Meanwhile, at the cottage...a scratchbuild!

[tetters]

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

Cool....I got something I wanna try! Thanks for starting this build. I look forward to your progress.

[nkp_174]

Tetters, go for it if you like it! I personally am too in love with styrene I have played around with card stock, but will probably only use it for temporary buildings (mostly due to the techniques I like and my durability fears). It is most certainly a viable and cheap material. You have demonstrated your excellent skills in other areas, and I'd like to see what you could do with thick paper!

In the days before plastic, the big four were cardstock, metal (brass, steel & aluminum), dental stone, and wood. Today, I'd say that they are plastic, metal, hydrocal, and wood. While cardstock fallen out of favor with most modelers, it certainly has its perks and is still a viable material! The cost is tough to beat...and the satisfaction in having an essentially free building which blows away someone else's $40 Walthers kit or rivals a $200 FSM kit.

Galin, your lines may not be all that straight...but the more obvious detail...your windows...look nice and square!

Michael

[ocalicreek]

While cardstock fallen out of favor with most modelers, it certainly has its perks and is still a viable material! The cost is tough to beat...and the satisfaction in having an essentially free building which blows away someone else's $40 Walthers kit or rivals a $200 FSM kit.

Galin, your lines may not be all that straight...but the more obvious detail...your windows...look nice and square!

Thanks, Michael! I may not measure 10 before cutting one, but at least 2 or 3 times, maybe 4. The priming and painting (especially with the peeling paint dry brush technique I use) hides the wavy lines a bit.

I agree 100% about the cost being tough to beat. While I admire the intricate detail, run-down character, and overall quality of craftsman kits by FSM, SRM & others, I have ranted about them before (see my blog back at that other site on 'Craftsman Kit Hoopla'). The initial price may be justified by the mold-making and casting costs, material cost, planning, packaging and instructions, etc. but the resale values have gotten to be ridiculous.

I know there has been and will always be a market for such kits...heck, there are a few I'd like to own and build! But for now, at least, I can have fun honing my scratchbuilding skills. And once the tools & techniques are there, structure size really doesn't matter much except for the time involved in planning and construction, maybe in material costs.

Okay...off to Spanaway again tomorrow. My wife bought a replacement camera today for my defunct digital camera I had been using for train pictures. Actually it's for our family camera which now becomes my train camera. Megapixels for me just went from 3.1 to 7.1. Cool. Also means I'll be able to get a few pictures of the work from last week. I'll take a few shots before resuming work in a few days. Lent is a busy season (along with other additional duties like planning a council retreat) so it's sure nice to have a diversion in the evenings to settle the mind.

Thanks everyone for contributing to this thread so far!

Galen

[ocalicreek]

Yesterday I got the 4 main walls bonded together and the room under the stairs attached to the tower. Windows were installed prior to the final assembly using plastic packaging material from a little digital clock. Up next - the roof and the stairs/railing.

Not sure how I'm going to proceed with the stairs yet, whether to just build in place or set up a jig for the steps. Either way, it's another place where the chopper will come in handy.

The roof will be standing seam metal, using some material I've had around for a long time. I will be using 'permanent' double-sided tape to affix it. From what I've heard about the tape, (3M) it will rip the roof apart before the bond breaks. A study was done on using tape vs. mechanical means (screws, etc.) and the tape won out easily. In a Gulf town all of the street signs that were bolted on or riveted blew away whereas the taped signs did not. Still, I hope my little tower is not subjected to gale force winds!

Oh, and the roof itself will be removable to allow access to the interior. I'm building a little stove, desk, and chair to go in there. The wiring for the lighting will run up the stove pipe. I'm already envisioning the landscaping around the building...and I don't even have a layout to put it on yet!

Galen

[tetters]

Any pictures? I'd love to see how it coming along.

[Sumpter250]

One of the "passed masters" of the hobby, Jack Work, used Strathmore for most of his projects. While this is more expensive than cereal boxes, it is still less than styrene.
I remember Al Armitage's strong support of styrene as a building material, when it was just beginning to appear in the hobby. I always thought I'd stay with wood, but soon found the medium a good one to work with.
Another "passed master" of cardstock modeling, Robin Matthysen (Matthyro) was a highly respected member of The-Gauge. His work can be seen:
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I never had a chance to meet Jack Work, but I was blessed with the opportunity to spend a day with Robin. His work looked even better, up close and personal.

[LiveSteamer]

Looking good so far.

[ocalicreek]

Thanks again for the compliments and encouragement. I have taken several pictures over the past few days but won't be able to post them until I'm home later tonight at the earliest.

What made Robin's work extraordinary (IMO) was that it was mostly in N SCALE! Just crazy, but neat as all get out.

All 4 walls are assembled, plus the room under the stairs. Next week, the staircase and roof!

Galen

[Steve]

Looking good Galen! ........even with the wavy lines .

looking forward to progress pics......

[ocalicreek]

Well, since STEVE asked, here ya go!

[albumimg]675[/albumimg]

[albumimg]676[/albumimg]

You are looking at two walls assembled. This is from the other week when I didn't have the camera...figure that one out. Anyway, The top pic is the outside and the bottom the inside, minus window glass, of course.

Don't go far, kids, there's more to come after the break!

Galen

[ocalicreek]

And we're back...

[albumimg]677[/albumimg]

[albumimg]678[/albumimg]

Here's the little room under the stairs prior to any painting. The planks as well as the door are made from the same material as the window frames.

Galen

[ocalicreek]

Now compare these shots with the previous two.

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[albumimg]680[/albumimg]

Here is the side wall to which this room is attached, prior to priming and painting.

[albumimg]681[/albumimg]

There is a difference in painting technique between the little room and the rest of the tower. For the main tower I dry-brushed white directly over the primer then after it had dried mostly I gave it a black wash which I dabbed away, leaving a residue of black mostly in the cracks but also on the surface.

For the little room I primed with gray then painted a solid coat of Raw Sienna. After this had dried I dry-brushed on the white. I did this in order to simulate either a different kind of wood or different age of wood used in the (later) addition of this little room under the stairs.

The prototype had been moved from its original location when the article was written and pictures were taken. My guess is that the room under the stairs was added on after the tower was moved, in order to create more storage for MOW or other railroad stuff. Just a guess, however.

You'll also notice the doors have hardware. The plate (with tiny little keyhole) and knob on the upper door are paper and brass wire. There was little paper bit acting as a knob, but it kept falling off. When I get some CA up there I'll add something on. For the lower door I put a little strip of paper from the door to the frame, then pushed an eye bolt (lift ring) through the wall, almost all the way in. A little square of paper beneath and voila, a padlock.

Up next, catching up with the present!

Galen

[ocalicreek]

[albumimg]682[/albumimg]

[albumimg]683[/albumimg]

...and here's how I left it yesterday. All 4 walls assembled, with a landing and panel for under the stairs added. Also window glazing is in place. Tricky, but not impossible.

Galen

[nomad]

Galen, I couldn't believe it when I saw the hinges and door knob. Nice touch.

Loren

[tetters]

Awesome. I agree the detail on the door is a nice touch.