How can I build this?

Shooter

New Member
Are you trying to get a close replica, or something just generally like it to get the "feel" of an area?

If you are simply trying to get the "feel" of the area, something close (whether via a kit or using modular pieces) with the right colors goes a looooong way.

---jps
 

jetrock

Member
That's a tough one--it looks sort of Art Deco. It can be very hard to find matches for specific buildings. "Downtown Deco" might have something similar. This one doesn't look too hard to create, though: you could use prefab windows from any number of companies, and the walls are very smooth stucco so .040" or .060" styrene would be perfectly suitable. Just cut out window holes, add a strip of styrene below each window opening, and install prefab windows. The decorative molding along the roof line is a little more difficult: I'd say take a clear photo on actual film and scan it and resize it to the model's size. Print it out and you have a pattern to use for cutting out styrene to fit the model. It is unclear whether the decorative touches above the windows are tile or paint, but printing them out on an inkjet printer onto thin paper and gluing them gently in place above the windows (after painting the building) should produce a good result. The decorative moldings in between the windows are a bit more of a challenge: personally, I'd print them out too, and mount them on a piece of thin styrene with the sides painted dark gray, to suggest a 3-D effect without having to actually model the darn things, especially in N scale. If I wanted a real challenge, I'd suggest making a tiny copy of the moldings in Fimo clay, baking it, and using some liquid latex to make a mold, then crank out a bunch of those things in plaster or other material.

If you haven't tried scratchbuilding, this looks like a really good starter project: the building has very simple lines (basically a box) and the smooth surfaces means that you don't have to mess around with brick or wood patterns.
 

inkaneer

New Member
Actually it is not really difficult. The building front looks like a smooth stucco or other material. The key word here is "smooth". That can be achieved with plain styrene sheet. Cut out for the windows and add the window sills. The widows look like they are metal framed. These can be built up using strip styrene also. The decorative trim can be done using styrene shapes. There are two keys to doing this building. One is to photo the building using "story sticks" to preserve the proportions. "Story sticks" [You will need two of them] are measuring devices. I made mine out of 1/4" X 1 1/2" lattice strip. Make one 4 feet lont and the other 1 foot long. The four foot long one shoud be divided into one foot increments. I used white and red tape. The first foot is white tape. The second foot is red then white then red. Since my tape was only 3/4 inches wide I added another series of tape below it to cover the entire width of the lattice strip. The bottow layer of tape is the reverse of the top so it will be wrwr for the top then rwrw for the bottom. The seconf smalled stick of 1 foot length is divided in to two 6 inch sections. One section is then subdivided into inches while the other section is left as is. The tape is used to mark the calibrations. The idea is to place the "story stick" on the object beint photographed. That way one can get the scale of the object by merely measuring the story sticks in the photo.

The second key is to be sure everything is plumb and square. When cutting the building out of styrene be sure to use a T square and drafting triangles. Also do not make your cut on the final line but a little inside it then file to the line. With a little patience you can have a well roportioned custom built building that us unique to your layout.
 
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