New to the hobby - 2 Questions

Tim:

I don't know where you live, but I would recommend that you find a model railroad club in your area and hook up with them. They will be able to help you much more effectively than any on-line discussion group or any book or magazine. Trust me, I've been there!

Peter Gross

I think I would try

Good luck

-lehigh_guy-

Welcome, as far as being lazy -- that isn't too impressive as most of us are lazy. Also, if you can find stuff for free -- please share! :)

J. Bright

Tim,

I don't know how cheap you wish to be, but a reasonable purchase ($5-10)would be a scale rule. These are available at hobby shops and undoubtedly also on-line. They read in scale feet and inches for a variety of scales (you know there are several). Armed with this tool, you can use plans, or even photos of real structures, and produce the parts you need to build a model.

regards,

Andy Miller

thanks! I didnt know about the scale ruler, this sounds like it will come in handy. I'll take a look for one! ~Tim

highgate spake thus:

That scale rule will be one of your essential tools for scratchbuilding. Most of us end up with the standard stainless steel one made by General, with HO, O, S and N scales. (Available at most hobby shops or through Walthers, assuming you're in North America.)

You'll discover soon enough what else you need depending on what materials you use. For either plastic (styrene) or paper (cardboard, cover stock, illustration board) you'll need the canonical No. 11 hobby knife, small files, sandpaper, a good cutting board (homemade will do), possibly a magnifier depending on your eyesight, and about 55,000 other tools. (Just kidding.) Just to say that you can never have enough tools.

Tim,

These are a bit heavy duty but may be of help to you:

"Paul - The CB&Q Guy" (Modeling 1960's In HO.)

Thanks for the note - the modeling I am good with; I've built plenty of "stuff" over the years, I've got the tools and the skills, I just want to keep it all in the proper scale. The ruler sounds like it will be a big help.

Now, the wireing and switches and such, THAT I need to learn a lot more about!

~Tim

Thanks Paul! Great link! Now, I just need to shrink them down to HO Scale! I have a feeling this is going to be a fun project!

~Tim

Looks like a great resource, except that most of the ones past 2004 have no graphics available.

Hi Tim,

The Historic American Buildings Survey site has a searchable database. Not all of the entries have schematics, but many do, along with photos and notes.

Cheapskate? Shoot, I built almost the entire frame of my layout and all the foam top of it out of reclaimed material. I've made my own foam, use weeds for trees, and just got lucky (maybe) in finding 16 sheets of .010" X 28 X 38 styrene. I figure I can laminate them up to .040" and see what happens.

Cheap? What's wrong with that? I'd rather recycle it than see it in a landfill for the next 3000 years.