the prototype natural blackening/sooting over the years would have pretty much covered all of that anyway and in 4mm scale that's certainly not going to notice at all. I would personally go with the brown-ish colour on the underside of the arch towards to two sides, and gradually go to almost black in the centre of the arch. Just experiment.

 

If you are modelling the steam era, maybe a bit of blackening (don't overdo it) up the sides on top of the arch and directly above the tracks where the smoke from countless locos would have caught it.

 

Another thing - any model structure only really starts to look the part when it is finally 'planted' into its surroundings and once that bridge is bedded into your scenery each side with a bit of vegetation/weeds, etc around the base I reckon it is going to look really good.

 

I would be perfectly happy with that if it was on my layout.

 

Well done.

 

Let's see another picture once you finally have it in place with the scenery around it. I reckon it will look great.

[orford]

Well, I have seen Metcalfe kits form the basis of some very good model buildings, but your treatment of the goods shed is truly transformative.   I think it captures the look of a GE prototype very well.

 

I like Aldeburgh and I have decided that a version of it will do very well for Achingham on the West Norfolk Railway!

 

Thanks for that. Yes - it was of course limited by the starting point and was never going to be an accurate model of the Aldeburgh shed but I think it captures the overall 'flavour' of the likes of Aldburgh, Saxmundham, Framlingham, Wickham, etc. sheds, all of which although quite different to each other, had a distinct family resemblance.

 

It's certainly better than the temporary Hornby resin one which it replaced anyway (see September 'RM'), which frankly looked anything but ex-GER.

 

And whilst I am at it Edwardian - from what I have seen so far of Castle Aching, that is looking rather good too and the buildings could not possibly be in any other part of the country. Just absolutely screams 'Norfolk'. Excellent stuff. Well done.

[Revolution Mike B]

Thanks SAD, I really appreciate your words of encouragement, especially as a newbie to modelling. 

 

I think the worst thing I find is that I lack patience and get quite frustrated when I can't get my head around stuff. There's a lot of really good modelling on here and I quite often think 'how the bloody hell did they do that?'. I've never really been one for reading books because I have the attention span of a Goldfish, therefore everything I do is self taught, or I ask people how they do things (some aren't quite as helpful as others - which I find quite odd) and try and replicate their skills. I saw a thread in which Allan (Downes) explained how he achieved the colour of his stonework and I'd have never thought of the techniques he used in a million years. 

 

As previously mentioned, yes, this bridge is skewed and slightly lower on one side. For anyone that's interested, this picture will show just how much skew is on the bridge........and for the record....I have absolutely no idea how I managed to build it!

 

 

Cheers

Mike

[Revolution Mike B]

Well, Scoobyra - I took the liberty of copying your picture onto my PC and really blowing it up way beyond full size in order to really look at the detail. And I have to say I don't see much - correction, I don't see anything - wrong with that at all.

 

OK the underside of the arch is not 'stone' detailed BUT on the prototype natural blackening/sooting over the years would have pretty much covered all of that anyway and in 4mm scale that's certainly not going to notice at all. I would personally go with the brown-ish colour on the underside of the arch towards to two sides, and gradually go to almost black in the centre of the arch. Just experiment.

 

If you are modelling the steam era, maybe a bit of blackening (don't overdo it) up the sides on top of the arch and directly above the tracks where the smoke from countless locos would have caught it.

 

Another thing - any model structure only really starts to look the part when it is finally 'planted' into its surroundings and once that bridge is bedded into your scenery each side with a bit of vegetation/weeds, etc around the base I reckon it is going to look really good.

 

I would be perfectly happy with that if it was on my layout.

 

Well done.

 

Let's see another picture once you finally have it in place with the scenery around it. I reckon it will look great.

 

Thanks Orford

 

There were a few things that needed finishing in that photo such as scribing the stones that separate the brick arch from the stone wall, and the coping stones really need the edges removing to hide where I've glued two strips of plasticard together.

 

I tried to copy a bridge that I found on the internet from Somerset and has light red bricks for the underside of the arch. My layout is set in the West Country for 2013 to present and there's still a lot of soot / discoloration present on quite a lot of the old stone / brick bridges so I figured I'd make the middle darker and then throw (literally) some weeds and ivy at it.

 

Cheers

Mike 

[Stubby47]

Thanks SAD, I really appreciate your words of encouragement, especially as a newbie to modelling. 

 

I think the worst thing I find is that I lack patience and get quite frustrated when I can't get my head around stuff. There's a lot of really good modelling on here and I quite often think 'how the bloody hell did they do that?'. I've never really been one for reading books because I have the attention span of a Goldfish, therefore everything I do is self taught, or I ask people how they do things (some aren't quite as helpful as others - which I find quite odd) and try and replicate their skills. I saw a thread in which Allan (Downes) explained how he achieved the colour of his stonework and I'd have never thought of the techniques he used in a million years. 

 

As previously mentioned, yes, this bridge is skewed and slightly lower on one side. For anyone that's interested, this picture will show just how much skew is on the bridge........and for the record....I have absolutely no idea how I managed to build it!

 

Skew Bridge.jpg

 

Cheers

Mike

 

I think when you've added the vegetation on and around the bridge it will blend into the scenery very well, which is what it supposed to do. Replicating real structures if always easier than scratchbuilding your own stuff - it's just a straight copy of what you see, using what ever you have to hand that.

 

Stu

[allan downes]

If Mike's bridge is anything to go by I can't wait to see the rest of the layout. Bit of a dark horse here guys !

 

Cheers.

 

Allan.

[orford]

Indeed, Allan.

 

If indeed this is his first layout then I can't wait to see more as it develops. Cant on the track curves for one thing. That is not usually the way of the novice - I still haven't got around to that in over 40 years of modelling, even with the scratch built track on the two layouts previous to Orford.

 

Mike - I do hope you are going to keep us posted on progress. Oh - and do ask if you want to. I think you will find that not many of us on here actually bite!

Edited September 22, 2016 by orford

[Revolution Mike B]

Wow! Thank you all very much for you kind words and support, and really unexpected too.

 

I think I suffer a bit from OCD and I have a very bad (or good, depending on your perspective) trait of needing things to look right and I'm trying to make things look as real as possible which I'm finding is pretty hard with my limited modelling experience. Whilst it may not be of much interest to the more senior members who like a bit of steam, please feel free to have a look at my layout thread (in my signature) and pass on any constructive criticisms you may have because I'm always open to learning things in order to improve my modelling skills. 

 

Apart from building a very large N Gauge club layout (which has yet to have any scenery), I've never done anything like this before in my life so to have people say that my bridge is good - well I'm a bit speechless...........and as for Allan Downes saying it looks ok......mate, have you missed your appointment at Specsavers?!

 

Cheers

Mike

[nick_bastable]

Wow! Thank you all very much for you kind words and support, and really unexpected too.

 

I think I suffer a bit from OCD and I have a very bad (or good, depending on your perspective) trait of needing things to look right and I'm trying to make things look as real as possible which I'm finding is pretty hard with my limited modelling experience. Whilst it may not be of much interest to the more senior members who like a bit of steam, please feel free to have a look at my layout thread (in my signature) and pass on any constructive criticisms you may have because I'm always open to learning things in order to improve my modelling skills. 

 

Apart from building a very large N Gauge club layout (which has yet to have any scenery), I've never done anything like this before in my life so to have people say that my bridge is good - well I'm a bit speechless...........and as for Allan Downes saying it looks ok......mate, have you missed your appointment at Specsavers?!

 

Cheers

Mike

we are all our own worse critic but that is how we improve

 

well done on the bridge 

 

Nick

[grahame]

I've now added all the windows, roof details, drain pipes and rocket to my version of the SER offices 'flat iron' building (which is currently being demolished). It's probably as far as I can go at the moment as there are other things that need to be done first, like building the viaduct, to make any more progress:

 

 

 

 

 

G.

[Revolution Mike B]

I've now added all the windows, roof details, drain pipes and rocket to my version of the SER offices 'flat iron' building (which is currently being demolished). It's probably as far as I can go at the moment as there are other things that need to be done first, like building the viaduct, to make any more progress:

 

 

 

 

 

G.

 

Now this is exactly what I meant earlier by looking at things and being totally gobsmacked!

 

How on earth do you go about building something like this Grahame??