Scratchbuilding Advice

[nkp_174]

Craftsman kits seem to encourage over-abuse and hyper-weathering of our models and we love how it looks (or many of us do) but it's really just a caricature of reality on so many levels.

If the model you'll build will be set at a distance, then look closely at your prototype reference shots that show the structure at that similar distance. How much wood grain can you see? Even if you model with wood, you may not need to worry about adding any distressing and graining unless it's a foreground model (or you're just obsessive about such things).

Galen, that is my #1 complaint with the model railroad publishing industry! A few days back, I was reading a construction article in an old Gazette for a 1:20.3 scale DSP&P waycar. The workmanship was excellent in most respects. But, the modeler completely botched the paint job. The individually painted each board with a range of paints which were far too broad. Of course, the author of the piece praised this. It looks absolutely ridiculous. Just to verify that I wasn't delusional, I pulled my color photos of wooden cars and only one car remotely resembled the individually painted board pattern (and with a relatively small pallet). The poor finish ruined the otherwise excellent model.