My First N Gauge Scalescenes Kit

[David41283]

Hi everyone,

 

I have just about finished my first N gauge scalescenes kit.

 

I had previously downloaded their 00 signs and some textures, but this is my first go at the smaller scale and doing the kit "properly".

 

Reading this forum, I have read loads of comments and suggestions, so decided to put many of them to the test.....

 

Like most people (I assume) I only have a humble inkjet printer at home, so I was fortunate to have the opportunity to tag a personal print job onto the end of a bigger job for work at a professional printing firm. (paid for separately should my employers ever read this, although I did benefit from a corporate bulk rate!). I asked the printer to do two copies of the kit - one copy onto good quality paper and a second onto A4 self-adhesive labels.

 

I found both had their advantages - the self-adhesive labels were best for laminating the large pieces onto the card, also signs and fine details worked well with the labels, as did the strips of roof tiles. Any part which required wrapping or bending was better with glue, as the moistness of the glue made the paper more pliable, there was scope for adjustment and the final grip was stronger.

Self adhesive labels were far better for glazing elements.

 

I quickly found that the damp cloth to clean your fingers is probably the single most important tool!

 

Interestingly, from advice on here, I found that carefully cutting without a steel rule was far easier and gave a better result than trying to use the steel rule for small parts, you definitely need the straightedge for the larger "structural" parts, but anything smaller was far better done freehand, albeit very carefully.

 

I only used one (brand new) scalpel blade for this kit, but did sharpen it with a sharpening steel a couple of times during the build.

 

I used a lot of artist's fixative, which unfortunately caused the felt-tip I had used on a couple of bare edges to run, but this isn't too visible. I am not sure of the necessity of this.

 

I'm sure there are other points I will recall once I click "post", but here are the pictures:

 

Railway cottages:

 

 

I've still got fences, bins, washing lines etc to add, but I am pretty pleased with these, and extremely impressed with Scalescenes design.

 

Thanks

 

David

 

 

 

 

[Gloucester Road]

Thats come out nicely

[Chubber]

I like this model, one of JW's best in that it can be made as simply as you want, and with care a single pair of cottages, built 'on a hill' and is shallow enough for an backscene building, and the free rendered alternative in each texture makes a nice change from its neighbour.

 

Interesting you should prefer not to use a straight edge, I can't do without one, but for smaller stuff now use short pieces of a broken clear plastic ruler as I can see more easily where to start and stop a cut, wish I had thought of it before.

 

Like all the N gaugers here, I admire your dexterity, having tried it, its toooooo smallfor me!

 

Doug

[Peppercorn]

Very nice build.

Cliff H

[David41283]

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for the recent comments and likes - the notifications have drawn me back to this thread, and I realise I never finished it off with pictures of the completed cottages, ready for embedding into the layout.

 

Since the last photo fences, bins, lamp posts and other bits have been added, I also reduced the height of the chimneys to fit in the extremely tight spot these will occupy on the layout.

 

All the final bits were white metal castings picked up from the "rummage box" at my local model shop.

 

There is no fence at the bottom of the gardens, as this will be the railway boundary fence and will be added once they are permanently in situ.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

David