Simon recently gave us an excellent pic tutorial on building a wood model building.
As a kid, I built scratch buildings out of balsa and matchsticks. (not necessarily very good! [;)], but for a kid…ha ha ) {They dont survive very well when not packed well and they warped}.
Now I avoid wood because of those problems, and have only built/kitbashed plastic.
If I can find some cheap wood kits, I may try them. $60, $80, $100 or more a kit is steep for me for now, but later when I’m done buying track and rollingstock…
SO I wondered…how many of you build ONLY wood or ONLY plastic kits???
Plasticman> Plastic can be made to look just like wood if carefully aged etc. (True.)
Woody> Plastic has to be carefully aged etc. in order to look just like wood. (also true)
We never get anywhere.
Balsa wood is pretty soft, but doesn’t have to be warp-prone if you brace it well enough.
I don’t really restrict myself on materials. In scratchbuilding, I use balsa and basswood, cardboard, and paper, because I can get these materials locally, and because I like working with them. Wood is just a nice material to work with, somehow. But I have nothing at all against plastic structure kits or plastic scratchbuilding. In fact, I’ve put together some $15 plastic kits, but not one $60 laser-cut wood kit. I wonder why this could be?
Maybe there are some things nicer to do with various materials. I’d hate to build up a steel truss bridge out of folded card, though it can be done, and I’ve even tried to do it once. On the other hand, I think it would be just plain silly to make a rough wooden trestle out of styrene rod.
I think it’s great that model railroading, unlike other hobbies, hasn’t really restricted itself historically to any one material.
One of my all-time favorite MR articles was on building a feedmill complex with two buildings and a loading dock. It used a variety of techniques, and was very interesting and inspiring reading. “Jacobs Feed & Grain”, I think it was called.
I build both. It depends on what I need as I tend to only build what I need for the layout. I have built a lot of Walthers and DPM kits in plastic. Also several wooden kits by JL Innovative and others of that type. I prefer building wood kits but do not limit myself to them. I will also scratch build in wood and or plastic or even both.
I’ve built both and like both mediums. They each have their advantages.
You don’t have to spend a lot of $$$ for a good kit. Some of the older wooden kits (e.g. Alexander Scale Models, Sunset, etc.) - even though the parts are “punched” - can still yield a very nice product.
On some of the older kits, I have needed to correct a few misalignment problems. However, just take your time putting them together and enjoy the journey. [:)]
Since I don’t build in ONLY wood or plastic, I suppose I shouldn’t be answering the question. Barring that, I’ll say that I build almost totally in plastic. I like that it is stable during humidity changes–doesn’t warp day-to-day, that there is no grain, and that it bonds up almost instantly with MEK. I feel that the grain in wood is only suitable for rough wood surfaces such as flat car decks, ties, and trestles. I know that the wood can be sealed, and I do if appropriate, but it’s a time consuming step that is not needed for plastic. Some kits in wood that I’ve run into I just go ahead and build–it’s kind of different for a change and not the end of the world. Other wood kits, for example some old Ambroid cars, I find easier to build out of plastic on a one-for-one part replacement. I may end up with an un-built kit afterwards, at least if I find replacement decals. For one boxcar, I ended up using the cast metal ends, so the kit was no more; but for a Trailer Train bulkhead flat, the car’s built and the kit’s still around here somewhere.
I’ll note that most of my work is in modern rolling stock (read steel) where plastic is especially appropriate.
I’ll also not that I work in building construction and far prefer wood 2x4’s over steel, so I’m not inately agin wood.
I build out of whatever seems to be the most appropriate material immediately available.
As for preassembled, kit, kitbash or scratch, I am the ultimate pragmatist - “If it works, it’s good.”
Preassembled - a metal water tower.
Kit (to be built as designed) - a plastic five-tiered pagoda.
Kit (to be bashed) - a well-known industrial structure, part of which (detached from the rest) will become the coaling station at Tomikawa. The rest will undergo MAJOR surgery, hopefully to emerge as a recognizable facsimile of the coal; mining complex at Shime, Fukuoka-ken.
Scratch - numerous bridges, small structures, the vertical elevator at the main coal mine and the Tomikawa main passenger terminal. Materials will range from card stock to hydrocal - whatever is appropriate for the job at hand. (The prototype for that mine elevator is a poured concrete monolith!)
To me, there is no THIS v. THAT. It’s, WHATEVER WORKS.
I just completed two laser cut wood kits, the Blair Line N Fred’s and Red’s Cafe and the Branchline N Drayton Kit. It was a lot different from the Walters and DPM plastic kits. I was pleased with the results, although I did break some parts. I found that you really have to think ahead because they are shown in exploded view and they don’t necessarily go together that way. I think they look more real than the plastic, but they are fragile. They were simple kits and I’m glad I started with them first, because I needed the practice before tackling some larger stuff.
Actually, I have found that the warping of wood pieces can be virtually eliminated by using an acrylic sealant on BOTH sides before you paint, and a flat acrylic varnish after painting (again, both sides).
However, I have a good mix of wood and plastic structures, both kits and scratchbuilt. One of the scratchbuilt ones even mixes wood and plastic parts.
I’ve got numerous wooden rolling stock that I’ve built out of wooden kits over the years(Ambroid, Silver Streak), and they’re running on my railroad right along with the more super-detailed plastic kits. I like them, I have a residual affection for them. Lately, I built a C-30 wood SP caboose kit from a craftsman kit and I enjoyed every moment of it. Before that, I built a wooden sand-house kit that it turned out I couldn’t use–not because it was wood, but it didn’t fit in my model railroad scheme–and gave it to my grand-nephew for his model railroad. But I enjoyed doing the construction.
Frankly, I think it’s what you want and what works BEST for your model railroad. Most of my structures are plastic, but that doesn’t mean that if a wood kit was available for what I wanted I wouldn’t pass it by. I’ve been model railroading since the 1950’s, and wood has served me very well. But then again, so does Styrene. It’s all a matter of personal choice, IMO, not a matter of what is ‘better’. When it boils down to it, it’s all a matter of what works for YOU.
I probably prefer plastic, but wood is fine. Some are much better than others. I am building the Boyd lumber camp, which is basically a bunch of sticks and metal castings and a picture. I am surprised that it is turning out as well as it is. I have built several etched brass kits [gazebo and forest ranger tower recently], and they look great but are a pain to do. I hate CA and constantly glue my fingers together. I don’t like resin kits, and I refuse to have any hydrocal on the layout, either structures or scenery.
