Scratchbuilding 101 - resource list in first post

[gavino200]

I've been itching to try scratchbuilding something for a while now. I'm not quite ready to start as I still have a bunch of kit structures left to build. But I want to plan ahead a bit and start acquiring some of the tools and resources I'll need. I'm going to use this thread to gather together, sources for tools, materials, videos, plans etc. I'll start with a few resources I already have/know of and will add more as I learn of them. Please add suggestions and I'll add them to the list.

 

Materials

 

Styrene 

 

 I have a bunch of different thicknesses that I buy directly from Evergreen

https://evergreenscalemodels.com/

 

Various pre-made styrene shapes and sheets

https://plastruct.com/

 

Styrene with specific finishes from Kobaro

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10529487

 

Styrene Roof Tile, Other Textures

Greenmax: http://www.greenmax.co.jp/Product/colorstructure/GM_colorstructure_201209.htm

Example on Hobby Search, Greenmax 2508 https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10203947

Greenmax 2512: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10207405

 

 

Wood

 

Midwest scale lumber

https://midwestproducts.com/collections/hobbyists

 

Northeastern Scale Lumber

http://www.northeasternscalelumber.com/

 

http://www.kapplerusa.com/y2k/p-value.htm

 

Metal tubing and rods

 

http://www.ksmetals.com/

 

Various metal parts in all sorts of shapes and sizes

https://www.eggs.jp/newec/

 

Metal tubes, mesh, etc.

https://www.hobby-wave.com/products-cat/material/

 

 

Miscellaneous Materials

 

Various textures and finishes, mirror, etc.

http://www.hasegawa-model.co.jp/item/tool/tf/

 

Gravel Texture Sheets - Roofs, Walks, etc.

Kato 24-016: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10043273

 

Computer Software

 

Inkscape (free) 

Used by Maihama Eki 

https://inkscape.org/

 

MS Paint

I wouldn't have thought of this but rogerfarnworth has achieved some outstanding results with it. 

 

 

 

 

Tools

 

Clamps

 

 

small quick release clamps

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-Small-Trigger-Clamp-2-Pack-DWHT83148/204390864

 

Small clamps from Harbor Freight

https://www.harborfreight.com/micro-spring-clamp-set-6-pc-69375.html

 

Right angle clamps

https://www.micromark.com/Original-Right-Clamp

 

 

Cutting, Sawing, Drilling

 

Olfa Plastic Laminate Cutter (large and small)

 

Large

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UHUZ5U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Small

https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/yamakishi/item/30785892/

 

"Chop-it"

https://www.micromark.com/Chop-It

 

"Duplicate it"

https://www.micromark.com/Duplicate-It

 

Miter box and saw

https://www.micromark.com/Miter-Box-and-Saw-Set

 

Exacto knife with 11 blade

 

Jeweler's saw

 

Punch set

https://www.micromark.com/Micro-Punch-Set

 

Pin vise and micro drill bit set

 

Adhesives

 

For styrene:

Tamiya Extra Thin Cement

Testors liquid cement for plastic models

Humbrol poly cement

 

For less styrene softening and less fogging of clear parts (see Marknewton post below)

Tamiya Limonene Cement

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TZ6K4Y/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2FXJKY8KT1K5&psc=1

 

General purpose

E6000

 

 

Small delicate parts

CA - various viscosities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instruction and ideas

 

Instruction videos

Edited May 30, 2019 by gavino200

[bill937ca]

Here is an easy styrene project that RMM published on the introduction of Evergreen Styrene in Japan.

 

http://rail.hobidas.com/blog/rmm/archives/2006/09/post_109.html

 

You don't need a lot of tools.

Cutting pad

Steel ruler (short and long)       https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10280932

Xacto knifes

Razor saw

Basic file set

Sprue cutter

Tweezers

Pin Vise

 

Don't forget HS has a Hobby Tool section.    https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/paint/

 

Basic Tool Set  https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10001619

 

[bill937ca]

20 minutes ago, bill937ca said:

Here is an easy styrene project that RMM published on the introduction of Evergreen Styrene in Japan.

 

http://rail.hobidas.com/blog/rmm/archives/2006/09/post_109.html

 

 

Photos of this simple project.  Built from .040 styrene to Japanese plans. Showing the raw structure, base and roof. It will look fine along side some Tomytec houses.

Edited November 29, 2018 by bill937ca

[gavino200]

2 minutes ago, bill937ca said:

 

Photos of this simple project.

 

 

 

Nice work Billy. What glue do you use? Do you use right angle clamps or are the right angle strips enough to get everything lined up?

[bill937ca]

34 minutes ago, gavino200 said:

 

 What glue do you use? Do you use right angle clamps or are the right angle strips enough to get everything lined up?

 

I use Humbrol Poly Cement.  The right angle strips were to line up the walls and provide a surface for gluing.

[marknewton]

Best method for cutting styrene sheet neatly and accurately is to score and snap. Olfa make two versions of their “P cutter” - large and small. I use both, and I swear by them.. 

 

https://olfa.com/professional/product/plastic-laminate-cutter-pc-l/

 

https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/yamakishi/item/30785892/

 

To clean up the edges of styrene sheet after cutting I use some abrasive blocks and sticks I made by gluing different grades of wet & dry carbide paper to lengths of stripwood or wooden clothes pegs. I also use nail buffing tools stolen borrowed from my wife to clean up edges and glued joins. The nail boards are flexible so they can used to sand seams or joins on a curved surface.

 

For gluing thin styrene sheet or section without distortion or excess softening I use Tamiya Limonene cement. It’s very effective when gluing transparent parts as it’s less aggressive than other solvents and doesn’t cause crazing or fogging. I also use it to laminate paper overlays to styrene when I need subtle surface detail or relief.

 

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87113limonene_cement/index.htm

 

If I’m laminating styrene sheet together for overlays or similar I prefer to use double-sided tape as an adhesive rather than solvent glues, as it minimises the risk of warping or distortion.

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by marknewton

[gavino200]

YouTube videos - Place holder

 

[gavino200]

Great examples of Japanese scratchbuilds from Dabsan in this JNS thread. Mostly it's a 'show and tell' with little discussion of technique. However on the fourth page there's a time lapse sequence of pictures showing how one structure was made.

 

 

 

Amazing scratchbuild example from Maihama Eki with description of technique and photo sequence.

 

 

 

Adding this here for now - an old thread with lots of good tips form some very accomplished modelers 

 

Edited January 20, 2019 by gavino200

[gavino200]

An interesting video. It's in German but you can get the gist by watching. It's about the Vollmer company just before it closed. From 4:55 to 6:30 you can see the process of scratchbuilding the first prototype of a model building. It starts with photos and measurement. Then scale calculations. Next a model is made out of card and paper. After that a plastic model is made. It looks (and sounds) like the modeler actually carves the surface details directly onto the smooth plastic surface. It's brilliant but it also looks relatively doable with a LOT of practice.

 

 

[cteno4]

I wonder how long until all cad and just some 3D printing for prototypes, then direct to die production...

 

jeff

[gavino200]

2 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

I wonder how long until all cad and just some 3D printing for prototypes, then direct to die production...

 

jeff

 

I'm guessing maybe a few years ago?

[cteno4]

Whoops didn’t open in YouTube to see posted in 2014! You are probably right...

 

jeff

[rogerfarnworth]

Hi all

 

I appreciate that modelling UK N Gauge is not the same as Japanese N. My experience of scratch-building is almost entirely in the use of card rather than styrene. Is using card a common practice in Japanese N?

 

I draw most of my models in 'Paint' which is utterly basic but it seems to produce results.

[cteno4]

A lot of the basics are the same really.

 

Yep card stock printed structure and vehicle models are big in japan. Also a number of companies in the last few years doing really nice laser cut and etched chipboard (high resin cardstock) structure kits that have really nice tab and rabit joint systems for assembly. Sankei is the big one in this biz.

 

jeff

[gavino200]

1 hour ago, rogerfarnworth said:

Hi all

 

I appreciate that modelling UK N Gauge is not the same as Japanese N. My experience of scratch-building is almost entirely in the use of card rather than styrene. Is using card a common practice in Japanese N?

 

I draw most of my models in 'Paint' which is utterly basic but it seems to produce results.

 

Thanks for commenting. I'd love to see some of your creations. Any "in production" photos would be great too, and maybe a super short explanation of your process. Don't worry about posting pictures of British buildings. We can learn from craftsmanship in any style.

[rogerfarnworth]

I have quite a few on my blog about Hereford. The easiest thing is for me to provide links to the relevant pages. Would that be acceptable?

 

I have started a thread in "Worldwide Models" which covers the modelling I have been doing and the contributions made by my late father-in-law. The thread is entitled "Hereford UK - N Gauge."

Edited December 31, 2018 by rogerfarnworth

[cteno4]

Roger,

 

the best would probably be to start the thread on a good generic building project in card stock and present it steps here on the forum with text and pictures here to allow discussion here directly and not just solely links to you blogs. While it’s interesting to get links to various references, one of the main parts of the forum is discussion and it’s hard to discuss stuff that’s all contained off the forum as everyone needs to go to the blog, read it all and come back before a remote discussion can happen here. If more content is here on something like this then the discussion will flow much faster and wider and what a forum is good at.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[gavino200]

13 hours ago, rogerfarnworth said:

I have quite a few on my blog about Hereford. The easiest thing is for me to provide links to the relevant pages. Would that be acceptable?

 

I have started a thread in "Worldwide Models" which covers the modelling I have been doing and the contributions made by my late father-in-law. The thread is entitled "Hereford UK - N Gauge."

 

When I searched for Hereford UK - in N Gauge I found this https://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=50954 . It's the same post on a different forum. Tut tut tut. I'm so offended you just did a cut/paste for us. What are we? Chopped liver? (joking, that's totally fine). Is this the direct link to your blog? https://rogerfarnworth.com/2013/12/25/herefordshire-railways/

 

I'm going to link here to your ''Worldwide Models" post as it's a great description of the process of taking a model from conception to completion. It's really spectacular work.

 

A couple of questions, if you would.

 

1. Can you comment on some of your favorite materials for cardstock scratchbuilding? I'll add them to the list in the first post of this thread as a reference. And if you can list some good online suppliers that would also be great. Card, glue, paper, software, printers etc?

 

2. Can you tell me more about the process of making the scale plans. Am I correct in understanding that this was all done in MS paint? Personally, I love 'paint' and still use it even though Microsoft keep trying to hide it in their new operating systems. Still I'm surprised that you can do something this complex with the program. Any pointers?

 

3. Regarding the blackened windows. Did you attempt to cut out the window panes and place clear plastic behind it? What problems did you encounter when you tried that. 

 

4. Lastly, are you interested in doing some Japanese n scale yourself? 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2018 by gavino200

[rogerfarnworth]

Hi Gavin

 

Apologies if I gave offended in any way. That was not my intention. I am involved on other forums and all have different ways of doing things. I need to fit in here.

 

I am a little reluctant to provide links now, but the link to my blog is: https://rogerfarnworth.com

and the relevant part relating to my modelling is: https://rogerfarnworth.com/category/railways-blog/model-railway/

 

I have modelled many of the station structures myself following David's work.

 

I have used very basic materials. .... Standard 160g card and 80g paper sourced as cheaply as practical. When I see heavier duty card advertised in A4 sheets, I purchase some.

 

Much of the supporting structure uses old card such as the heavy sheet which can be found at the back of a pad of writing paper or inside some packaging.

 

I have built a coaling stage ... which was the first I built using these techniques. Then two station signal boxes, half of the island platform buildings (I have still to complete the remainder), a parcels office, the station footbridge, the small station master's house. I have started but not yet had time to proceed with part of Hereford MPD's buildings.

 

Yes all of the work was done in MSPaint. I found scaling the work difficult band have in the end cheated by using one of David's files as a starting template.

 

Often, I have printed direct to card using my basic all in one Canon printer ( I always buy one which uses 5 cartridges rather than 2 cartridges as the compatible cartridges are so much cheaper).

 

There are a number of different images on my blog of the different pages I created to model from. The hardest part of the process in each case was cutting out the different layers of card. This was particularly the case for the footbridge.

 

Cutting the card round the windows required a steady hand but the windows themselves were printed onto acetate using one of the drawings for a template and were glued into the model as a layer in the construction.

 

I have mentioned to Jeff that my interest has initially been to explore what full scale narrow gauge exists in Japan and to find out more about it.

 

I do have a number of N Gauge Japanese chassis sitting in my parts box waiting for something.

 

I hope this is all valuable stuff. I am away from home at the moment so cannot provide any more pictures than are already accessible on the blog.

 

Kind regards

 

Roger

 

 

 

[gavino200]

On 1/1/2019 at 4:30 AM, rogerfarnworth said:

Hi Gavin

 

Apologies if I gave offended in any way. That was not my intention. I am involved on other forums and all have different ways of doing things. I need to fit in here. 

 

Not at all. I was joking. Cut/paste is exactly what I would do myself. We are honored to have such a talented modeler on the forum. You are more than welcome here

 

 

Thank you for such a detailed response. I am fascinated by your work. It’s a true inspiration.

Edited January 6, 2019 by gavino200

[rogerfarnworth]

Later pictures of the developing layout with the signal box in place.

[maihama eki]

Hi Gavin,

 

Looking around my work area - a few materials additions to your list above:

 

Styrene and Acrylic Shapes, etc.

Plastruct: https://plastruct.com/

 

Metal Rods, Tubes, Sheets, Mesh, etc. in Copper, Aluminum, Brass, Stainless Steel, and Others

Eggs (Available in Japan at Tokyo Hands): https://www.eggs.jp/newec/  

 

Metal Tubes, Mesh, etc.

Wave Corporation (Japan) https://www.hobby-wave.com/products-cat/material/

 

Wood, Scale Lumber

Northeastern Scale Lumber: http://www.northeasternscalelumber.com/

 

Various Finish Sheets (Mirror Finish, etc.)

Hasegawa:  http://www.hasegawa-model.co.jp/item/tool/tf/

 

Styrene Roof Tile, Other Textures

Greenmax: http://www.greenmax.co.jp/Product/colorstructure/GM_colorstructure_201209.htm

Example on Hobby Search, Greenmax 2508 https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10203947

Greenmax 2512: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10207405

 

Gravel Texture Sheets - Roofs, Walks, etc.

Kato 24-016: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10043273

 

 

 

 

[gavino200]

On 1/17/2019 at 12:12 AM, maihama eki said:

Hi Gavin,

 

Looking around my work area - a few materials additions to your list above:

 

 

 

Thanks Maihama. I added these resources to the list at the top of the thread. I'm a big fan of your work btw.

[gavino200]

Some amazing craftwork in Z scale by @MichiK in this thread. He goes as far as to scratchbuild latticed window frames, and even a z scaled cat.

 

 

 

[cteno4]

Gavin

 

some more for the list, 

 

metal rods and tubes and other small bits n bobs

https://www.ngineering.com/tubing.htm

https://www.ngineering.com/other_detail_stuff.htm

https://www.ngineering.com/photo_etched_products.htm

https://www.ngineering.com/stamped.htm

 

lots of small tools like clamps, knives, cutters, forcepts etc

https://widgetsupply.com/

 

quilting clamps

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2505460.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xquilting+clamps.TRS0&_nkw=quilting+clamps&_sacat=0

 

Hair clips (these can be had cheaper and in smaller quantities on local dollar store or ebay - flat+alligator+hair+clip)

https://www.amazon.com/CoverYourHair-Double-Prong-Clips-Alligator/dp/B07CCYK3P7/ref=sr_1_17_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1550086806&sr=8-17&keywords=flat+alligator+hair+clips

https://www.amazon.com/Adorox-pieces-inches-Single-Alligator/dp/B01K5JWYIQ/ref=sr_1_9_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1550086850&sr=8-9&keywords=flat+alligator+hair+clips

 

jeff