# Who does scratch building as a side job?



## montclaire

I'd like to have a replica of my grandfather's old house done in O scale for my layout, any recommendations? I imagine that something like that could cost as much as you want to spend, but any ideas on what a ballpark price may be?


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## alcoman

Why not try it yourself? Scratch building is fun and not really all that hard.

Do you have dimensions and good photos? How much detail do you want to include?
Sure, it may take more than 1 try to get what you want, but something you build yourself is always more satisfying in the long run. (Just my 2 cents)


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## montclaire

I am sure if I put my mind to it, I could do it. No doubt at all. But I already have a long list of other things I 'put my mind to,' and they're all in various stages of completion, so I'd like to keep this one off my list if possible. Civic projects, antique cars, a baby on the way, home renovations, furniture refinishing, various actual jobs, family time, ancestral research, and model RR to name only a few. I can't even think about it LoL


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## montclaire

Oh, as far as detail, it only needs to be as good as a prebuilt Bachmann/Plastiville as that is what it will be next to. Let me see if I can post a pic here... The house isn't in the family anymore, and on face value is nothing special, but it would be nice to have it on the platform. I don't know if that is a common sentiment with other modelers. If I can find someone that I consider to be reasonable, I would also consider having copies made of other family members homes as well.


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## Big Ed

montclaire said:


> I'd like to have a replica of my grandfather's old house done in O scale for my layout, any recommendations? I imagine that something like that could cost as much as you want to spend, but any ideas on what a ballpark price may be?


This is a new member that posted this about scratch model building.
You can contact him. I don't think it will cost $2500.00. like his e-bay site says, though I don't know.

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=2328

He never commented on what I posted in his post.


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## montclaire

If 2500 is accurate, then this will indeed make it's way to my 'to do' list.


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## shaygetz

Do you have other views of the house? I do simplified buildings out of card stock that might be what you're looking for...not as a business, just a pastime. I've done all the scenicking and high detail work in the past and just enjoy to tinker now.

---I've since seen that you'd want it in O scale and I don't believe cardstock would be a good medium for that.


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## Big Ed

By the looks of the snow you must make a good birthday cake too.



Great buildings, HO scale?

Now my sweet tooth needs something.


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## shaygetz

big ed said:


> By the looks of the snow you must make a good birthday cake too.
> 
> 
> 
> Great buildings, HO scale?
> 
> Now my sweet tooth needs something.


:laugh: Thanks, the snow is plain white bathtub caulk and yes, the buildings are in HO scale. Went back to my roots when I used to make buildings using a scale ruler cut out of a magazine, a straight edge razor and paper matches ripped from a book for a paint brush.


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## montclaire

How about this then, does anyone offer a full kit of parts, with doors, windows, etc., enough material to put together one on your own whatever the design? The basic layout of the house seems simple enough.


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## T-Man

Try to do it in foam board. Online you could print out building sides and glue them. Just a matter of search and scale. Some of these sites have fees. An example.


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## Wyatt2104

montclaire said:


> I'd like to have a replica of my grandfather's old house done in O scale for my layout, any recommendations? I imagine that something like that could cost as much as you want to spend, but any ideas on what a ballpark price may be?


I don't know about O scale, but I had my mom help me with replicas of old buildings from my past. Of course she always liked making those things.
I had some books of Paper Building's that she was able to get measurements from.
I posted Pics of them to My User Account
Here are a couple pics, one of My Home I grew up in, and the other is My Grandfathers House and Resort, He had 10 Cabins, but 2 are enough due to space restraints.


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## stationmaster

I do OK sometimes and really suck at other times. I've got a project I want done, a local NKP Depot, but have been putting it off until I feel adequate and confident enough in my talent. So far, I don't think I can get the finished product I want.

But, I will say that I have a dozen or so structures on my layout. But, the depot is still waiting on me.

Bob


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## subwayaz

T Man nice job on that structure


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## subwayaz

Wyatt2104 said:


> I don't know about O scale, but I had my mom help me with replicas of old buildings from my past. Of course she always liked making those things.
> I had some books of Paper Building's that she was able to get measurements from.
> I posted Pics of them to My User Account
> Here are a couple pics, one of My Home I grew up in, and the other is My Grandfathers House and Resort, He had 10 Cabins, but 2 are enough due to space restraints.


Those buildings came out really nice. Nice show pieces for your layout


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## subwayaz

shaygetz said:


> :laugh: Thanks, the snow is plain white bathtub caulk and yes, the buildings are in HO scale. Went back to my roots when I used to make buildings using a scale ruler cut out of a magazine, a straight edge razor and paper matches ripped from a book for a paint brush.


Shaygetz, you sure do some good work there I must say


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## montclaire

Just wanted to post a follow up here. The current issue of O Gauge RR has an article devoted to this topic, I don't know if anyone would want to check it out but I figured I'd mention it. I was hoping for a different medium than card stock or foam board, but it seems to be a popular way to scratchbuild for O scale. Don't get me wrong, they come out fine that way, but I want this thing to last a good long while. 

Anyway, I think I am going to attempt doing this, but with wood as a base. I may use cardstock for siding of things like that. *Where can I get porch columns and railings in O scale? * The rest I think I can fudge.

Thanks


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## montclaire

Follow up number 2. I decided to just go ahead and build the thing. I used a sheet of wood veneer that I had left over from a kitchen remodel and some 5/8" poplar to build the basic structure, than came back over with balsa siding from micromark and windows and doors from grandtline. Took me about three days to get it finished.


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## montclaire

Couple other shots, under construction and 3D


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## tjcruiser

Montclaire,

I'm just seeing/reading this thread for the first time. EXCELLENT job on the house! Your grandfather should/would be very proud! Great windows, roofline intersections, etc. I'm sure this will be in your family for a long time to come ... perhaps that "baby on the way" will be telling his/her kid someday how Grandpa built this little house way back in 2010!

Thanks for sharing!

TJ


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## montclaire

I should hope so, it has about 50+ brad nails in it! Everything was brushed with carpenter's glue and then nailed wherever possible. I have to say I could not have done it without my harbor freight brad/staple nailer. Best $21 I ever spent. 

90% of my cuts were done freehand on the table saw but I also used a scroll saw, coping saw, drill press, xacto knife, and my dremel tool. One of the nice aspects was that I was actually able to use a good number of tools that had belonged to my grandfather during the build. 

Not bad for a first attempt. It's far from perfect but I learned a lot of lessons during construction. I tried to build it out of poster board first so I would have patterns but the thickness of the material changed a couple of things along the way. I may do a couple others in the future but for right now I'm taking a break LOL


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## Stillakid

Montclaire, you did your Grandfather, "Proud!"
I'd say that you have no worries adding to your set and from what you've shown, will have quite a nice layout when you're done(but we all know that being, 'Done', never happens) 

Jim


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## TulsaFlyer

Spectacular job on the house!!!

It would look great on any layout. Like has been said before, it would make a great family heirloom.


Jody


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## Mit

That is super nice Montclaire! Now i feel like mine is not worthy! Course I don't have the window and door kits so i have to build mine by hand. I love how your bump outs turned out on your roof though! I also was thinking of baying a few windows, now i know what they look like, thank you. Beautifully done!


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## montclaire

The bay windows were tough but not impossible. The windows took forever to arrive and I had to start laying out the house without them, and the size that I chose for the bays were thin on the edges. I wound up cutting three pieces of balsa siding and gluing that to a strip of poster board. Once it dried I cut away at the center of the siding with an xacto knife and got the holes to where they needed to be to accept the windows. Then I just bent the poster board to the right angle and glued it in place. I put a few strips of material in place before hand so that they were supported. I had to do it twice because if you cut the balsa too thin it just splintered.


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## Big Ed

montclaire said:


> I'd like to have a replica of my grandfather's old house done in O scale for my layout, any recommendations? I imagine that something like that could cost as much as you want to spend, but any ideas on what a ballpark price may be?



Quoting your original thread it looks to me that you don't need anyone to scratch build you the house.

Yours looks great, nice job. :thumbsup:

What do you think you could get it on the market?

Be interesting to see how high the bid would go on e bay.

Whats next? 
A matching garage?


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## montclaire

I could probably have a nice little side business for myself doing custom homes for people, but there's no such thing as a free lunch. I think I had been quoted around $500 by a modeler I found on the internet and that's probably about what I would have to charge. The actual construction time was three full days plus around $60-80 in materials and supplies. Not to mention the time it took to plan this out, figure out the scale, order parts, etc. And at that point it isn't a hobby anymore, it's a job. 

I will probably do another model of my current home at some point, but it will be a while before I do something like this again. It's nothing I can't do but it's very tedious work and is probably best left for my retirement years.

I'll post photos of the house on the layout in a couple months when we get it together.


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## reg2putt

I have been doing N Scale freelance building, scratch building and kitbashing of structures for the better part of a year on a commercial basis. You can see samples of my work on my website www.scale-modelers-handbook.com. The specific page is at: http://www.scale-modelers-handbook.com/finished-buildings.html

You will find my prices are reasonable as the sold items will attest. You can contact me at: [email protected]

Reg Hardy, new list member


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