I realize I’ve done scratch building before but I’ve never built a building before. Since my layout will require almost entirely scratch built buildings I thought I’d start with something simple.
This is not something I scratch built, this is a card stock building I made a couple years ago. I like it, it looks awesome… but keeping things straight is a hassle and it weighs nothing so it doesn’t like to stay put. But most importantly it’s a simple building so it seemed like a good thing to try replicating (and it’s handy not having to convert any measurements).
I started with some clapboard siding styrene, once I got the walls all cut out I went to glue the walls together. I had even gotten some Plastruct specifically for styrene and that’s when things went wrong. I used some magnets to try and hold the first two pieces and ended ruining the siding.
After that I switched to CA glue because it works reasonably fast and doesn’t melt the plastic.
Overall I’m pretty happy with how it’s turning out so far, I need to dig through my styrene to find some pieces for the doors, roof, and trim pieces for part 2. I also need to determine how dilapidated I want to make it look once painted. I didn’t really have a choice with the card stock version as that’s how it printed out. I’ll probably go with a better maintained look as my diorama’s era is more contemporary to when the building would be well maintained.
I’ll also note this progress has been the result of small bits over several weeks. It’s been a nice project where i can come spend a couple minutes on something and put it away until I have time again (so don’t necessarily expect part 2 to be published tomorrow š )
Matt's Railroad Blog 