Cardstock Structures

[Robertj668]

After reading this months Model Railroader article on "Building realistic cardstock structures.  I became curious about it.  I am looking on the recommended websites they listed but am curious if anyone here has worked with them before. 

Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

Robert

[buzz]

Hi Robertj668
Did not see that article are you sure it was August's MRR.
However it is vital that your craft knife blade is razor sharp at the first sign of bluntness get rid of it, otherwise you will end up with fuzzy edges that will spoil your model.
Your rule and set squares need to be steel so you have a straight edge to run your craft knife down while cutting the card.
If you are scratch building in card take the time to shelac your card parts to harden them up prior to assembly.
Make your own shelac using shelac flakes and industrial grade methylated spirit not the rubbish methylated spirit you get down the local hardware shop.
If you are building card Kits take the time to run a coloured texta pen down the edge of the parts so no white edges show.
Think about how much wood needs to go in to reinforce the structure and where card gussets will do.
Measure Three Times and Cut Once

For scratch building make sure you have enough layers of card per side to get a level of relief that you are happy with.
You will be amazed at what can be achieved with patience and a few sheets of good quality card.
Find an old timer who can show you a few neat tricks to get good results working in card.
I say this because I have seen card scratch built structures and passanger cars built by some one who had been at it for years and it took a while to convince my self that they where card
regards John

[Robertj668]

buzz
Great advice.  There is a software program to looks interesting that would love to get. It lets you design your own buildings.
Robert

[r0bert]

a whole bunch of free ones are here, just download and print on heavy cardstock
http://www.illinois-history.gov/ps/construct_mainstreet.htm
tall warehouse bulding is one from this site.

[Robertj668]

r0bert
That is cool I Bookmarked the page!
Thank you
Robert

[Jim Banner]

Haven't done a card stock building in years.  I used to carry a kit with me when doing field work in the arctic - Xacto knife with #11 blade, a small square of 600 grit wet and dry paper for sharpening the knife, a small pair of scissors, a steel scale rule and a small tube of Ambroid cement.  For materials, I used cigarette packages (Canadian style, not the American pouches) and pages cut from my field note book.  We weren't supposed to cut the numbered pages out of our note books but I used to get more flack about the back covers which were always cut and scarred from using them as a cutting board.  And besides, the paper was heavier than normal and made great shingles (that was what the scissors were for.)

I rarely painted these buildings, in fact, I rarely kept them.  Mostly I gave them away and let the recipient paint them.  I usually recommended that they paint the inside as well as the outside and that they stick to fast drying lacquers.  With some of the buildings, I lined the insides of the walls with the aluminum foil from the cigarette packages so that light would not bleed through.

Thanks, buzz, for bringing back some pleasant memories.

Jim

[jerryl]

Paper Creek has a free download on thier site (Google " Paper Creek" )  It's an old outhouse.  I made one & it is VERY hard to tell from wood if you do it according to the instructions.   Jerry

[jerryl]

  PS just remembered that Dover publishers has put out at least 3 HO scale sets of buildings in book form. One is " An Early New England Seaport" Which has 10 structures on very heavy cardstock.  The other one I have is "Victorian Houses".   The one I don't have is "A Western Frontier Town"  at the time I bought them they were $5.95  & $3.50. Be prepared to shell out a little more today .Just remember they are HO scale & some of the detail is VERY small, Take your time.
   Also about a year ago RMC did a review of some of Clever Models structures. Very good with some good tips.    jerry

[Robertj668]

Jerry
Thanks for the advice. After all this I think I need a better printer now.  However I am going to make one anyway.
Robert

[RAM]

I down loaded the Paper Creek ho outhouse.  However when I print it it looks O scale.  Has anyone printed it in ho?

[Robertj668]

RAM
I read on some sites that to get HO it must be printed at a scaling of 87%.  Not sure if that is correct though.
Robert

[jward]

for your first attempt, i'd build the outhouse as you printed it. if it is o scale, the size may make it easier to work on until you get the hang of things.

i may have my calculations wrong, but i think the reduction from o scale to ho scale is 33% at least that is how much area an ho building will take up compared to the same one in o scale.

[Jim Banner]

Let's see now.  H0 scale is defined as 3.5 mm per foot.  That would be 3.5 / 25.4 = 0.1378 inches per foot.  American 0 scale is defined as 1/4 inch per foot.  So the reduction ratio should be .1378 / .250 = 0.5512 or about 55%.

For anyone wondering why it is not exactly 50% when H0 stands for Half 0, it is because 0 scale was originally defined as 7.0 millimeters per foot, or about 1:43.54.  American toy makers were not used to dealing in metric, so they made their trains slightly smaller at 1:48 or 1/4 inch per foot.

Jim

[jerryl]

If I rememder correctly, the web site tells you what % to use when copping for HO, I'll have to recheck.   But it was good advise to build it in O scale to get your feet wet.  Jerry

[CNE Runner]

It is amazing, to me, that we are rediscovering materials and techniques in the hobby that were common place some 50+ years ago. I continue to be surprised by what the early model railroaders accomplished given the materials, money, and methods they had available.

"Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it."

Never have truer words been spoken.

Ray