# Buildings



## Josh32 (Jan 5, 2022)

What are some of your thoughts on card stock buildings in lieu of plastic?
I’ve been card modeling for years, and have found some great N-ish scale models.
Looking around the internet for n scale accessories have definitely given me motivation to do as much as possible in card,


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Josh32 said:


> What are some of your thoughts on card stock buildings in lieu of plastic?
> I’ve been card modeling for years, and have found some great N-ish scale models.
> Looking around the internet for n scale accessories have definitely given me motivation to do as much as possible in card,


I used to have dozens of them, before Hurricane Sandy flooded my basement and turned them into piles of mush. They were very attractive and nicely detailed.

If you think, though, that your choice is between card stock and plastic, you are mistaken on two counts. First, there are a bunch of options when it comes to structure models: cardstock, styrene, wood, plaster, and resin (cast and 3D printed). Secondly, there is no rule that it's an either / or choice. You can mix and match all kinds freely, depending on what you like best. Styrene and wood kits tend to be the easiest to "kitbash" (that is, modify from their stock form), but I have found great models in all mediums.


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## Josh32 (Jan 5, 2022)

CTValleyRR said:


> I used to have dozens of them, before Hurricane Sandy flooded my basement and turned them into piles of mush. They were very attractive and nicely detailed.
> 
> If you think, though, that your choice is between card stock and plastic, you are mistaken on two counts. First, there are a bunch of options when it comes to structure models: cardstock, styrene, wood, plaster, and resin (cast and 3D printed). Secondly, there is no rule that it's an either / or choice. You can mix and match all kinds freely, depending on what you like best. Styrene and wood kits tend to be the easiest to "kitbash" (that is, modify from their stock form), but I have found great models in all mediums.


For now, I’m going to stick to card stock, even though scaling is going to be a lot of guess work on some of the models I’ve found, the price of some of the plastic/resin and others are a bit more than I was ready for.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Josh32 said:


> For now, I’m going to stick to card stock, even though scaling is going to be a lot of guess work on some of the models I’ve found, the price of some of the plastic/resin and others are a bit more than I was ready for.


Josh32;

If you don't already have one, get yourself a multi model railroad scale ruler, like the top one in the photo, made by General. It makes transferring images from one scale to another easy. You can also get a pretty close approximation of the size of a structure from photos. The little train order station at Black River Jct. I scratch-built from photos alone. The real structure was torn down long ago, so measuring it was impossible. However, if I assumed that the men in the photos were about six feet tall, I could derive the basic dimensions of this little structure from photos with a man near the structure. Is it an exact N-scale model of that prototype? Probably not, but probably close. Do I care if its exact scale? Nope.

Traction Fan 🙂


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## Josh32 (Jan 5, 2022)

“Do I care if its exact scale? Nope.“

Words to live by, thank you!


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I've never done any card stock buildings, but I really like the laser cut wood models. I have built many. They are quite good and look better than plastic. But for large structures, I find the plastic ones suit me just at fine. For smaller buildings like houses and sheds, the plastic ones are just too blocky for my liking.


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## Josh32 (Jan 5, 2022)

JeffHurl said:


> I've never done any card stock buildings, but I really like the laser cut wood models. I have built many. They are quite good and look better than plastic. But for large structures, I find the plastic ones suit me just at fine. For smaller buildings like houses and sheds, the plastic ones are just too blocky for my liking.


The laser cut wood kits look outstanding, but my budget is pretty small for now, so cardstock will be my primary building material for now.


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## freescopesdad (Nov 6, 2021)

I started detailing some 3D PLA models that I found from various sources on Etsy. Excellent detailing and many are downright dirt cheap.
Ron


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## Josh32 (Jan 5, 2022)

[I ordered one off of Amazon a month ago, hope it arrives soon.
Cheap as dirt, so I’ve got that going for me.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Josh32 said:


> [I ordered one off of Amazon a month ago, hope it arrives soon.
> Cheap as dirt, so I’ve got that going for me.


A MONTH? 
I get most of mine the next day, or some are in 1,2 day but I know that in advance.
Did you contact Amazon?


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## timlange3 (Jan 16, 2013)

I read in MR (within a year) of someone printing building sides and fronts and sticking it to Styrene surfaces.


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## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

Josh32 said:


> [I ordered one off of Amazon a month ago, hope it arrives soon.
> Cheap as dirt, so I’ve got that going for me.


Sounds typical, if it's coming from China. I buy stuff for my other hobby (collecting unusual dice) through Amazon and Ebay. They're usually cheap with free shipping, but then the expected delivery will be like "a month from now plus or minus 2 weeks". I placed an order with Amazon on February 12th, and the Expected Delivery Date is anywhere between March 7th and March 28th.


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## GTW son (12 mo ago)

Agree with the above comment about 3D printing.
Luckily my son has one, now I’m the proverbial thorn in his side asking for him to print more structures.
Cost per piece is usually less than .50 cents.
Only draw back is painting these structures and I’m no Van Gogh.


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## pmcgurin (Sep 7, 2010)

I bought a Victorian house and a chateau. Cost $30 each. I'll have to paint them. I am a very lazy model railroader, not generally going deep into realistic scenic stuff. Too old, too lazy. The Victorian house has great detail and comes apart. Probably worth $30. The chateau one piece with front and back about the same. $30, not worth so much. Most of the stuff on ebay is pricey. Good fantasy items. Fantasy white Victorian and a grim, gray chateau, or maybe shackteau.


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## GTW son (12 mo ago)

Sounds like me....hmmm, the primer looks realistic enough....


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

GTW son said:


> Agree with the above comment about 3D printing.
> Luckily my son has one, now I’m the proverbial thorn in his side asking for him to print more structures.
> Cost per piece is usually less than .50 cents.
> Only draw back is painting these structures and I’m no Van Gogh.


GTW son;

Artistic talent is no more necessary for painting a model house than for painting a real house. Work yes. The right tools yes. But no artistic training or talent whatever.

Under "the right tools", an airbrush should be high on the list. If you are painting an unassembled model kit, spraying all the white parts while they are still attached to the parts trees, is both fast, and effective, giving excellent results with minimum effort. You can use the same technique for each of the other colors that have enough parts to be worth setting up an airbrush for.

By the way, an airbrush does not need to be expensive, or complicated to do the basic painting that model structures require. I have a fine $75 Dual-action airbrush, but I do 95% of my model airbrushing with a super-basic $10 model from Harbor freight. It won't do any fancy tricks, but works fine for basic painting. One very nice feature of this brush is the multiple paint jars that come with it. You can quickly and easily change colors by simply unplugging one jar, and plugging in another.

At some point, you do get to the point where its more practical to paint with a hand brush than with an airbrush. Small trim on a structure is a classic example. For that job, the right tools are good quality artist's brushes, and good quality model paint. I use Tamiya brand paint, but there are several other excellent brands of model paint available. None of them are all that cheap however, so I made a little wooden paint stand to prevent me from knocking over an expensive bottle of paint.

An Optivisor, or other magnifier, may be needed if the work is very small, and your eyes are old, like mine. I also find it useful to brace my forearm against something solid and brush paint with only my wrist and fingers. (I'm 73 years old, and my hands shake a bit.)
A work bench, a comfortable office chair, and good lighting are also handy items for painting models.
The photos show some of the tools mentioned, and some N-scale structures that I've painted.
Try it. You may find that you like it. I get a lot of satisfaction from painting structures.

Traction Fan 🙂


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## Josh32 (Jan 5, 2022)

This is what I got.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I got that same house. Fair price. Al I did was paint the roof a tile red color, as the roof had a bit of a pattern to it.


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## Josh32 (Jan 5, 2022)

Delivery is taking forever


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## Andreash (Dec 30, 2018)

Card stock is a viable building medium. Needs reinforcemen, but easy to work with, and cost effective. Reminds me of what modelling was like for me in the 70’s...cheers☕🍩


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## pmcgurin (Sep 7, 2010)

In the 1980s and 1990s I used balsa wood sheets and blocks, and then I painted them with artist's acrylic paint. Pretty crude buildings. Later I bought a bunch of plastic buildings on ebay. Today I started pulling those plastic buildings out of the boxes I stored them in the last time we were going to sell our house and downsize. That never happened and I am just starting to think about a new layout. I have more locos, rolling stock and track I will need. And buildings packed up.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

JeffHurl said:


> I've never done any card stock buildings, but I really like the laser cut wood models. I have built many. They are quite good and look better than plastic. But for large structures, I find the plastic ones suit me just at fine. For smaller buildings like houses and sheds, the plastic ones are just too blocky for my liking.


I know that's a bit of an older comment, but I wanted to weigh in. The details / blockiness are a function of the quality of the kit, not inherent to the type of material used. Styrene is generally cheaper than wood, so you find more junk models in styrene than you do in other materials. So if all you're going to do is purchase a kit, assemble it per the instructions, and put it down on your layout, then yes, you're more likely to get better models in wood than styrene. Again, "looking better" is really more of a kit (and finish) quality issue than inherent to the material. A painted and detailed styrene kit will look better than an unfinished wooden one, every time.

I find the most success in locating good looking kits, ignoring what they're made from, and then "tweaking" them to fit my needs.


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