I have just assumed that I would build it out of foam. I have a miniture replica of Hogwarts and I plan to get a general idea of scale by finding a scene from the movies where people are standing in the front arch and use an HO scale man to find the height of the arch. Then I will use that ratio to determine the size that the HO model needs to be. I’ll then draw 4 elevations and a top view. That’s the easy part. Also easy is painting.
The problem is materials.Hogwarts is basically square with round towers and concave conical roofs. I’m assuming I can shape foam and get the right dimentions, but foam is pourous (did I spell that right?) How do I get a decent finish on it.
I’m toying with the idea of using wood shavings from a planer to make shingles.
I’m not set on anything yet and welcome all suggestions.
You might look for inspiration by checking in your neck of the woods for a store that specializes in miniatures wargaming and/or roleplaying games–fantasy wargames like WARHAMMER often involve things like castles and towers, and there are some companies that produce components for folks to prop their miniatures on. Check your local phone book for gaming shops or comic shops (some comic shops also sell gaming items.) If they don’t actually have the components they may be able to point you in the right direction.
You will probably have to use a lot of “selective compression” to be able to fit a model of the Hogwarts campus onto your 4x8–in most cases, large buildings like that must be represented by structures that are much smaller than the one being modeled, to avoid having them totally dwarf the trains and our layout spaces.
I will check around. I live in Sticksville. Pittsburgh is an hour + away and I might have to take a road trip.
The small model I have is a compression of sorts. Although I might set Hogwarts on the 4x8, everyone in the house knows that it is going on the 12 x 12 layout. Still, once I determine scale, we’ll see just how big this monster is going to be.
Do a web search for Games Workshop, the company that makes Warhammer and several other games. They’re one of the most professional and helpful modeling companies anywhere, partially because they want to sell their stuff, and partially because their target customers are 13-25. Their staff of professional painters and modelers put 90% of what model railroaders do to shame.
As for modeling Hogwarts, I’d go with plastic over foamcore, Strathmore or cardboard. Paper products will slightly ease carving the stonework detail in (instead of laminating stone sheet to a plastic core), and might be less expensive, but the model won’t last nearly as long (you’ve got kids, yes?), and it’s MUCH harder to curve thicker foamcore or Strathmore board.
You can find 4’x8’ sheets of .060" (and other sized) plastic through the Yellow Pages for virtually no money (like $20 a sheet). As for stonework to cover the basic plastic core, Plastructand a couple of other suppliers sell thin plastic sheeting that will fit the bill. Tichy and Grandt Line make windows that will work.
Hogwarts is HUGE…how about just modeling the train station, maybe the dock, and have the Castle painted on the backdrop? This way, instead of compressing the Castle down so much, you could do a detailed station and Hagrids dock with the boats and a bit of lake…Also, since your doing HO scale, get an O scale figure to represent Hagrid !
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Check the Forums there and look at the “Post your own Pictures” folder to see some truly inspiring model castles and terrain.
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Wow! That has excellent possibilities. Probably heavy though.
Train1725,
I just talked to my daughter who is the driving force behind Hogwarts. She really wants to build it. But since it has to fit inside an 18" circle of track and look right, she agreed that if it was too big, her mom could paint it.
Rub spakling paste (used for filling nail holes in drywall) on the foam and sanding it smooth. I assume you are using something equivalent to blue or pink insulating foam.
For shingles, cut strips of paper bag about a 1/2 in wide and then cut about half way through the strip every 1/8-3/16 in. Glue the strips to the roof for shingles.
Gee Thanks Spacemouse! I had allready told my sixteen year old Daughter that it would be to hard to model Hogwarts, and now she is looking at this over my shoulder! LOL
