Good Building Material for Model Building

I posted this in the yard, seeing how it doesn't relate to trains, but got to response, so I figured I would try it here. Due to a lack of room, I can't build the a model RR layout where we live, and quite frankly, with 10 more years till my wife retires, we still have several moves ahead of us and I don't want to have to take any chances moving a layout that often. The other project I was looking at doing was building a scale replica of a NASCAR speedway, to have a place to put my transporters and cars. That idea is now axed as I have decided to sell the transporters on ebay. So that leaves building a scale model of a NASCAR shop. I have been to Hendricks Motorsports several times in North Carolina, and thought it would be a fun project, and it would also be a learning experience for when I finally to decide to tackle my model RR plans. Probally the biggest hang up is the building itself. I want it to look good, so what are some tips, suggestions for building a building from scratch and what kind of material should I use? I know of ballsa wood, and the foam board. Is either of them a good idea? The foam board would look better than the wood, and I could even leave it un finished if I wanted to. Any body have any thoughts about how to do this and have it look really good, and also last a long time?Chris Bogley
Syracuse New York

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RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, pwillard, Sep-22-04, 03:45 PM, (1) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, SVTS, Sep-22-04, 04:17 PM, (2) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, MSG Redleg, Sep-22-04, 06:00 PM, (3) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, wakeboarder82, Sep-22-04, 10:12 PM, (4) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, SVTS, Sep-23-04, 08:19 AM, (5) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, sstyrnol, Sep-23-04, 08:41 AM, (6) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, SVTS, Sep-23-04, 09:50 AM, (7) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, sstyrnol, Sep-23-04, 10:30 AM, (8) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, SVTS, Sep-23-04, 11:12 AM, (9) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, jdtrainman, Sep-26-04, 09:26 AM, (10) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, CPR_9102, Sep-26-04, 10:58 AM, (11) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, SVTS, Sep-26-04, 11:40 AM, (12) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, Xacto, Sep-26-04, 11:12 PM, (13) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, SVTS, Sep-27-04, 09:18 AM, (14) RE: Good Building Material for Model Building, SouthwestChief, Sep-27-04, 01:02 PM, (15)

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Foam Board or Homasote are light weight materials that are commonly used by the N-TRACK Modular Clubs to support their portable layouts.Pete Willard

http://www.trainsimstuff.com

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Yes, but what I am looking for is a material to construct a building from, so would foam board be good for making a building?Chris Bogley
Syracuse New York

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Whether you are interested in HO or N you might try the local train/hobby stores to get hooked up with some local model train club. Several are "modular" clubs which allow you to do a module as small as 24" x 48" that dominos together with other modelers work. At this years Nscale convention they had enough to run a circuit that IIRC was 175 miles of operation. Now that's railroading !!The better train modeling shops will have several reference books that will get you started in structure building and will have all kinds of materials for you to use.

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When you say foam board I think you mean foam core board, not rigid foam insulation board used in building construction. Foam core is a peice of foam sandwiched between 2 card stock layers. If that's what you mean, yes, it is a pretty good model making material, depending on the material it is used to represent. Architecture firms use it all the time. Just a few tips, wash your hands before working with it or you get smudges all over it. Cut it using an X-acto knife, but change the blade after every few cuts. If your cheap with the blades and don't change them, you'll have many jagged cuts, trust me. If you want more tips just ask. Hope that helps some (if this is even what you are talking about).

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Yeah, thats what I mean, exactly. I had worked with blasa wood a few years ago, actaully, about 10 years ago, and wasn't a big fan of it, and the only other thing I could think of was the foam core board.One last thing....for now, do you use regular model glue?Chris Bogley
Syracuse New York

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Architect's paper board or plastic boards!Cheers!Sebastian

Visit my "sebastian's trains pages" at http://www.freewebs.com/sstyrnol ...

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Where can I get that at? Chris Bogley
Syracuse New York

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Over here in Germany in every shop selling hobby stuff like paint brushs, paint and stuff. Or maybe at Staples.I know for sure, you get these plastic boards from any model-rr store, as I have seen them over here. Dunno how they are called, but they are big sheets of them, sometimes even with a texture or structure in them (like stones).Cheers!Sebastian

Visit my "sebastian's trains pages" at http://www.freewebs.com/sstyrnol ...

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Ok, cool. I will probally be going out in the next couple days to check out some of these suggestions and see what I can come up with. I hope to have the buildings shell completed next week. It is the little details that will take the longest time, and in fact just like a layout, it is the little details that will never really allow for the project to be officially completed.Chris Bogley
Syracuse New York

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Plastruct plastic shapes and sheets! Use the 1/8" sheet for the base to build the rest of the building. Many of the sheet plastic products have patterns engraved to represent various types of siding. Cheap price and easily cut/trimmed with X-acto knivesJBD

Jim Duncan
Midwest Rail Group

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My layout I use...its on Canfor plywood, stucko, sand from outside, and paper machie..-Canada Eh!
-Canadian Pacific Railway
-www.trainweb.org/cprnosa

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You have sand in Canada?Chris Bogley
Syracuse New York

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You can find Fome-cor in 1/8" and 3/16" sheets at many larger art supply stores or you can order it online. I get my supply from here:http://www.charrette.com/Fome-cor cuts easily with a sharp Xacto blade and you should change blades often for a clean cut as mentioned. Elmer's white glue works fine, avoid any solvent glues because the foam just melts away. As for balsa, if you need to use wood, go for basswood instead of balsa. It's a fine grained wood that takes paint well and looks much better than balsa in most applications.Good luck with the project.

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LAST EDITED ON Sep-27-04 AT 09:19 AM (EDT)

Thanks for the tips guys. I had to put the project on hold for a short time, but hope to get back to the "drawing board" soon.Chris Bogley
Syracuse New York

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I would really recommend Evergreen styrene http://www.evergreenscalemodels.com/ It is a modelers best friend and usually can be found in hobby shops and model train shops. When you glue it with a glue like Ambroid's PROWELD the plastic fuses together and is practically unbreakable!
http://www.ambroid.com/Ambroid.html I needed a one of a kind piece of rolling stock for my large scale layout, but nobody made it, so I made it myself. Just look what can be made with Evergreen styrene and Ambroid PROWELD.

Matt Doti

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/fdoti/index.html

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