A new craftsman kit on me.

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I picked up a cool looking British craftsman kit on eBay. It said it was styrene and I figured “How hard can it be?”

I opened it up and it was several sheets of textured styrene and a set of plans. They want me to cut the walls at a 45 degree angle so that the brick lines up.

I’ll build it, but I think I prefer wood.

Any ideas how to bevel styrene at a 45 degree angle so the bricks match?

2

Chip,

How big are your pieces? If you have one or know someone with a table saw, tape it to a piece of scrap wood, adjust the angle of the blade, and run it through. If the pieces are narrow enough, a miter saw would work, too.

Tom

3

I’d cut it a hair bigger and sand the edge at a 45. You can do it by hand if you’re careful, or make a jig. If you have access to a table saw you can cut the edge of a 2x4 at a 45, then clamp the styrene to it with the edge just past the wood. Then use a sanding block to run along the edge to sand it down- it won’t take as much as you think!

4

Don’t you just love the Brits!!!

The best way to work with this material is by hand. In otherwords, lay out a piece of sandpaper (240 grit or finer) on a sheet of glass. The glass is used to maintain true leveled surface. Then take a wall section, and draw it towards you across the paper at the desired angle. Work slowly (always starting at a higher angle) until you reach 45 degrees. I know this sounds time consumming, but you’ll love the results…

BTW you’re right… Wood is better!

Bob…

5

The pieces are about 3" x 6"

Thanks for the tip Areibel.

Here it is. It is really cool.


6

Chip,

The easy way to scratchbuild wraparound styrene “brick” detail is to butt joint the two pieces together, add a piece of styrene square stock to the inside of the joint for strength, and then to carve the mortar lines into the blank piece of styrene on the outside corner. It’s MUCH easier than trying to sand a 45 degree joint onto the edge of the styrene, especially if you plan on keeping the two parallel walls exactly the same length! (unless you sand both pieces at the same time, but you have to tack glue the pieces together if you don’t want them to move on you)

7

Hi Chip:

Several sheets of materials and a set of plans were what you got with the typical craftsman kit before the onslaught of the laser cut kit. That and a few tens of feet of either strip wood or styrene strip, depending on the main materials. This type of kit is an excellent introduction to the skills needed for scratchbuilding, as well as an antidote to the “got to get it finished and on the layout tonight” type of mentality. (Not that you need such an antidote. I’m just philosophising in general terms, here.)

Will’s is still a commonplace name in Great Britain, judging from my reading of British periodicals. Silmilar kits can still be obtained in the US, also. Campbell has a line of wooden kits that are still in production in HO, for instance.

Any kits available for On2 rolling stock ( my own interest) are almost exclusively of this type.

Once you’ve done one or two of this type of kit, you’re ready (and willing) to find a set of plans for some building or boxcar that you like, purchase the materials, and have a go at scratchbuilding. It’s a whale of a lot of fun.

-Ed

P.S. Forgot something. Here’s a link to a clinic on working with styrene brick, by Ken Spranza.

http://www.horailroad.com/clinic1/cl1_02.htm

Within this clinic, views of a partially completed brick chimney are at these two links:
http://www.horailroad.com/clinic1/cl1_22.htm
http://www.horailroad.com/clinic1/cl1_31.htm

8

I like the idea of cutting the mortar lines after glueing the walls together. But how about using a matte-board cutting tool? You know, the tool that cuts the 45-degree bevel in picture frame matte board?

Just a thought.

9

Ed,

Thanks. I have 6 Cambell’s kits, 12 Muir kits and a half-dozen other Craftsmen kits–all either wood or cardboard, or a combination. This one in styrene is new to me. I’m not as aftraid of it as it might seem, just the idea of cutting a wall at 45 degrees was a little daunting. I’m not really a slap it together kind of guy. A plain plastic model usually takes me a week or so to get the paint the way I like.

Roy,

While the challenge of cutting the 45 has some appeal, I’m not opposed to short cuts. Thanks for the tip. Unless, someone else comes up with something different…