Modelling Buildings

[TheClergyMan]

So, I am building a new layout, the first one I am going to fully model. I have built layouts previously, but other than laying a sheet of grass on the table, I haven't done real modeling.

I am building an N scale, 2x4 layout, and need to know if it's worth the money to buy kits for buildings? If it's cheaper, then I would like to hand make my buildings (This is going to be modeled like a 1930s British railway)
but, if a good amount of modeling skill is need to do that, then I'd buy kits. Any suggestions about this? Sorry, bit confusing

 

[jdetray]

There are a few factors to consider.

1. Are there even kits available for the sort of structures you want? If not, then you have no choice but to build them yourself from scratch. If you are located in the United States, finding 1930's British structure kits may be difficult.

2. Do you have the necessary tools for scratch building your structures? For a start, you'll need an assortment of hobby knives, measuring devices, files, sanding materials, painting supplies, and various types of adhesives. Personally, I never regret spending money on good tools because they will always be useful, but to purchase everything at once will be fairly expensive.

3. If you need only a small number of structures, then buying the tools and materials for scratch-building will probably cost more than buying kits. However, if you build many structures, the cost of tools and materials is spread over more structures, so the per-structure cost goes down.

4. It definitely requires good modeling skill and plenty of practice to build nice structures from scratch. It the same with any skill -- you normally aren't very good when you are a beginner. The more you do it, the better you become.

Here are a few threads from this forum that show what it takes to scratch-build structures.

http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?31194
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?28155
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?27015
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?20155

If you look through the "Structures and Buildings" area, you will find more examples. Some are complex; others are simple. The model railroad magazines often publish "how-to" articles on scratch building. A Google search for model structure scratch building will find many hours of reading about the topic.

Only you can know if you have the patience to learn the required skills.

- Jeff

 

[Gary B]

There a lot going on with paper buildings lately. Many can be down loaded and printed off. With a simple tool set they can be made into nice structures or as a stand in until you can create or find something you like better. Nice part is you can mess it up and start over. There are also companys that sell ready printed or as discs or downloads. Might be a place to start the investment is small and return quicker. Good luck with your new layout.

 

[Cjcrescent]

First, I'd check the Faller and Vollmer buildings section in the Walthers N scale catalog. These 2 compaines have a lot of both HO and N scale buildings and being European companies, they would have models reflecting the architecture of that region of the world.

 

[cuxhaven]

Faller and Vollmer have very nice plastic buildings but they most depict Germany style. Not sure whether you can get N scale buildings for 1930 British scene.

 

[NScaler]

Scratch building structures isn't too terribly difficult if you can't find a kit or a printed model that works for you. Get some photos of the buildings you would like to model and then take a look at Plastruct and Evergreen for styrene that matches the parts you need. People also use cereal boxes for the stiff cardboard they are made from. Popsicle sticks, toothpicks, coffee stirs, etc can all be utilized in scratch building also. The possibilities for supplies are only limited by your imagination. And as arealgijoe on here said in another thread, it's not hard to change a model kit to suit your design. You can take those Faller and Vollmer kits and change them around enough to make them work for even American structures. So to build them as 1930's British structures shouldn't be that hard of a stretch.