Scratchbuilt buildings...paper/card, or embossed plastic sheet.

[trkilliman]

Like many as the evenings draw in and it becomes a bit chilly outside I will embark on some serious modelling.
Making some buildings is on the agenda and I have gathered together a lot of stuff for scratchbuilding.
I have ample stock of the old Builder plus papers and also numerous sheets of Slaters Plasticard.

One part of me says go for plasticard finish as this has relief and allows some artistic input. On the other hand the brilliant Totnes layout by John Birkett-Smith uses the (former) Builder Plus papers to great effect. Ultimately the decision on which to use comes down to me of course. I am however interested in what others think of the merits of each.
Also, has anyone used the new tile effect plastic sheets that have come on the market, and Foamboard for barn walls etc where a thick wall adds to realism?

Steve

Falmouth.

[Newportnobby]

Hi Steve,
A lot to read but if you have a look through this section there are plenty of opinions on what is preferred

http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?board=135.0

[Dorsetmike]

Many of the brick and stone papers and cards look quite good, however I do think that as roofing is probably more visible than walls, that embossed plastic should work better. In the case of things like corrugated iron or asbestos then plastic certainly has my vote.

Buildings towards the back of the layout can get away with less prominent detail than those near the front. From the sound of things in your post you are aiming to scratch build rather than use kits.

[EtchedPixels]

For roofing you can cut the tiles into layers and then stick them overlapping and with the odd one crooked. You can also get sticky backed laser cut roof tiles for this sort of use.

(or indeed cut them in strips in printed vinyl..)

Alan

[trkilliman]

Recently there has been some very nice scratch-built buildings on ebay. They are a combination of embossed plastic sheet and card.

Just noticed that a very well modelled/detailed factory has sold for...£170.

Fair play to the seller it is a very nice model, and he also has other "one off's" advertised.

I think this demonstrates a couple of things.

a) There is a market for well built individual/one off structures
b) There are people that are prepared to pay for such exclusive models

The seller produces some very nice models, and the factory that has sold for £170 had 31 bids.

Maybe I had better stock up on some Plasticard...

[Bealman]

NewportNobby is quite right in pointing you in the right direction, as there has been quite a lot of discussion on this topic here on the forum.

The NGS journal has also covered the topic in recent times.

I think in the end it boils down to whatever you are a happy with... I prefer the embossed look rather than papers, even if it may be overscale.

One thing's for sure though.... nothing beats the satisfaction of making your own one-off building - be it a copy of a real one, or a product of your imagination.

I'd never buy one.... defeats the point, I reckon. 

[trkilliman]

On balance I prefer to use embossed styrene over printed papers. I'm not too sure about using styrene and paper on the same building?
J.Birkett- Smith said he preferred to use the old "late and lamented" Builder plus paper to cover buildings on his Totnes layout. In his opinion the embossed stone sheets were out of scale with the replicated pointing.

Of course it is down to personal choice/perception. I agree with you Bealman, there is great satisfaction to be had from making your own building/s, but it's not for everyone. Some will not possess the time and/or skills required, or they just prefer to buy and plant.

[red_death]

My preference is printed papers for most things (who am I to argue with John Birkett Smith anyway!) as I agree that generally embossed plasticard is well over-scale.

One interesting idea from the Copenhagen Fields team was that when they use embossed brick or tile that they sand it down to remove some of the relief to make them more accurate.  I must give that a try.

[Ngauging]

I intend to use plasticard and balsa on my layout. I also bought a couple of brass kits from Severn models to try out. I'm not fond of printed details. Tbh if I thought that was the only option I'd probably switch to OO gauge.

[EtchedPixels]

Embossing in N is generally overscale - the depth of the ink on white paper is probably closer to reality!

My favourite material is the foam stuff used for pizza bases. I was introduced to it by another modeller and it cuts beautifully and can be carved and embossed or covered. When you are doing it can then be covered in acrylic varnish etc to harden it.

Next time you have a pizza grab the base and a craft knife and try it out.

Alan

[port perran]

I'm a fan of plasticard myself and use toffee apple sticks and/or coffee stirrers to build the frame and to add detailing.  Sometimes I also use card for bits and pieces.
I guess a lot is just down to personal choice.

[Bealman]

Embossing in N is generally overscale - the depth of the ink on white paper is probably closer to reality!

My favourite material is the foam stuff used for pizza bases. I was introduced to it by another modeller and it cuts beautifully and can be carved and embossed or covered. When you are doing it can then be covered in acrylic varnish etc to harden it.

Next time you have a pizza grab the base and a craft knife and try it out.

Alan

Aye, but what flavour? And I wouldn't like to be wandering up to a building on me layout and it reminded me I was hungry....

It would smell of a Dominoes El Scorcho, by the way 

George

[Chinahand]

Personally I'm a 'card' man and use Scalescenes downloads which I print onto 100gsm linen weave paper for brickwork and 100 gsm 'parchment' paper for concrete or stone. I find that these papers give just the right amount of relief and texture for N Scale. For roof tiles I cut them into 2 course strips and notch each tile on the lower course. These are then laid from the bottom roof edge up so that the notched course lays on top of the glued course. I must admit, however, that I do sometimes use plasticard to produce special items such as stone window frames which sit proud of the main building face or where structural strength is required such as for platform canopies.

[fatso]

  :bounce You cant beat a good Kellogg's box for buildings and shoes boxes are nice as well.mike

[Bealman]

I once suggested the cardboard from Brut aftershave boxes on this forum, but received all sorts of interesting replies, so after my comments on the pizza cardboard, I might just let that one go 

George