Changing my mind about building kits…

[N-Gauge-US]

When I first got into the hobby 6-7 years ago, I discovered the Metcalfe Kits and could not understand why the more experienced generation of modellers tended to knock them. I thought they were easy, cheap, and of excellent appearance. All of that is still true— but I now see what they mean. The omnipresence of the same Metcalfe kits on every layout that I see photographed has rendered them (or most of them) dull. Let me be clear— I am in no way diminishing the quality of their products and they continually expand the line to stop it from being too limited— I just am bored of seeing them. Sadly, I have a large number of unbuilt Metcalfe kits that I purchased before my last aborted project and now, on the eve of another build, I find myself preparing to buy a variety of plastic kits, with the intention to kit bash all but the simplest things (signal boxes, line side huts, etc) in order to have something a little "different." What's sad, is that I was given this advice when I got started and it fell on deaf ears. If I had started then, I would be sitting on a box of plastic kits right now instead (and in many cases, would have paid a lot less for them!). Just thought I would post this here in the hopes someone else might see it and avoid making the same mistake.

All the best,
Philip

[Chris Morris]

Metcalfe are what they are and do a very good job of it. They are an excellent start point and for many that's all they will ever need.

There is no reason why you can't use plastic and card kits together. Here I had a combination of Metcalfe, plastic kits and scratchbuilt all together. I found giving the Metcalfe buildings a very light air brushing of weathered black made them look more real.

[Moria]

Agreed, there is a certain sameness about Metcalfe kits, but frankly, a lot depends on what you actually want from your model railway.   If everyone started building plastic kits only, would there be a plethora of Peco station buildings which people would say..  oh man, every layout has one, lets use the Metcalfe ones to be different

Personally, I use a combination of Card (Metcalfe and Scalescene) Plastic, Lasercut Wood and Resin.

After all, you can just as easily modify and kitbash a Metcalfe kit (if not easier) than a plastic kit, and for many the fact that that a cardboard kit is pre-finished (textures and windows etc) is a boon.  Yeah, I know that some people much prefer seeing the embossing on brick, rather than flat printed, and thats fine.. it's an individual choice. 

To be frank, some examples that I have seen of plastic kits put together, or kitbashed have been absolutely crucified by an appaling paint job and look far worse than a well assembled metcalfe kit, even if the Metcalfe is samey.   

It comes down to the amount of time you have and the amount of skills you have.

To be completely different, you have to scratchbuild and not use a kitbase of any type, and that there is yet another new skill.

Personally, I don't see any difference in putting together a plastic kit, or a cardboard kit as designed.. they are both, to me, going to be obvious as to their heritage,  and for anyone that wants to kitbash plastic...  well kitbash card and try that..  there are no rules that Metcalfe need to be built as supplied. 

Just my opinion, as always, everyone else entitled to theirs.

Graham

[Bealman]

To me, the Ratio plastic kits are great. They have etched brass parts as well.

There are problems, though! Just like Metcalfe kits, they too are seen on many layouts. They also only do railway oriented stuff - engine sheds, station buildings, and the like.

The Kestrel kits are cheap, but there is a most definite scale difference between Metcalfe and Kestrel.

I like cheap continental kits that can be kit bashed into all sorts of stuff.

There again, I look on scratchbuilding as kit building.... the only difference being you produce the parts yourself!

[martyn]

On James St, Steve started out with Metcalf kits, before adding various make plastic kits, UK, Continental, and US in origin; but most of these, card and plastic, have been modified in some way or another.

On the latest ones, he is using a home made kit from plastic or card cut on his own Cricut cutter. But 95% of the buildings stared from commercial kits of one make or another; he's also scratch built a few buildings, mainly those in the loco depots, such as the roundhouse, straight shed, coal towers, and ash plant.

He has also used Scalescenes brick paper on a number of buildings as he thinks the colours are more suitable.

Use whatever you please for your area, and don't be afraid to alter or cross=kit to get the desired results.

Martyn

[Chris Morris]

I found scratchbuilding to be surprisingly easy. As Bealman says you design and make your own kit and then assemble it. I kind of design mine backwards. I know what I want the building to be like and then I get hold of some doors and windows. I then draw the building I want using the windows and doors that I have as a start point. This may seem strange but it works for me. Could I recommend N Brass Loco as a source for windows and doors - https://www.nbrasslocos.co.uk/nline1.html .

Sorry if this is moving the thread away from its intention but here is a very brief overview of scratchbuilding.

My drawing based on as many photos as I could find and sized using the windows and doors obtained from N Brass Loco.


Basic sides cut out from plasticard or Wills plastic sheets. In this case Wills corrugated iron sheets. Yes I really did end up with sides of different lengths despite working to my drawing. I had to re-cut the one side. All part of the fun.


I detailed my sides before assembly. This is a side for the other building using Slaters Plasikard. Much easier to work with but perhaps not quite as sharp a finish as Wills. I found Slaters microstrip to be really useful for details such as bargeboards and window surrounds.


One assembled building. These photos and drawings are a combination of both my station buildings so they don't all work together. Hopefully they give an idea though. You will notice that I took this apart and changed the angle of the roof before finishing. This roof angle looked fine on my drawing but looked wrong when the building was done.


Once planted and decorated they usually look OK. A nice bit of greenery will hide any major issues in a scratchbuild (but don't tell anyone about that).


Always remember that while you as builder will know all the flaws in your work, others will very rarely notice it.  Be warned that the camera is cruel. Enjoy 

[Bealman]

That's the way it's done! 

[kesdrive]

Metcalfe kits can be changed. Alternative brick papers can be stuck on top or even render using plaster or similar. When looking down on to a layout you are looking down onto the roof of buildings. I find that REDUTEX self adhesive roofing slates are straightforward to use and look very effective. Other roofing effects can be used.

Weathering powders used sparingly provide a very good effect.
The one detail I don't use are Metcalfe chimneys. I use plastic tube suitably painted which works well. Guttering and drainpipes can also be added.

Chris

[Greygreaser]

My approach to the scenic plans was to photograph some of the prototype build8ngs around the railway location and try to find kits that would give me those buildings! Not easy but it has produced a surprising number of sources:-
Metcalfe, Ratio, Kestrel(Gaugemaster), Langley, York Modelmaking, 'tookadum' - eBay, Builder Plus, Kingsway Models and Greygreaser
In the prototype village there wasn't one builder of all the properties and the railway Co GER had a standard design they imported - so why only use one source of kit? Why not bash 'em a bit to suit your ideas too? I've gone from fearful of the result to looking for ways to 'individualise' my buildings and the resulting landscape is much more true to life.

[Twistleton1944GWR]

Have to say, Metcalfe always appear overscale to me and especially when stood next to Ratio/ Peco etc etc plastic kits, 3D printed buildings or Scalescenes card buildings.

I'm systematically removing them from my layout one area at a time.

I've been using an airbrush and buildings kits for many years, so where possible my preference is Plastic kit - 3D Print - Scalescenes

[OffshoreAlan]

Have to say, Metcalfe always appear overscale to me and especially when stood next to Ratio/ Peco etc etc

I agree. Here's a pic I posted a couple of years ago. I forget where the one on the left came from but the one on the right is Metcalfe I think.

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/107/6273-160321202223.jpeg

[Greygreaser]

The left hand kit made building looks to be from "In the Greenwood Laser" who have an eBay shop at

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/inthegreenwoodlaser?_trksid=p2047675.m3561.l2563

[Greygreaser]

Looking at the Greenwood series more closely they are made in 00, N and TT sizes but i cant see what scale he uses for each?
As "N" is derived from 9mm track gauge its interpretation ranges a bit between 1:148 to 1:160. This still doesn't cover large differences in building sizes but if you are comparing like-for-like kits, a 30ft high building would be 61.78mm @148 and 57.15mm @160! Hardly the differences show by comparing different styles of building - but then there are differences for differing styles of building that can have structural sizes from differing periods.
Our rural cottage has ceilings about 7'6" high where the beams of the upper floor are exposed. The schools I went to were town Victorian and Georgian where the ceilings/floor spacing were 10'-12' apart. This is why my opinion is that Metcalfe is ok as long as it's not used 100%! The only place I've stuck to Metcalfe is the bridges, tunnel mouths and embankment walls so there's a consistency of 'build' in brick colour and style. I checked the heights and found them closer to prototype than some plastic kits and offering more scope for 'bashing' and landscaping.

[JasonBz]

Not all cottages are equal when it comes to size or dimensions.

I think this link to a Google Street View of Station Road in St Blazey gives a good idea of what I mean.

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.3602268,-4.7150404,3a,75y,55.82h,92.22t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1si5di4C470y02e-usX9_40Q!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3Di5di4C470y02e-usX9_40Q%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D0.84292823%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

[Dorsetmike]

Having a plotter cutter it is easy to make one's own "kits" , card or plastic, items like windows and doors are available in etched brass, chimneys 3D prints or cast, bay windows and dormers cast white metal.
Design is compartively easy, for most buildings the only 2 shapes needed are rectangles and triangles, the occasional circular or arched window.
I use downloaded brick or stone from Scalescene printed on self adhesive A4 label stock, stiuck onto card, thickness of which will be determined by size of building, for the terraces usually about 1mm, to keep things square a floor and ceiling of 5mm foam board and a vertical piece on the ceiling to support the roof

4 house terrace


Different door positioning



6 house terraces, 2 complete; fold the gable ends at right angles  (or for low relief cut the gable end in half and fix to other end) The "T" cut fold back each half to make a ginnel. when joining front and rear I  glue a piece of "L" section plastic inside the corner, Metcalfe usually have a fold over tab for joining at corners.


The latter will fit on an A4 sheet, the plotter cutter will take a bit less than 10 minutes to cut that out.

How about a rear extension


For the roof I use plasticard tile or York models tiling strips

A few kits awaiting construction, Peedie models etched brass doors and windows front left of centre; the dark red bits on the part bottom left are where the rear extensions will fit and also support the roof of the extension



A mix of Metcalfe & Peedie models kits rear right end the rest my DIY efforts note dormers and a bay window added to the Metcalfe ones (not too sure of the origin of the industrial unit front left quite a few years ago)