scatch building

[first timer]

Hi all,  I would like to have a go at scratch building although I,m not very good at that sort of thing I would like to know what sort of materials to use say to make old sheds or barns or broken down outbuildings, line side huts etc. how do I know  what size to build them or what wood or material to use. Any help would be very welcome.

Les 

[Trev]

Hi Les,

Good on you.  Scratch building can be hugely rewarding.

Have you had a look at the excellent work of Rodger.  A step by step guide to how he has done his buildings can be found here:   http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=38690.0.

And to see more of Rodger's work, his layout is detailed here: http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=38682.0

[Bealman]

Hi Les

I have used card, plasticard and all sorts of stuff in the past, but for the definitive guide I can only recommend you follow Trev's links to Roger's superb work.

[PLD]

I would like to have a go at scratch building although I,m not very good at that sort of thing

The only way to get better is plenty of practice! I'm sure we all look back at our early efforts and cringe 

I would like to know what sort of materials to use

Whatever you are most comfortable working with and you feel gives the best results.

Don't be afraid to experiment with different techniques and different materials for different jobs. Not everything will turn out perfect first time but a bit of card or plasticard is cheap compared to most kits and you will finish-up with something unique and a sense of achievement.   

[longbow]

If you are going with card you might try building one of the free Scalescenes kits as a guide to model design. 

[first timer]

Thanks for all your feedback, How do I find out the sizes of things I want to make?.

[RailGooner]

If you had a digital image of a building you wanted to model, you could use the freeware program GIMP (https://www.gimp.org/) to determine dimensions as long as you know at least one dimension in that image.

Let's say there is a red brick building down your street that you want to model. You could place a 1 meter white stick against that building and take a photo. Import the photo into GIMP and knowing the dimension of the stick you'll be able to work out other dimensions - well GIMP will work it out for you.

With images you've sourced from a web search, there'll nearly always be something in the image you could reliably find the exact dimension of: a railway wagon; a post box; a Transit van; etc.

[JohnN]

If you are going by photos in books or off the internet, then you can use doors as a guide. They are usually in the range of 6 foot to 6 foot 3 inches tall I believe. Older buildings, cottages etc may have slightly smaller doors than newer buildings.