Cardboard Buildings "how to"

Hello I am quite new to the hobby and am also an old grandad with failing sight and stiff fingers.

I have sat down with board , craft knife, and pencil.

I have built some tunnel and viaduct stuff all from my own vision it almost looks real but not of course any scale known to man.

What I need is a site that can help me design and build some models of all types. I am not interested in copying the commercial stuff it seems so flimsy.

So any sound advice would be most appreciated. Please answer to the group as my address is a spam trap.

........................Leslie

Reply to
Leslie
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You might take a look at the Metcalf range, they do assorted buildings as kits but they also sell sheets of pre-printed brick walling and they also sell the printed clear plastic window inserts separately. They are not flimsy, they use thick card similar to artists mounting card (good stuff to work with)

I got a lot from the book Miniature Building Construction by John Ahern, written in the 50s and long out of print but you might find a second hand copy on Abe Books

More recently there has been a book on modelling buildings the Pendon way (I havent seen it but I have seen it recommended on this group more than once)

Alan Downes produced a series of books on buildings but these tended to favour his own methods (such as making an embossing tool, cladding a card shell in Das clay and using the tool to make the stonework). However the books did contain a set of plans for 4mm scale buildings.

Do you want to make models for any particular purpose or to any particular scale?

HTH & Regards

Mike

Reply to
Mike

Seconded. My ten-year-old did a bang-up job of assembling the Metcalfe double-track engine shed, his first "proper" cardboard kit; looks the part and was straightforward to assemble with decent instructions.

Guy

Reply to
Just zis Guy, you know?

A major rule for building in cardboard is that you build with three (or odd numbers) of layers of card for walls and flat panels to avoid warping.

Reply to
Gregory Procter

Gregory Procter wrote:-

Alternatively: construct a box out of clear styrene and build the model around that. Saves the effort of adding glazing later.

(kim)

Reply to
kim

Thirded??? I find Metcalfe good to work with, and lends it self to kit bashing well.' Regards Rob

Reply to
Rob

Or add stripwood glued to the inside of the walls/corners (that also works well with the Prototype range of card kits which are printed on thinner card).

I think the original post wanted info on scratch building, a google on cardboard modelling should throw up quite a lot (mostly kits)

Regards

Reply to
Mike

Mike wrote:-

Been there. It's mostly downloads of commercial 'print out and cut' models. Little of it railway oriented and what there is leaves much to be desired. Easier to kit bash. Prototype and Alphagrafix are good for west midlands subjects. If you're anything like me you'll already have a spare bedroom filled with half finished or yet-to-be-started card building projects.

(kim)

Reply to
kim

Flat surface - I have a glazed wall tile left over from a kitchen job twenty years ago that has a good flat surface (checked with a steel rule), ideal for final assembly work. In my youth I had an old mirror for the same job but you do have to check the surface is flat as not all mirrors or tiles are.

Reply to
Mike

... oh and why aren't you in bed? My excuse

I've noticed that about many of you guys. I live in Atlanta which is 5 hours earlier than the UK, but every time I check this group you are all awake. Too much coffee? Its only 9:45 here..... Rob

Reply to
Rob

Or use a heavier knife like a Stanley with a steel straight edge (rule) and score and break. I find that I can treat thin plywood almost like Plastikard and it is easier to maintain a straight line than using a saw. With heavier thicknesses up to 1.5mm, you might have to score the line two or three times to get enough depth to let the plywood break easily along the cut.

You might have to clean up the edge a bit with a few strokes of a sanding block to take of the odd feather or two.

For thicknesses of 2mm and above, a saw cut is probably the better bet.

Jim.

Reply to
Jim Guthrie

...

Using thin plywood as a carcass (a technique I use) may also be a way forward for the OP, not at all flimsy and using a fine tooth saw to cut has got to be as easy as making precise cuts with a scalpel type blade. Plywood can be glued using the same glues as you'd use for card, either white wood glue or a bostic/UHU type general purpose glue - white wood glue is cheaper. ;-) Also you can drill into ply to fix gutters/downspouts and of course it comes with it's own rebates for door/window frames and the like.

One other thing, if you're thinking about lighting your models - with bulbs as opposed to LEDs, ply won't warp with the heat in the same way as card can if you're not careful.

Don't know of any sites though so a few tips I've found useful for building buildings ...

Invest in a flat surface ... piece of glass or something of that ilk to assemble on, get a small engineers square or something that will serve a similar purpose that you can use as such is dead useful during assembly and I've found that a compass is invaluable - even one of the cheap and cheerful types sold as part of a school maths set, even with my basic skills I've found using a compass to draw parallel lines, raise right angles, mark out exact distances and the like to be far easier and precise than using other methods. Also if your fingers are getting a little stiff you don't have to worry to much about holding the ruler still whilst you first measure, measure again then draw or cut as you can always put your compass down to rest your fingers, pick your nose, slap the cat - whatever, pick it up again and the distance is still set.

HTH

Reply to
Chris Wilson

...

Steel rule ... I forgot that one ... oh and why aren't you in bed? My excuse is that I'm married :-(

Reply to
Chris Wilson

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