Scratch Building...homemade

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Great, thanks so much. This is a great deal but the shipping is adding 50% to the price.
Dave
 
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Yeah, it is and I'm sure I'll buy some in the future but today I purchased a few "For Sale" signs at Wal-Mart. $2 for 2x2.5' sign, that's cheap. I did just buy some stuff from Plastruct because they are having a big sale. They also have expensive shipping charges.
D
 


i too was looking for a warehouse type structure - but something a little more modern. a friend turned me on to this site. if you didnt already know about it.

http://www.nu-linestructures.com/index.htm


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you can purchase the entire structure, or the parts and the prices are great.
 
My question is what would be a good material to create silos and typical warehouse structures?
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If you haven't already committed to a material. . .
I use a lot of Sintra PVC Foam board - not foam core - for all kinds of things: buildings, control panels, mounting switches, signal light housings and bases. It cuts nicely and glues with CA to a very strong bond after 24 hours. I just bought a 24" x 48" x 1/8 for $10.00 "scrap" from a local sign shop. That will last a loooooong time in HO scale. There is another brand name but I can't remember it now. I used it to build the decks and superstructure of a 1/32 scale fireboat. It comes in colors and thicknesses.
I look forward to seeing pictures of your factory complex.
Jon
 
Airslide said:
i too was looking for a warehouse type structure - but something a little more modern. a friend turned me on to this site. if you didnt already know about it.

http://www.nu-linestructures.com/index.htm




you can purchase the entire structure, or the parts and the prices are great.
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Right now Walthers has that building for about $52.00. I bought 1 a few years ago & use it for a Walmart Dist. Center.
You can also buy walls to make it larger.



Larry
 
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Here's an aerial view of mine. It's 20 by 30 inches.
 
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This photo shows about 3/4th's of them. There's a few more to the left of the picture.
 
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As for sheets of styrene, find someone that works at a department store and ask if you could have some of there old advertiding sign. I get mine from a friend at Home Depot.
 
jas said:
As for sheets of styrene, find someone that works at a department store and ask if you could have some of there old advertiding sign. I get mine from a friend at Home Depot.
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All of the Walmarts are getting ready to Remodel all of their stores again.
Start making dumpster diving trips when you see them bring in a big open topped dumpster in your neighborhood. The store here in Arcadia has 3 storage trailers behind the store & the store mgr. says they are starting almost all of the Florida & georgia stores in the next 2 weeks.
Now, if you want some scratchbuilding materials the WM's are the place to get it. I have enough diff. kinds of plastic to build at least a thousand structures from the last remodel in 2007. Plus I built 3 skyscrapers from scratch from the stuff I got from the 2006 remodel.
Just go into any of your WM's & ask if you can have all of their signs they throw-away every week. tell them what you are using it for.
They would like for you to take it home, so, they don't have to pay the dumping fee.

Larry
 
CSX Fan 75

Here is a coal burning power plant that I built from scratch using foamcore and brick sheets. The conveyer towers I built from blocks of balsa that were covered with corrugated plastic sheets. The conveyors were Walthers and the dump houses were Tichy. Unfortunately I didn't use it in my current Florida layout, so it sets in storage.

Larry


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Really nice work. Have you had any problems with the foamcore warping?

Courious, what is the plate between the tracks? and the bars between the rails?
 
Airslide said:
are those what i think they are....
spaceheaters?

if so thats brilliant! Even if not they look great..
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The Skyscrapers are Tower fans & there's a few scratchbuilt ones from fans & electronic displays out of a WM remodel.

Larry
 
Jon NFL said:
Really nice work. Have you had any problems with the foamcore warping?

Courious, what is the plate between the tracks? and the bars between the rails?
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Don't know about the plate...a jig for track spacing maybe?

The bars are "T"-pins temporarily holding the track in place.

Rotor
 


Jon NFL said:
Really nice work. Have you had any problems with the foamcore warping?

Courious, what is the plate between the tracks? and the bars between the rails?
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Foam core has a tendency to warp. The power plant was reinforced with 1" x 1" pine and plastic I-beams. If you buy "Stratocore" impregnated plastic which is the same material that outdoor political signs are made from, there is no warping to speak of. It can be found at most art supply stores.







Larry
 
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