Looking to scratch build an N scale elevator from plans in RMC. The original plans are in HO (although printed in full-size N) and use Campbell’s corrugated steel sheet.
I plan to use Evergreen styrene materials, what should I use to simulate the corrugated steel?
I would like to also get the look of overlapping sheets, very much as if the elevator was built with wood and later on re-sided with the corrugated sheet. My idea was to cut out individual panels and have then slightly overlapped.
Is there an easier way to do this, especially in N scale?
What were standard size sheets back in the 50’s?
IIRC the construction was done in styrene and then covered in the Campbell’s sheet.
Would this work good in N scale with all styrene also?
Could I also just make the walls and such straight from the Evergreen corrugated styrene sheet?
One change I think I would like to make is the elevator in the article has an office/warehouse structure that is directly connected with the elevator from the same Campbells corrugated sheet. I would like to also do this, but have the warehouse/office made with wood siding. I may just buy a laser-cut wood kit and kitbash the warehouse, but am also looking into scratch building it.
What siding style and sizing would be appropriate for the warehouse if it was added on during the 40’s
Given that it’s Wednesday and you posted on Sunday, I will try a general response and hope it’s helpful. My rules in scratchbuilding are more or less as follows:
Start with plans if you can get them and size accordingly. A good ruler, divider and compass help a lot in transferring or originating dimensions.
If no plans, use a photo and scale it. In scaling it try to get check a feature that is not shot at an angle and therefore may be skewed.
Outside of museum quality attempts I mainly try to match the photos and don’t over sweat the small stuff.
We used as best I can recall 2 x 8’ to 10’ sheets of corrugated sheets back in the ‘50s on our barns, etc–it’s the same as today so I just checked and it’s 27.5" and leaves 2 feet after overlap. Available up to 20’ length. This has the corrugation dimensions.
One of my pet peeves is that some modelers way overdo the seam effects on corrugated material. Even a lot of the kit manufacturers have the effect way out of proportion with what a scale seam (even a dilapidated one) would look like. A corrugated roof with that much gap between the panels would have blown off years ago.
As far as simulating the corregated panels, several companies offer N scale styrene sheets.
The problem with styrene is that it is way to thick to simulate a seam by overlapping two sheets. I have used styrene in HO scale and to suggest seams I simply scribed lines across the corregations with a #11 blade. The joints are subtle but quite visible if you don’t overdo the paint.
I couldn’t find N scale aluminum corrugated sheets from Campbell, only HO. I’m not sure how the HO scale sheets would look in N scale but it could have the effect of making the structure look toy-like.
The other problem with aluminum is that it requires a very gentle approach to avoid distorting the sheets. I did what you are suggesting by cutting out individual panels from HO Campbells sheets but just cutting the sheet caused it to curl a bit, making it nearly impossible to to get tight fitting seams. It also dints very easily. Maybe someone can suggest a method of cutting it that will leave the pieces flat.
Here is my HO scale roof. I am not happy with it and plan to do it over in styrene:
Printed paper textures can be very effective in N scale (and in larger scales too). For example Clever sells several variations of corrigated steel as well as many other tectures:
The building looks good to me hon! Your roof seams aren’t staggered, but oh well just get some J B Weld for the leaks.
The printed paper method is pretty appealing to me. Did think of it, although I would need to buy a printer, and I know many of the articles about using printed paper say to use a quality ink-jet printer. Could use it for decals though.
Since you plan is already “N” get an 18" square of table top glass place that over copy of plan.make your sides over the plan that way they are hopefully the right size.
You could use evergreen “N” corrugated iron sheet to cut out the whole side the sheet overlap would be so small your not likely to see it unless you exaggerate it to the point the wall would leak. I would suggest making a thick styrene core for the structure then sticking the iron and other details on as overlays cut larger holes in the core box for doors and windows so its not obvious the the walls are real thick for robustness.
You could do the whole thing out of styrene get doors and windows before cutting holes for them if using commercially made ones. Assembling the structure the said glass plate is ideal for building on as with a square you can make all the walls vertical the glass giving the level base to work on.
The absense of staggered seams shows my lack of knowledge of steel roofing. I feel a bit stupid about that since I spent 15 years selling asphalt shingles for a living where offsetting the shingles was essential. [D)]
I still say my roof is way too rough. The building is loosley modeled on the shops at the East Broad Top Railway. When you look at the corrugated roofing on their shops, despite the age, there are few if any gaps between the sheets and almost no dints or bends in the roofing. Here is one example.
I think that this is an example of where you should model your own preferences and forget about the naysayers. If you like the texture of my shop roof go for it! Me, I find it to be distracting so I will redo it to suit my idea of what looks appropriate.
Over the years I’ve seen many attmpts to simulate corrugated material and was not impressed with any. I think campbell comes closest but since you are in N scale that may not work.
Based on an article I read I built a jig to press aluminum foil (Heavy Duty) between two pieces of ribbon cable used in the computer industry. There are two sizes, one 36 conductor and one 72 conductor or there abouts. Arranged one piece above the other, on a firm flat surface, place a piece of foil between them and press them firmly together. I use a round piece of steel bar as a roller.
The 72 conductor cable will make, to my old eyes, a fair representation of N sca corrugation.
If you cut the foil to size before you roll it there won’t be any distortion by trimming afterwords.
This may not be too clear so if any one is interested, contact me and I’ll try to put together some photos.
I don’t recall ever seeing staggered seams with corrugated roofing, and that includes on barns and large industrial structures. No reason, I suppose, why they couldn’t be, but not really necessary.
In small scales, you can use styrene panels with a corrugated surface - apply them to a roof or wall as a single piece, after first lightly scribing the horizontal joint-lines across the sheet. When you paint the structure, apply a base colour to the entire sheet first, then mix a similar but slightly lighter or darker version of the same colour. Starting at the bottom, use a piece of paper to shield all but the bottom-most course and lightly airbrush the top of the exposed area. Move the paper up one course and repeat, until the entire wall or roof has been done. This subtle shading will give the impression of individual rows of cladding without making the structure look dilapidated. You can add subtle rust effects in the same manner simply by using the proper colour. To keep from overdoing it, thin your paint much more severely than you normally would - I use up to 90% thinner, which allows you to build-up the weathering effects gradually. It’s always easier to add more than it is to remove too much.
When working with Campbell or homemade foil sheets, I first determine how many strips of siding will be required, then use a stiff brush to apply gelled contact cement to the long strips of material. While the cement is drying (most brands recommend 15 minutes or so, but allow 2 or 3 hours working time) I spread some newspaper atop the workbench, and set-up my NWSL Chopper to cut the required width. I use a sheet of .015" aluminum under the blade to ensure a cleaner cut than would be possible on the Chopper’s Masonite surface.
Once the contact cement has dried, it can be handled without difficulty, but you must be careful to place each cut-off piece on the newspaper so that it cannot touch any other piece -
