i was just trying to find a few ways to make buildings for a small o gauge layout from scratch, or other relatively inexspensive ways to add detail to a layout.
Thanks
I have made some buildings out of 1/8" wood for walls and roofs. I have also started using matte board (I got mine at Michaels crafts. Just ask for scraps of matte board and the price was right - FREE!). As for ground cover - I mixed some fine sawdust with water and paint and let it dry for a few days on newspaper. I have a couple of hills carved out of 2" styrofoam. I just painted it with tan latex paint and then sprinkled the painted sawdust on the wet paint. It looks great.
On another site’ I’ve seen a guy use cereal boxes turned inside out!
Make whatever building the size you want & draw in any detail. Cut out the windows. When that is completed, use any material you can find to simulate the effect you are looking for. You could always use a paint program to color in some areas & paste it to the cardboard. Then you have a pattern before cutting any styrene or wood & make all the changes you want cheaply!
I have found that the trick in using drawing programs is to think in terms of what shape things are & then apply a color to the surface to get closer to what you need.
Have fun model railroading
I have as much fun building structures from scratch as i do running trains. I get a lot of ideas from Model Railroader. Some tips I have picked up over the years.
- buy a box of coffee stir sticks. I bought a whole case of 10 thousand for 20 bucks. They are perfect for wooden siding, fences, or scale lumber etc… …
- use foam board. sometimes called sturdy board. its cheap comes in colors and available at walmart or office supply stores. Cuts easily with a straight edge razor blade, is very strong and light. I’m using it right now to build a new coal tipple for my layout.
- another siding tip. buy a sheet of the evergreen styrene “metal siding” .100" spacing. I found it too expensive to use extensively so I buy heavy duty reynolds wrap…and use the plastic sheet as a form. I press the aluminum foil into the plastic sheet using a piece of balsa. A little grey spray paint and you’ve got a scale piece of metal siding…and it really is metal. Glue it on with goop.
- use your own dirt. Sift it with an old tea strainer. Glue it down with elmers white glue and water.
- I use old artificial christmas trees to make trees for my layout. A little bending and twisting and cutting and you can turn out hundreds from one throw away tree. I finish em off by gluing some woodland scenic folage on them.
- For roads…consider old roofing shingles. I flip em over to the smooth side…trim with tin snips and glue em down with elmers.
- i use a lot of blue foam board to create hills and mountains. for steep mountains…ie where you want a mountain but only have four or five inches for a base…nothing beats 1/4 inch plywood, a double layer of screen wire and paster of paris with a little joint compound mixed in.
John
i was just trying to find a few ways to make buildings for a small o gauge layout from scratch, or other relatively inexspensive ways to add detail to a layout.
Thanks
I have made some buildings out of 1/8" wood for walls and roofs. I have also started using matte board (I got mine at Michaels crafts. Just ask for scraps of matte board and the price was right - FREE!). As for ground cover - I mixed some fine sawdust with water and paint and let it dry for a few days on newspaper. I have a couple of hills carved out of 2" styrofoam. I just painted it with tan latex paint and then sprinkled the painted sawdust on the wet paint. It looks great.
On another site’ I’ve seen a guy use cereal boxes turned inside out!
Make whatever building the size you want & draw in any detail. Cut out the windows. When that is completed, use any material you can find to simulate the effect you are looking for. You could always use a paint program to color in some areas & paste it to the cardboard. Then you have a pattern before cutting any styrene or wood & make all the changes you want cheaply!
I have found that the trick in using drawing programs is to think in terms of what shape things are & then apply a color to the surface to get closer to what you need.
Have fun model railroading
I have as much fun building structures from scratch as i do running trains. I get a lot of ideas from Model Railroader. Some tips I have picked up over the years.
- buy a box of coffee stir sticks. I bought a whole case of 10 thousand for 20 bucks. They are perfect for wooden siding, fences, or scale lumber etc… …
- use foam board. sometimes called sturdy board. its cheap comes in colors and available at walmart or office supply stores. Cuts easily with a straight edge razor blade, is very strong and light. I’m using it right now to build a new coal tipple for my layout.
- another siding tip. buy a sheet of the evergreen styrene “metal siding” .100" spacing. I found it too expensive to use extensively so I buy heavy duty reynolds wrap…and use the plastic sheet as a form. I press the aluminum foil into the plastic sheet using a piece of balsa. A little grey spray paint and you’ve got a scale piece of metal siding…and it really is metal. Glue it on with goop.
- use your own dirt. Sift it with an old tea strainer. Glue it down with elmers white glue and water.
- I use old artificial christmas trees to make trees for my layout. A little bending and twisting and cutting and you can turn out hundreds from one throw away tree. I finish em off by gluing some woodland scenic folage on them.
- For roads…consider old roofing shingles. I flip em over to the smooth side…trim with tin snips and glue em down with elmers.
- i use a lot of blue foam board to create hills and mountains. for steep mountains…ie where you want a mountain but only have four or five inches for a base…nothing beats 1/4 inch plywood, a double layer of screen wire and paster of paris with a little joint compound mixed in.
John