I think there’s a ton of interest in scratchbuilding, but a lot of people don’t think they can do it, so they never try, or they try once, and the result doesn’t look as good as the stuff they see in MR, and maybe isn’t quite as realistic as a cheap plastic kit (though it’s usually no less realistic than many $500 kits {/snide}), and so they get discouraged and don’t think they can do it.
Most anybody can build a presentable model. All you have to do is keep trying.
Here, take a look at a pair of houses I built. Guess which one was the 3rd and which was the 20th.
You can see I’ve got a long way to go yet, but what hasn’t changed is how fun they were to build, and how proud I feel, looking at the finished product.
WOW - there is a classy response. No wonder I’ve been a member of this board for several years and have very few posts. I did not mean to offend you, but obviously I did. You must be one of the ones that put 2 pieces of something together and calls it scratchbuilt.
I scratchbuilt this HO scale machine shop many years ago. I wanted the interior well detailed so I could take photos like this. There wasn’t anything remotely like it available at the time (nor since), and it was an excercise in model building for me. The structure was made board by weathered board, and the large shop machines were scratchbuilt from styrene sheet, shapes, and other parts. It was an enjoyable project and I’ve gotten a lot of use out of it since. Can’t say that about a pre-made structure!
It wasn’t my intention to start a flame war here with the original comments & questions. We probably all have a different understanding of “scratchbuilding,” and I’d guess that none of them are 100% right or 100% wrong.
The degree of complexity doesn’t have anything to do with the definition either… if I make a scratchbuilt pallet out of toothpicks, it is just as scratchbuilt as the guy who builds a scale 300’ trestle out of sticks he found in his backyard. The project is by far more complex but not “more scratchbuilt…” at least in my way of thinking.
Define scratchbuilding any way you want to but that definition doesn’t have to apply to everyone else. If you develop your own plans, your own ideas or even your own materials, it still sounds like scratchbuilding to me.
I built my CN Wedge Plow from scratch because no commercial model of the prototype is available. Although it’s not totally accurate I like it and it gave me the chance to practice some techniques I hadn’t used before.[:)]
I had just got done quipping to cf-7 and I immediately encountered your response. I drooled for five minutes; outstanding modeling there podnah. Most of my scratchbuilding has been done with wood; one day in the future I’m going to give brass a turn.
cf-7 grows his own trees and mills his own lumber; I was wondering if you forged your own copper and zinc.
Reminds me a bit of the story of the guy who visited a toothpick factory in the Ozarks. What he found on the tour was a series of mile long concrete lined ditches. Making the toothpicks consisted of rolling limbed trees into the ditches and letting them roll back and forth from rim to rim until the concrete had sanded the tree into a toothpick; then they did it all again.
Nice plow! I’m a plow enthusiast too, and have kitbashed many versions of CN and CP plows, but not this one. I wanted a double ended CN plow model like they have at the Salem & Hillsborough Railroad in NB, so I had to scratchbuild one:
Scratchbuilding rolling stock is harder than structures because you need to be a whole lot more precise, no faking it. I was able to see, photograph and measure the prototype of my plow at the above noted railway museum.
As a matter of fact, yes I do! I planted 2 live oaks in the backyard this summer. Maybe by 2025, I’ll have myself some decent lumber to build a very small HO or N building with. Just kiddin’, of course!
R.T. - nothing against you, but this is one of those topics that can mean a lot of different things to different people. No one is right or wrong here.
For some reason these discussions always catch the attention of the “holier than thou” set…
Although I agree that Driline’s structure is more a bash from available components than a scratch project. That doesn’t diminish the fact that he has created a unique building that captures the essence of the prototype.
Here’s my take on it…
Kitbash - Taking parts from available kits and modifying or combining them to create a structure that’s significantly different from the original kit. I would include building from modular components in this definition.
i.e.
which got bashed into this:
To me, scratchbuilding involves using various materials, including commercially available sidings, shapes and detail parts to construct a completely unique structure based on plans that are either published or self-generated.
i.e.
Everything else is shades of gray. Of course, your results may vary…
A model is considered “scratchbuilt” if at least 90% of the model’s pieces/parts (other than those specifically exempted in the list above) are fabricated by the modeler. This is a quantitative assessment based on the number of pieces with no weight given to complexity. This is a separate determination from the scratch building score.
If some points of the exempted parts are also scratchbuilt, the modeler may qualify for Bonus Points (see definition above)
The term “scratchbuilt” carries the implication that the builder alone has accomplished all of the necessary layout and fabrication which establish the final dimensions, appearance, and operating qualities of the scale model."
In this scene the house, barn, and the Aermotor water pump are kits. The tractor is an athearn Waterloo Boy. The milkhouse (springhouse), silo, and silo blower/chopper w/ pipe are all scratchbuilt and should meet the NMRA definition. Only the wheels on the blower were from a horse drawn wagon, and the roofing used on the silo and the milkhouse is from the barn kit.
The Basic Wood, Metal and Plastic shapes seems to cover me, although I do use commercial window castings. But that’s because I’m in N scale, and I’m not THAT patient.
Just thought I would post an “official” definition…[;)] That is the one that I have to work by to have a model qualify for Merit Points. BTW, you folks that scratchbuild in ‘n’ scale have my deepest admiration. Some of the wok that I have seen done in that scale just blows my mind!
Non sequitur. The way models are judged is only of interest to those who enter contests. To the rest of us, the criteria applied by the NMRA and similar organisations mean nothing at all. We define our own models, not contest judges
I’ve spent hundreds of hours on scratchbuilt projects, and I don’t agree with you at all. I don’t care who uses the term scratchbuilt, or how they throw it around. It doesn’t take anything away from my modelling.
But one that’s only relevant to the NMRA and its members. The rest of us are free to make our own definitions. My view is that a loco or car built according to the NMRA criteria is parts-built, not scratchbuilt!
Mark - That is why I clearly stated in the paragraph that I understand that a lot of folks don’t do the contest thing. I’m sorry that you don’t seem to understand.
What can I say: I’m also sorry you don’t agree with me, but that is your opinion. Just like I have my opinion.
I can see why so many are run off of these boards. If you state an opinion that isn’t the popular one, all people want to do is trash you. I am by no means an eliteist but after 35 years of modeling, contests, etc., I am pretty sure that I am entitled to have an opinion. I guess it is best that I just go back to lurking or modeling, which is more fun anyway…