I’ll keep this one simple: Post a picture of the scratchbuilt or kitbash project you’re the most proud of.
For me it’s two. One is scratchbuilt from plans provided by the state DOT for an old bridge.
It’s good enough that when I showed a picture of it to a high school classmate of mine, he commented that it looked exactly like some that are currently being removed in the area. (The prototypes were built in the 1950s and 1960s.) Edit: Forgot to mention that he is the head of the local highway office.
The second group are shown in this:
The big building is a kitbash of three DPM Laube Linen Mill kits with lots of added detail. (Forgot to mention that I ended up with a scar on my left index finger from this project.) The other kitbash is the ramp hiding in the back. That used the two ramps from the Walthers Team Track kit. The inspiration for that came from a prototype ramp in my hometown.
Here is a kitbashed / scratchbuilt model of my Grandmother’s house in Anna, Illinois. I had many enjoyable weeks there in the '50s, with a good portion of the fun being able to watch the Illinois Central trains on the 4 tracks just across from her property. Note the outhouse (2 holes - no waiting) and the water pump, which was eventually replaced with a cold water line.
Lots of fond memories here, and right now I can almost hear the whistles of the steamers struggling with many coal filled hoppers and the horns of those fast passenger trains.
Please, lets see some more of your favorite projects!
I actually have two: One mechanical and one electrical…
A NYC Emergency war caboose kitbashed from a Roundhouse '40 boxcar and the windows, doors, and side steps of a Walthers NYC caboose. It’s just an initial prototype and I plan on scratch-building a nicer version of it in the future.
A schematic showing how to add a flashing gyralight to the observation car of a Con-Cor Aerotrain:
It required electrically isolating the rear tail lighting from the head locomotive & decoder and adding a function-only decoder (TCS FL4) to operate the gyralights. These are operated independently from my DCC throttle via remapping.
Here’s a video that I took of it after it’s completion…
I’m pleased with the effect and the flash rate matches the footage that I viewed of the Aerotrain running between Cleveland and Detroit.
Tom
I had always wanted the PRR vertical lift bridge on my Chicago-themed layout, but none of the available kits even came close to matching the bridge so I completely scratch built it.
Rich
Here’s one of my favorites. It is a kitbash inspired by the depot in McGregor, Texas. I wasn’t trying to copy it, but simply build something that was inspired by it. I named mine for the fictional town of Wyskiver. The prototype photo is from the website txrrhistory.com. The basis for my kitbash was the Walthers Golden Valley Depot, Walthers Golden Valley Freight House, and a Walthers Interlocking Tower.
Jeff
Good stuff, everyone!
While it’s not for everyone, to my surprise I found that scratch building / kit bashing is my favourite part of the hobby, even though there can be frustrations and even failures!
If I have to pick two, one would be my build of CSIX500, an actual freight car…
…and my rendition of a Detroit River Car Ferry, based on the Wabash Railroads “Windsor”.
Cheers, the Bear. 
Hey all! Good to be back on the forums! Ive got one of each, a scratchbuild and a kitbash.
The Scratchbuilt model I’m proudest of (so far) is this roadside farm stand I built with my girlfriend for a T-Trak module of an Apple Orchard. I drew up architectural elevations and everything for it, built the walls and roof out of chip board, made the siding of heavy artists paper, and the roof was Cricut machine copper sheet.
Now for the kitbash - I took an Intermountain 40’ NYC Boxcar kit, removed the roof walk, cut down the ladders, replaced grabs with wire, and repainted and weathered it for Penn Central. It was good enough to win First Place in its category at the NER NMRA Convention in Rochester, but Ive still done a bit more work on it since to hopefully push it over the edge and get merit for it towards my MMR!
Excellent work all!
Great work on these projects, everyone. Seeing your work inspires me to do more work like this. Thanks, everyone.
The project I’m most proud of, even though it’s not my best, is the Nighthawks cafe. I had seen a model of it for sale, but I decided to try to scratch-build it myself. It was lots of frustration and trial and error, but I finished it enough to put it on the layout and go on to something else.
I printed the sign after doing some computer graphic work ( which I had to learn at age 73). The window was tricky – it’s styrene. I found out that if I bent the clear styrene too much, it would turn cloudy!
For everyone looking at all the pictures in this thread, please let us see some of your work.
The appeal of this hobby to me is how many different facets there are. The project I am most proud of incorporated many of them.
Anyone who has tried to model a steel mill knows that we (or most of us) just don’t have the real estate to make a representation that could actually make steel. Mine is no exception so I have tried to incorporate some details to satisfy my inner desire for realism. One of those was adding a coke wharf that most models of coke works don’t include.
I needed to research how they worked and then come up with a design. Not only were there no models available at the time I only found one example of someone who had tried making one so I didn’t have much to go on. (There is now one available for sale.)
I started by forming the base using basswood, styrene, and plywood.
That was coated with drywall mud to simulate poured concrete.
At that point I needed to figure out how to make the gates which on the prototype are curved.
I was in a trailer shop and found these clips on the shelf.
The dimensions of the curved portion were perfect so I started cutting to make it work. Staples were used for the levers.
After attaching them to a length of wire clothes hanger I had gates that looked pretty good.
After adding a roof to protect workers from the elements and a collection/transfer structure it was ready for the layout.
It was at this point that I realized that much of the work I had done was somewhat wasted in that you can’t see it. I still get a lot of satisfaction from knowing what I made.
BNSF bridge across the columbia river in Rock island WA.originally built by GN. BNSF and Amtrak use today. N scale measures in at 6’ roughly. Evergreen plastic/central valley truss parts/brass wire/gold medal models/lots of time!
I wanted to scratchbuild a country store my parents frequented as kids, but no photos are known to exist. Instead, I used these photos of another store a few miles down the same road in rural Tennessee before WW2.
This is what I came up with.
This is a N scale model of Randy’s Donuts i made. It is an actual donut shop in the L.A. basin near LAX Airport in Southern California.
Jeff B
Here is my scratch built Thendara train station, along with a photo of the prototype. The station dimensions were featured in a 1980 (I think) issue of MR, which I used for this project. I used a Silhouette Cameo cutting machine to score cut the styrene walls and roof panels. I have spent many days at this station, as I am an engineer and conductor on the Adirondack Railroad, which serves this station. The building you see behind is (VanAukens Inn) was also scratch built to match the existing structure there.
I built these stock pens from stripwood a couple years ago. I almost had to rebuild them when my mounting base warped like crazy after trying to do ground cover, but I managed to save it.
They still need details (hay bales, watering troughs, cow flops and such), but the structure is complete.
I recently completed my first freight car, a 42 foot long flat car for my Proto:48n3 layout. It is built entirely of styrene strip material with only Tichy bolt details, wheels, and couplers as purchased components. It was a very satisfying and simple project.
Good morning
Very nice modeling here gentlemen. Enjoyed.
It’s hard to pick. Eight of the eleven scratch built bridges were much more difficult. I’d have to say bridge #7. It was the simplest, but perhaps more proud, as it was built out of garbage.
Judy saved me meat packing trays. The bridge body was laminated scrap foam and masonite.
The cut panels were imprinted random stone, with a rounded tipped pencil. Judy saved me a fabrick roll tube as well.
Panels were painted, Dulcoat sprayed, smoozed with drwall mud, and wiped clean. 1/2 circles traced from tube, transfered to bridge body, and notches cut out for tube placement.
1/2 circles cut out. Tubes wrapped in scrap packing paper to hide swirls on ends.
Sides glued to bridge body, along with roadway division strip.
Pre-cut 1/2 tubes held in place, traced and numbered, than cut 1/8" longer on either side and glued in place.
A toothpick and Q-tip was used to smooze drywall mud around pipes.
Bridge #7 set in place on future water effects, to be removable like other bridges.
Right under bridge #1 being remodeled.
Never did care for bridge #1, especially those gosh awful piers.
Thanks for looking.
TF
I had a small grain elevator that someone had given me. I believe it was parts of a Heljan kit. It wasn’t as big as I would have liked, but I couldn’t seem to find the Walthers one anywhere. I was walking the dog one day and someone was throwing away scrap from a remodeling project, and on top was several feet of 2" ABS plastic. I thought it would make good silos, so I brought it home.
I cut it the ABS and mocked it up. I made the main structure out of mattboard scrap that I had. Windows are clear plastic from packaging.
I sanded flat spots on the ABS and glued it with MEK. I added styrene strips to fill the gaps between silos.
I painted it all with white and gray primers, and was working on some more structures for the complex:
Moved, so had to take the layout down so never finished. One of these days…
TF, nice!
Regards, Chris
David, that’s certainly a lot of junk! 