# Scratch build a building.



## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

I see on here all the time, people asking about scratch building a structure but many don't seem to know how to get started with this kind of project. What to use for material or how should the building look are two of many questions about this subject.
One way to get started with scratch building is to use cereal box cardboard. It's sturdy and cheap and found in just about every home in America. SO here's a quick demo on how to build a cardboard structure on about tn minutes. The scale is 1/8th inch equals 1'0" which is close enough to HO scale for this work.
You will need a cardboard box cut open to lay flat,a ruler,a straight edge which can be the ruler too, and a pencil with an eraser. Ya you will make mistakes. Ha!
You can copy a picture of a building that you like or design your own. All buildings are designed by somebody so the sky is the limit. Make it the way you want and nobody can fault the work. Oops I forgot to load my pictures. Be right back. Pete
Ok first is the cereal box opened up flat.


I like to trim off the flaps so they arn't in the way. Use your straight edge and a hobbyK nife for this.


You'll need these tree things plus scissors or a sharp hobby knife.


Now think of your building walls knocked down and laid out flat. houses could have the walls about 8 to 10 feet tall and commercial building could be 12 feet tall. You decide what you want and draw the four building walls out as in the picture. The gable ends can be as high or as low as you want to give the roof a pitch.


Next draw in the doors and windows where you want them. An exterior door os 3' wide and maybe 7' tall but can be bigger if you want. Windows are any size you want from a tiny batroom window to a 10'x10' picture window. Keep the openings at least a foot down from the top of the wall and two feet in from the end of the walls and the doors. Cut these openings out if you want to build windows and doors or leave them in for framing later and paint them to look like doors and windows.


Now cut the building drawing out of the cardboard. Score the wall joints with your hobby knife lightly so the walls will fold easily and straight.


Fold the walls on the scores and join the two ends with a piece of tape or glue.


Measure the length of one side of one of the gable ends. Double that measurement and add two or four feet for rain or snow runoff overhang. Measure the length of one wall an d double that and add two feet for end overhang. Now draw out that rectangle on the cardboard and cut it out. Measure and draw a line down the middle of the roof and score with your hobby knife LIGHTLY. Fold the piece in half and fit to the top of the building. Glue or tape the roof in place.


So now you have a basic little house or commercial building in HO scale. Frame the windows and doors with strips of cardboard and print out copies of brick walls or rock walls ect. from online sites that feature these items. Just search for "HO scale brick walls" and you'll get what you need. You can print out doors and windows too if you want and after this you can design your building any way you want. Using wood for the building material goes the same way except that you need to separate each wood piece and glue it together after cutting it out.


This building could be a house a pizza joint a gas station or any one of a hundred different things. Add a garage or a carport for a house, an overhead cover for a gas station or some vehicles for a used car place. How far will your imagination take you? It's all up to you. Pete


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Pete

Very effective Demo.

I like to work with stock like that. Lately, I've used
a heavy poster board sold in Walmart's crafts section.

I apologize for the butt in if you plan further instructions
on this building, but I always add strength to the
building by adding a strip of basswood or balsa along
the tops and bottoms of the walls and as a facia for
the roof.

Don


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## Ml-toys (Dec 19, 2013)

This was very informative and helpful. If you have more detailing suggestions and ideas it would be great.

Thank you


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

btw, If you'd like a HO,N, or O scale ruler you can download one here free.
Here is the linky dinky per the owner request.
http://lhonings.home.xs4all.nl/rulers.html


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

I'll be experimenting with this building in the near future so I'll have more to post about the details. Mostly it depends on if you want to light the structure or not. If you do then you have to cut out the windows and fill the hole with something appropriate. Otherwise is print and glue something off the net.

DonR I'm very happy to have your comments here and yes strengthening the structure with wood sticks is always good to do. However if the card stock is heavy enough it will stand by itself although eventually it may warp into something resembling a building that was hit by a passing airplane. Reinforcing is a good idea. Gluing the structure to a base is good too,either wood or cardboard give the building some added strength.
I just thought that my little demo would give some of the new guys something to try and get their feet wet with scratch building. It usually takes on a life of it's own after awhile and you'll be building apartment buildings and industrial buildings as well as railroad buildings of all kinds. It's really fun and you'll find as you go along that each build is better and easier than the last.
Anybody who has anything to add to this thread please do so. The only bad idea is one you havn't ever tried. 
Meantime I'm cooking a corned beef so I have to go check on it. Yummmmm! Pete


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## ZebraCakez (Mar 26, 2011)

Great little project, looks pretty dang good for something that is essentially an inside out snack food box. It's very inspirational, might have to give it a shot myself tomorrow when I'm just hangin' out in the house (gonna be a rainy day).

Thank you for taking the time to share it with us!


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## ZebraCakez (Mar 26, 2011)

Oh man, I'm not a hobo anymore. 

Yay!!!!


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Way to go Zebra. The more you yak on here the faster you go up the ladder.Ha! So give scratch building a shot when you have a few minutes. My little example here only took about 30 minutes to build. Then you can take all the time you want to do the details. Pete


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Just to give you an idea about scratch building here is a boat I built from a picture. It's the Athena (sold unfinished) and was built by Jim Clark who made a lot of money in the internet buisness. I had built a few boats before from scratch but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I could do something like this --- until I tried it. Look up "Yacht Athena" on Google images to see the real thing. Also for more detailed info on buildings take a look through my thread on the Bonita Grand Central. There's a roundhouse,several buildings and a couple of bridges that came off the work bench during the BGC build. Pete


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## RUSTY Cuda (Aug 28, 2012)

:appl: Now that's impressive! :smilie_daumenpos:

Now I'll crawl back to my cave & put some hair on my stick figures


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## kraftbay (Jan 1, 2014)

Hi norgale,

Are you going to use the cut cardboard as templates to cut foamboard or plastic card? I tried a building with cardboard before and after painting it with acrylic paints the cardboard lost its shape badly because water in paints. I had to rebuilt the house with foamboard from MidWest and plastic card from Evergreen. 

If you want to apply the printed wall/windows on to the cardboard, make sure you use glue that does not contain water. Just a head-up.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Good points Kraftbay.The water in some glues like Titebond lll does cause some problems as would the water in paints. I use all enamel paints on my models so idon't have that problem. However when building my boats the water in the glue cause the planks to curl up a tad and that caused me to use much narrower planks after that. More work but the hulls looka lot better after sanding.
Actually I prefere to use balsa or bass wood for my model buildings. This cardboard demo was just to show how easy it is to actually create a model building. The hotel building I recently started on the BGC thread is of 1/16th balsa which is very soft and fragile. I backed the walls with index card stock to keep the balsa from splitting when i cut out the openings for the windows and doors. That worked pretty well and I painted the inside of the building with flat black paint with a brush to make the lighting more visible. The paint had no effect on the card because it was enamel.
After drawing out the lines for the building on the cardboard you could cut these pieces out and use them for patterns on foam board or wood but then you may as well just draw the lines on the foam or wood to begin with. Saves extra work. Pete


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## kraftbay (Jan 1, 2014)

Hi norgale, thanks for sharing your experience with us. I briefly looked at your BGC thread and was very impressed. I will take some more time to carefully read it and also the videos. Myself is into the HO diorama so there are lots can be learnt from your work.

I usually use Acrylicos Vallejo's acrylic paints because they are easy to apply by brushes and give excellent matt finish. And it smells good and toxic free, at least as claimed by the manufacturer.

I attempted to build some Italian style stone buildings. In that case I directly drawn the plan on MidWest's foamboard and carved the board with a ballpen to create stone texture - a technique perfected by the French master Emmanuel Nouaillier. I guess you probably already saw the technique demostrated here http://www.009.cd2.com/members/how_to/nouaillier_a.htm

Though it is a shame to me that I haven't be able to finish any of the Italian buildings.

I also used Slater's embossed plastic sheet. You can find them here https://slatersplastikard.com/‎. The textured sheets are intented for OO scale I believe but also works well for HO scale. Not sure whether they are easily available in the US. I bought mine when I was in the UK years ago.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Mr. Nouaillier does some excellent work with those buildings. They look so real but what painstaking work. I doubt I'd have the patience for that sort of detailing. I see why he uses the foam as it presents an excellent medium for carving and embossing things like bricks and cobble stone. Can you imagine carving each individual brick in a wall or cobbles for a street? That is just unbelievable. Buying the embossed plastic sheets would be a lot easier but maybe a bit less satisfying. Easier on the nerves though. Ha!
Thanks for those links kraftbay. Very useful information there. Pete


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