High Rise / Skyscraper building kits ??

[cteno4]

interesting atlas highrise kitbash

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110936937575&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123#ht_6116wt_1198

 

jeff

[quinntopia]

That is nice! 

 

Has anyone seen any building announcements lately?  It seems like a long time since Tomix has done anything new in the building space.  Kato's been great with the 4 new ones they released two years ago, but seems sort of quiet on the building/structures front.

[cteno4]

Tomix has been really quiet on the structure and scenery front as I expect it's all going thru the tomytec brand now. Tomytec tec seems to have a size limit on their stuff. Would be interesting if they did something where you could buy a 4-6 story building and then sets of like 3-4 extra expansion floors at a time and it was closer to the new kato buildings in scale. Dream on I guess.

 

Perhaps folks are a bit shy after greenmax's high rise modular set seemed to flop in sales. Probably something that requires more production muscle that tomytec has to do economically to get a good price point.

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff

[quinntopia]

Yeah, Jeff, that makes sense.  Too bad about the Greenmax flop though, I did my part and have about 12 or 15 boxes of those I still need to put together!

[cteno4]

wow you stocked up! i grabbed a base and two extensions to begin with and then got one more extension when hs was fire saling the remaining stock.

 

unfortunately due to the amount of plastic in a wall section its just not economical to do these with 3D printing, but maybe with and extrusion printer. the extrusion printers are cheap and work well with flat sheets like this that dont need any unsupported details. but guessing it would be hard to get a smooth finish with the extrusion printers. ive only see stuff in 1/144 with them like stone walls and such where its great, i think the uneven surface from the extrusion works to your benefit.

 

im still thinking interesting build ups of strips and sheets will work better on custom making high rises. as long as you can keep away from having rectangular frames that need to be made. for that purpose the lasercutter works the best, but thats a whole nother game to get into!

 

pity i would think there would be more of a market for taller, modern buildings in japan, perhaps its more about space on layouts that keeps the market smaller.

 

jeff

[cteno4]

others on ebay recently

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120974562029&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123#ht_500wt_1213

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120974568027&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123#ht_500wt_1213

 

jeff

[Krackel Hopper]

Yeah, Jeff, that makes sense.   Too bad about the Greenmax flop though, I did my part and have about 12 or 15 boxes of those I still need to put together!

 

May have been a flop, but Greenmax has not given up..

 

Just noticed this today.. looks like these kits are getting a repackage (like everything else Greenmax) and will now be a base 5 story kit with 4 story add-ons.. at an increased cost of course..

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10193663

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10193665

[cteno4]

ohh good catch. perhaps they were just getting rid of the old stock!

 

jeff

[cteno4]

something i have always wanted to do. its in ho, but good concepts

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=271053988288&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

 

jeff

[cteno4]

another interesting high rise based on atlas parts

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110954644228&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

 

jeff

[cteno4]

another interesting one by johnnysky0

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110984162456&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

 

also quite detailed scratch built older us building

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/N-Custom-Scratch-Built-High-Rise-City-Building-Structure-/110983374782?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item19d71fe7be

 

quite a few great buildings on his flickr site

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45970544@N03

 

jeff

[quinntopia]

I saw an announcement on a Yahoo groups email I'm on that apparantly Walthers is going to be reissue the Atlas skyscraper kits (at least the extension parts from what I could tell).  I don't have any more details, but I know the old kits go for a pretty penny on eBay and lot's of folks seem interested in them.  Not sure if anyone else has seen this announcement or not (and can confirm if its real?)?

[cteno4]

Interesting, will be appreciated if they are a reasonable price to do kitbashing projects.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[cteno4]

A few new options coming out for larger buildings

 

MasterPiece laser cut chipboard

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10212317

 

And a cosmic high rise

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10193497

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[Bernard]

Jeff - love the new skyscaper by Cosmic.....has anybody tried using Architectual model supplies? The material architects use to make their models.....does it come out to costing less than "kit-bashing"?

Here is one place I found:

http://www.oakridgehobbies.com/default/hobby-products-tools-paints-wood-metal-plastic-hobby-supplies/architectural-scale-model-building-supplies?cat=126

[cteno4]

most of those listed there are mainly the materials developed for train modelers at train modelers scales like DPM and a few of the small casting companies with doors and windows.

 

Unfortunately most of the real architectural modeling use to be done pretty much from scratch and ive not see a lot of particular model parts for them other than some doors and windows. The rub is that architectural models are usually done at inch scales like 1/4" scale or 3/4" scale or 1/16" scale that dont line up with 1/150 scale. 

 

here are one ive bookmarked but not much

 

http://www.howardmodels.com/supplies/index.html

 

there was a stunning shop in england, but i cant find the link.

 

JTT started from architectural model supply and now has moved a lot into the train world (mrc is there us distributor). lots of trees and such but just started with styrene sheets recently

 

http://www.jttmicroscale.com/viewcategory.asp?DirID=166

 

Ive been looking for acrylics that would mimic things we would need for skyscrapers. not a lot around. there were some really high end ones of recycled plastics for fancy decor, but they were hundreds of dollars a sheet (4x8 sheets). i keep looking when poking around big box stores and other design places. many folks have been using the 1/2" mirror tile sheets (ive seen them in both plastic and glass) to do the mirrored glass boxes. the effect is good at 6', but they tend to look way to chunky as you get closer and if finer detailed buildings are next to them.

 

there are some nice chipboards that are made for laser cutters that will turn different colors in the burn area, depending on the power the laser is set to so you can do interesting patterns like brick and shingles. they get expensive and you of course need a laser cutter to get the effects! 

 

the architectural model biz has changed a lot in the last decade of so with the rise first of laser cutters and now 3D printers. now they are going direct to a large powder 3D print of whole houses! A fiend in the exhibit biz use to do a lot of high end house models. first by hand from chipboard, then lasercutter, but now he cant compete with the 3D printers and it costs way to much for him to invest in one big enough to do these models. I will note that the models have a very different feel and i really dont think the plastic models give the right solution to what i needed in a model like this. they are too perfect and i think get folks eye really fouled up in working on what they need to at that point. scale models dont show details and textures anywhere near what they are in real life. this takes a much more imaginative eye to envision how these details will look in real life. folks eyes get fixed on details if they are there and these will not have the look and feel of the final 1:1. 

 

the point of a simpler chipboard model is to get the general shapes, sizes, space etc sussed out and they do that very well. its sad as i think that students are probably not doing this type of simple hacking and whacking modeling anymore. this is sort of like learning to draw a straight line and circle before you start heavy drawing. sounds stupid, but its the basics that are the foundation. sorry to get off on a rant there...

 

but this is to say that i really feel that its super good for us modelers to do some simple model making when planning things. just make some simple boxes the size and shape of structures you are thinking about and plop them around. they dont need details just the basic shapes. you will be amazed how this stimulates your imagination and your own planning inside your head. then start thinking about it for your own scratch building which modern high rises are really suited to do this w/o having to do a million little windows, doors, etc!

 

jeff

[Hobby Dreamer]

Thanks Jeff!

 

I really like the first because it would be difficult to scratchbuild that one!

 

@Bernard

Try http://www.taskboard.com/galleryarch.html   this seems to be an easy material to work with. As for supplies it depends what you are looking for (windows, main structure materials etc)..

 

Rick

[cteno4]

these are the things you need that laser cutter for! another way you can do windows like this is to do a cross hatch of vertical and horizontal strips. saves having to cut all those window holes but requires you to space things carefully as well as get it all squared up well. also then need to deal with the indent along two edges of the windows. but something like this with a chopper and styrene strip would be easy as trying to cut all those windows by hand would not be fun. i did a few of those type things in exhibit models and it took like 3 attempts as i would get part way through and slip on one and ruin the whole thing! from then on i got wise to trying to figure out cheats like the cross hatching! the cross hatching does then give you that surface change many building have and a bit more detail than a big flat wall...

 

forgot about taskboard is nice stuff. i got their sample pack and played with it a bit. its kind of a cross between stryene and chipboard. you get good stiffness and smoother/harder face and cut edges than most chipboards, but it cuts more like chipboard (ie easier) than styrene does and less likely for the blade to wander (big issue with styrene). it also doesnt get the ridge along the cut the way styrene does with the blade deforming the styrene as it cuts. ive yet to use it on any larger project, but its there waiting as an option.

 

another great material if you need a very stiff/strong material that is light is ultraboard. its basically foam core but with 020-060 styrene on each face instead of paper (foamcore), or plasticized paper (gatorboard). the stuff is super rigid and light. you can get it from 3/16" to 1" thick. it really has to be cut with a saw as cutting with a matte knife is tricky to get square cuts thru the material (takes a few passes to get through each layer of styrene). it would be great stuff for the floors to make a super strong large building. can be hard to find, usually at sign shops and plastic shops but usually have to buy a 4x8 sheet! i think some places on line sell it cheaper. there are several brands and ultraboard is a brand name, you can also ask for styrene faced foamcore.

 

its used a lot where you have a sign board that hangs above people. we did some big graphic boards like 3'x6' that hung above an exhibit out at an angle over folks. each sign weighed like 5lbs so took very little to secure it and if it ever did fall (it was california so always worried about earthquakes!) it wouldn't crush anyone. stuff stayed really flat even though at an angle with just a little L bracing on the back side. we also used it a lot for a small movable piece as it was cheap (low budget) and light. it got moved like 3x per day and held up for years. it really resisted dinging as well which gatorboard does not fare well with.

 

jeff

[Hobby Dreamer]

A few new options coming out for larger buildings MasterPiece laser cut chipboard http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10212317 And a cosmic high rise http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10193497 Cheers Jeff

 

Jeff,

How are these kits to work on?  Is this likely to be sold out quickly?

 

Thanks again

Rick

[cteno4]

I've never seen either in person. This is the first on hs from masterpiece, he usuall do etched brass car and trams and parts.

 

I would expect the masterpiece to be similar to a sankei, maybe bit heavier material, chipboard from the looks of the kit.

 

Cosmic now has a few kits out, all larger structures. They look to be mostly laser cut acrylic. Poke Quinntopia as he got their first high rise kit last summer.

 

Jeff

[cteno4]

some interesting mirrored tile buildings up on ebay. look like they are all using the little mirrored tiles you can buy. interesting designs, but ive seen a couple of buildings that have used these up close and they tend to sparkle a bit too much and also need about 3'+ to get a good effect. although these do look tighter and a little less sparkly than the ones i saw. shame there are not more photos or higher res to look at them.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/N-scale-custom-built-skyscraper-highrise-office-building-/121058596598?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item1c2fa796f6

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/N-scale-custom-built-skyscraper-highrise-office-building-/121058602636?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item1c2fa7ae8c

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/N-scale-custom-built-skyscraper-highrise-office-building-/121058605368?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item1c2fa7b938

 

jeff

[cteno4]

another one popped up on ebay

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/N-Scale-City-Highrise-Skyscraper-/181071601483?ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123http://www.ebay.com/itm/N-Scale-City-Highrise-Skyscraper-/181071601483?ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

 

jeff

[cteno4]

couple of more 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/N-scale-custom-built-skyscraper-highrise-office-building-/121062023603?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item1c2fdbe1b3

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/N-scale-custom-built-skyscraper-highrise-office-building-/121061849786?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item1c2fd93aba

 

jeff

[cteno4]

interesting round highrise

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140913562594&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140913565458&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

 

i believe these are made from a filter housing to get the outside grid work. some where i saw someone writing these up.

 

jeff

[Bernard]

Interesting round design....but does the "Sponge Bob Square Pants" come with it? :)