I seem to recall that tissue paper can be used for roofing. Can anyone elaborate on the technique? What glue do I use? Will the glue absorb into the tissue so that it can't be painted? If so, do I need to use black tissue paper?

Any and all information will be greatly appreciated.

Tom

I use dress pattern paper(very thin tissue) then paint a piece of urethane with clear acrylic medium put paper on the medium.I use a pallet knife then let dry
then when dry i repaint with a mixture of black, white and a touch of purple for a weathered black tar paper look.
after it is dried then you can lift it off the urethane and cut to size and attach to roof.
Jim

Not sure about tissue paper, this may be a technique Darryl Huffman uses , sorry thats all I recall. Although I have had good success using phonebook paper.

Tissue paper looks good for "roll roofing" - i.e. tar paper. Use the kind you'd wrap gifts in, or sometimes comes with shirts. Cut to a suitable scale width (24 to 48 inches) and length (rolls are probably 20 to 50 feet, given the weight).

I then paint my roof substructure with a generous coat of black paint. Lay the tissue right in the paint, gently working it in with the paint brush. Let it dry, then paint again with the same paint. If you want to detail patches or seams, use a sharpie marker or even a glue syringe filled with the same paint to outline the patches or seams.

Hope that helps.

Andrew

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I really appreciate it. I think I know how to proceed now.

Tom

I heard about this idea some time ago and thought I'd try it on a couple structures I got from Mooreway. The results, hmmm welll, I think it needs more work. I tore little strips off of single ply TP, laid them down in rows on the roof, dripped watered down Elmers on top of that. When the watered down Elmers came into contact with the TP, it expanded, leaving ridges. I tried pulling on the edges ever so gently to stretch it back out and smooth out the ridges but it was so fragile after becoming wet that most of the time, it just tore. After it had all dried, for some reason, I went over it with a brown marker instead of black... I guess I wanted a different roof texture. The results are... hmmm, well less than ideal.

Andrew's method also works well with facial tissue - apply it one ply at a time. If you're using regular tissue paper, you can cut it into 3' wide strips, then lap the joints (vertically and horizontally) as you proceed up the roof.

I often simulate roll roofing using paint, as on these structures:
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Even .005" sheet styrene can be used on smaller buildings:
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Wayne

Oh sure! Show me up there Doc! And now you've seen some really bad examples and some really good examples.

TrainNut Wrote:Oh sure! Show me up there Doc! And now you've seen some really bad examples and some really good examples.

Yeah, right! Your process yields a more detailed effect and has better possibilities for showing a roof that's seen better days. It just demonstrates that there's always more than one way to accomplish a task, and no particular one is the "right" one. There's also nothing limiting a modeller to using only one of these or other choices.

Wayne

I like to use fine sand paper for roofing, I just picked some up at the LHS for my coal dock . I paint it with a simple spray can , cut it into strips , and glue it down. I'll post some pics in the next day or so when I'm finished.

Masking tape can work well too, just be prepared to add additional adhesive. Lemme see if I can't get a picture of my scratchbuilt shed with tissue roof...

Galen

I too prefer masking tape. I usually lay strips on a pice of plate glass, spray paint it flat black, apply it to the model using a wooden coffee stirrer as an application tool to get into little nooks, and then weather with powder chalks sealing with dullcoat. That is what works well *for me*, but as the good Doc says, there is more than one way to do it.

Train Nuts roof actually doesn't look half as bad as he says, I have seen plywood roofs on outbuildings with tar paper that after several years looks just like that. I think it looks just fine, don't knock yourself too hard.

I've used tissue paper (as in the kind you blow your nose on) once for a caboose roof and was please enough that I'll be repeating it for at least one more. You can find some photos here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=155662&page=2">http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread. ... 662&page=2</a><!-- m -->. In short, I used paint as the adhesive (which I later followed with diluted glue, though that may have been unnecessary).

Good Luck!

Matt

That is 120 grit sand paper for roofing material. For HO it's fine, for N scale you might want something finner. As in O or S something coarser.[attachment=719]

I finally finished (sort of) the roof on the roof of the Walthers freight house. Still need to do some detail work and finish the edges. I don't think it came out too bad for a first attempt. Thanks to all who contributed ideas. They are really appreciated.



Tom