A recent FSM kit I built contained a number of window casings in which the windows were open either partly or all the way. I never gave this much thought before but almost all window casings on plastic structure kits, whether molded to the wall or on seperate sprues, are in the closed position. Since a majority of layouts are set in the summer and many before air conditioning was common place, this doesn’t seem realistic. Most structures would at least have some windows open on a hot summer day. I’ve modified some Walthers modular windows to create open windows but it takes some time to make it look right. It would be nice if the structure kits contained a few open windows in each kit.
Also, screened windows and doors would be quite common as well. Has anyone tried adding screens and what material was used to simulate the screen fabric?
Actually, most craftsman-level structure kits do contain provisions for open windows. Not just open, but set to any position/height the modeler desires. Even a lot of the less expensive laser-cut kits now have open/closed windows as an option. Some of the manufacturers provide sheets of laser-cut windows (with scale mullions, sashes, etc.) on thin plywood, while others use cardstock for their windows to avoid the problem of having the grain run the wrong way (a common problem with the wood products). Check the kit offerings from Rusty Stumps Scale Models, Bar Mills, FSM, Sierra West, and others. Also, some manufacturers (like Rusty Stumps) offer sheets of windows/doors that can be purchased separately and used as replacements for original kit windows or in scratchbuilding projects.
As for screen material (at least in HO scale), I have read on other forums that fine-mesh metal coffee filters can be cut apart for window screens. I have never seen any photos of this so I can’t say how well it actually works, but it strikes me as being a pretty expensive way to make screens.
screens would all but disappear in HO. Someone on these forums used clear acetate and used fine sandpaper to create a crosshatched pattern and did a wash on it. That might work good, being somewhat transparent but still having “something” there. The brain should fill in the rest. As long as the gloss is gone it should represent a screen well. It would also give a base if one wants to scratch build the frames
I used some silk screening material to make screens for some of the windows of this caboose. A marker was used to colour the material, which is normally white.
I bought some very cheap, but broken wall sections (Magnuson, I believe) off the “used” table at the LHS. I repaired what damage I could, then used .060" sheet styrene to build the roof and unseen walls. Since some of the window sashes and mullions were broken, I used strip styrene to model these in the open position, although not with screens.
Yes, Casey has a good point. On this Branchline Trains laser kit, the large windows are all made with separate sashes. It’s just as easy to glue them on half open or any other position:
On this considerably less expensive DPM kit, I had to do some surgery over on the right side. I just added a couple of strips of styrene.
