Meanwhile, at the cottage...a scratchbuild!

[ocalicreek]

Hello All!

While I'm traveling back and forth between Kelso and Spanaway, I decided I needed a project to take along to my temporary quarters. For now, my wife, the boys and I all travel up there on Saturday. They return home Sunday night or Monday morning while I keep working until sometime Wednesday. We're staying in a wonderful little mother-in-law apartment attached to a stand alone 3-car garage (read "woodshop").

For a few nights at least, I become a bored bachelor. The TV only gets a few channels (until June when the digital switch occurs) and most of it is mind-rotting crud anyway. No internet (believe me, the withdrawals are serious!) SO, I figured I'd pack up a few tools, my portable lap-desk, and work on a little project.

I had so much fun building the scalescenes.com freebie card structure that I decided I needed to make something [mostly] out of cardstock. I pulled a plastic drawer and stocked it with varying thicknesses of cardstock along with several tools, some white glue, and a few bottles of paint. Any other bits I may need like wire or window glass I'll have to find along the way or bring from home.

"Dollar Models" came to mind as a simple challenge. Looking back through my old MR's (back when the D.M. articles ran, and the magazine in general was more fun and less stuffy) I found a neat little grade crossing gate tower. The prototype is (was?) a Milwaukee Road structure. A couple pictures of the prototype and model as well as text and a couple three drawings are all you get.

So far I am most of the way through one wall - scribing 1/16" card to look like novelty siding using a dental tool, 'stripping' 1/8" card for corner posts and heavy trim, and building up windows in place using a 'Cappucino Coolers' box (1/32" or so). All that in about an hour. Many hours of fun to go!

I will eventually post a scan of the copy I made from the article. It has my notes and observations scribbled on there and will show the changes I made from the drawing. A few of these are to add character the picture shows but drawing does not.

Also I will post a few progress pictures at some point. The camera is up there while I am home for the president's day holiday...ergghh...so they'll have to wait.

Thanks for reading along!

Galen

[Dave Harris sctchbld]

Everybody hates a tease!!!

Get us all worked up to see a neat cardstock creation & then --- NO PICS!!
OK you got us now , we'll wait.

I think it's pretty slick to go WAaaaaaaay back for inspiration ( Dollar models) , people tend to forget that sometimes the old ways are at least as good ( sometimes better) as new tech.
Looking foward to see the results !!!

[ocalicreek]

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Okay, okay, here's a picture.

There are more ACTUAL images of the structure itself, but I've run out of time this week. I will post more, probably Wed. or Thurs. of next week.

Until then, Happy Scratchbuilding!

Galen

[nachoman]

I am excited to see what you have come up with. I have fond memories of carrying on some aspect of modeling when away from home, and with limited materials and/or money.

[ocalicreek]

Managed to get quite a bit accomplished yesterday afternoon and evening. Sunday afternoon was quiet with the kiddos at home. It's nice to just hear the sound of the #11 cutting through the cardstock, and the gentle swishing noise of bristles and paint on primed card. With a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier, a latte in hand, a steady supply of chocolate...life is good.

This is a neat little structure. Already I've modified some of the details but the essential character is the same.

One card-modeling insight I've gained - a NWSL chopper (or other such device) is a wonderful tool especially when it comes to modeling window mullions. Mine are made from a Cappucino Coolers box; thickness a little less than 1/32". The trick is in determining which bits can be sized the same, based on the order of steps you use to assemble the frame.

The family is coming up today ( ) so I had to put it away this morning. Don't want little 4-year old fingers playing with the sharp bits, or trying to put Daddy's building together. There'll be time to model with the kiddo when he's a bit older...just not this time around.

I left the camera at home this time at my wife's request...aparantly the kiddos do a whole lotta cute stuff while I'm away. However this means no progress pics this round, probably. OH well, I'll just have to post the first set when I get back home.

Galen

[ocalicreek]

I'm back and as promised here are a couple shots from the first round of pictures.

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This one shows my 'workbench' and a few of the tools I brought along. Front and center are the four main tower walls.


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Here is a closer look at the walls.

Much has happened since this was taken. Just this morning I added window mullions for large window #4, leaving two left. The leftmost wall with two complete windows has been primed and painted (white with green trim) as well as the one to it's right. These two have been joined to each other and a base/interior brace. Also, not shown, as it was not begun at this time, the little room under the stairs is framed together with both large walls and the little one under the steps complete.

I'm having a great time with this little project, as it is a welcome diversion from work. I absolutely love this new position and I believe my modeling time will reflect my job satisfaction. I know for some, modeling is a way to get away from a job that stinks and so is an easy retreat. For me, it's a little different. If I'm not finding some inkling of job satisfaction, that bleeds into every other aspect of life, including my hobby. Anybody else out there think or feel the same way?

Galen

[nkp_174]

I know for some, modeling is a way to get away from a job that stinks and so is an easy retreat. For me, it's a little different. If I'm not finding some inkling of job satisfaction, that bleeds into every other aspect of life, including my hobby. Anybody else out there think or feel the same way?

Galen

I'm with you. If I'm not happy with my work, my modeling output suffers dramatically. If I'm happy with my work, I'm punching out models rapidly...and sustaining my hobby projects rather than waffling from project to project.

It is looking nice. I agree that a NWSL chopper is a beautiful thing for window construction. I cut almost all of my window parts on a chopper...it saves days (or weeks) worth of work when building a passenger car.

[ocalicreek]

It is looking nice. I agree that a NWSL chopper is a beautiful thing for window construction. I cut almost all of my window parts on a chopper...it saves days (or weeks) worth of work when building a passenger car.

Thanks nkp! The two window frames in these shots were made without the aid of the chopper. It was after making these two that I woke up.

I'll tell a secret...I cheated on these two. The 'rear' frame extends the full height of the window and so supports the 'front' frame on top. The ones built since are a bit more 'correct' as one is modeled partly open.

I haven't decided on how to glaze the windows yet. I have some Micro Crystal Clear and it works okay. I've never used microscope slide glass before (well, not on a model!) but it may be a fun opportunity to try that out. Otherwise I'll go with whatever clear plastic I happen to find. Any thoughts?

Galen

[nkp_174]

A little cheating is alright. Even with board by board, most don't use real tongue & grove or ship lap boards...nor have I seen a mortise & tenon joint...so cutting corners is par for the course!

Clover House offers glass which is the same thickness as microscope covers...0.006". They also have a scriber tool for "cutting" it.

If something has "modern" glass, then I'd use one of the above. If it has early 20th/19th century glass, I prefer clear plastic. I plan on using real glass on my pre-war HO passenger cars...but clear plastic on all of my DSP&P cars.

Michael

[nachoman]

That is looking real nice! What is your source for the cardstock? Is it "recycled" material?

[LynnB]

This will be a nice building when done , I can't tell as pics don't go bigger but are the boards being put on card stock?

[tetters]

I have a stack of cereal boxes. Any chance I can use those to scratch build some structures like this?

[ocalicreek]

That is looking real nice! What is your source for the cardstock? Is it "recycled" material?

The corner posts & larger members on either side of a window frame are from 1/16" card that came from SS Ltd, I think. I had requested a few parts that were missing in a kit, along with some stripwood that arrived split. The card was taped on either side of the stripwood to keep it from being broken in the envelope.

The window mullions are from Cappucino Coolers boxes. My wife is addicted to the stuff so there's no chance of running out there! It's got printing on the outside, obviously, but inside is not sealed like the outside so it takes glue a little differently.

The main wall segments are 'shirt cardboard', that is, what would come inside a nice men's shirt in the package to keep it stiff for display. Also my wife saves any nice card for me that she runs across when purchasing scrapbooking materials.

I am a firm believer in reduce, reuse, & recycle. (For this hobby, especially older engines & rolling stock, it's also about repair, restore & rebuild!) A little structure like this doesn't use much, but it is a repurposing of the material. PLUS, it's not costing me an arm and a leg. A few #11 blades, some white glue and paint. The extra fun tools like the Chopper I consider investments in the hobby.

Galen

[ocalicreek]

This will be a nice building when done , I can't tell as pics don't go bigger but are the boards being put on card stock?

Here's a closer pic of the wall. I scribed lines in the card using a dental tool. My dentist in CA heard that I was into trains and offered me as many used tools as I would find useful. I took and assortment and duplicates of each to share. I'm not sure I'm happy with this particular tool for scribing boards, but maybe with time I'll like it better or I'll just try a different one.

I lined the scribing with pencil in order to see the lines better, and show them better in the photo. My lines aren't all that straight, as the close-up shot reveals.

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When I get some pics of the little room under the stairs, you'll see some board by board construction, just glued onto a cutout of the wall size & shape then trimmed and modified (gouged, knot-holed, etc.) as needed.

The small section of clapboard siding is individual planks cut from the coffee coolers box. So far everything is cardstock of some sort.

Galen

[ocalicreek]

I have a stack of cereal boxes. Any chance I can use those to scratch build some structures like this?

Go for it! I think a 'cereal box challenge' would be neat. Build a structure of any sort or scale using only one cereal box (standard size) as 98% of the raw material, allowing for little bits of wire & window glazing. Thicker sections can be built up a layer at a time...may be tedious, but it works (and did work for many early HO modelers!).

I still have to complete the scratchbuild a structure challenge from that other forum. :oops: The little building I was looking at for that build would make a nice next project once this one is completed. OR, I have a couple rolling stock kits I could assemble/weather/etc. Just a matter of assembling a slightly different set of tools & bits in another project drawer to take along.

I still bow before the cardstock master, Robin. Any chance some images of his work can be duplicated in a memorial gallery over here? (ahem, moderators?)

Galen