# Scratch building in Z



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Hello Z scalers.

I would be interested to hear about, or see photos of, any structures you have scratch built
in Z scale. A thread came up over on the N scale section of this forum concerning the supposed "difficulty" of scratch building in N scale. What difficulty? I've built plenty of scratch
items in N scale*; and I bet there are some fine examples in Z scale out there. I'd love to see
them. 

Traction Fan

* If you would like to see photos of some structures I've built, check the structures section on
this forum. They're under the,"new and better structure photos" thread there.

Traction Fan


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*I'm serious*

Z scalers; I hope my previous post wasn't perceived as an insult to your scale, or some kind of joke. I certainly did not intend it to be either. I find the total lack of response a bit depressing. I find it hard to believe that no Z scaler on this forum has ever built a structure from scratch.

Traction Fan


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## Br 98.75 (Dec 26, 2013)

I think it would be awesome to see some custom Z stuff


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## icrr (Jan 21, 2015)

I plan on doing some, but am not there yet.6


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## teledoc (Oct 22, 2014)

I am in awe of the Z scale, being how small they can make trains that actually look pretty realistic. BUT, scratch built structure.....pass the magnifying glass please. It would be interesting to see that in Z scale.


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## jargonlet (Dec 21, 2011)

Once I get to building my Z stuff I'll post mine up. I am currently handling turnouts so that I can get my track laid. I have a feeling that most of the structures I use will be scratch built.


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## Zifty (Feb 3, 2016)

Here's some models I made way back when I first started scratch building. 

Used Seattle FD# 30 as an inspiration for this:










and some random townhouses/condos...


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Wow, simply awesome! :appl:

You are my Z-scale scratch building god!! :laugh:


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## Zifty (Feb 3, 2016)

Many thanks, you are too kind! 

I actually began scratch building out of necessity. Back then I had been laid off from work, and money was tight so I discovered an untapped talent. I am Irish, and have a natural talent as well for being extremely tight with money, so I guess you could say I had the right motivations. 

I'd love to share some recent works, but I actually make a part time living now with a small company I've formed producing models and I certainly do not want to break any forum rules by advertising. 

When you start scratch building, you start learning quickly that everything has a use at some point. Things you previously did not think twice about throwing away suddenly become prime building materials 

I will just share one more photo from around the time I build that fire station. It's just a basic office building, make of balsa wood and card stock, and some clear plastic salvaged from the bin. I also filled each floor with some cubicle scenes made of card stock scraps. (over the course of many hours I might add!)










It has party mode too of course 









And this is an example of the scenes inside... not that anyone viewing the layout would even realize was inside... but who cares!










No office is complete without the bosses corner office!


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Amazing. Outstanding work. You must have nerves of
steel to be able to handle such tiny pieces. I don't attempt
staging the inside of my HO scratch buildings. My shaky hands
can't even place a piece where it goes.

Don


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Wow!*

Zifty;

Beautiful work! Thank you for posting photos of your excellent models. What do you use for lighting? Are those tiny LEDs, or tiny incandescent bulbs?

Traction Fan


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## Zifty (Feb 3, 2016)

Thank you, Traction Fan,

The fire station and condos im using 0603 SMD LEDs. I actually never ended up using the fire station because, ironically, its a fire hazard lol. This was when I was just learning how to do the wiring and resistors and hadn't really grasped the whole series vs. parallel thing yet, so tucked up near the roof is a literal birds nest of wire and resistors generating some noticeable heat. And of course, the whole structure is basically kindling. One of these days I'll rewire it.

The office building is done with 0803's, I switched to the slightly larger size because I was starting to use so many, the price difference, even though pennies a piece almost, was starting to add up. Most buildings that size I will just solder 4 in series and snake them throughout the inside. I add a dab of paint to random LEDs just to give some different variety of light

I used to buy them all pre soldered with resistors, but soon after i taught myself how to solder that small....boy, what a cost saver that was.

Oh, and the wires are the 36awg teflon coated wire from hobby king. Stranded so its quite flexible. A heck of a lot easier to solder than magnet wire, and much more flexible and less likely to snap the solder joint.

I'm anticipating somewhere between 600 to 800 LEDs in this coffee table layout lol.


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

*Not mine, but...........*

Our group got together last spring for brunch and we were encouraged to bring something along to share. One of our members brought this along. A current scratch building project He'd been working on, complete with detailed interior. There are even mugs on the bar, and heads on the beer. Yes, that's a dime for scale!


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

That's simply incredible! I can't understand the passion that brings a person to model detail to that extent. I have trouble working in real life 1:1 scale for details! It is a craft, that's for sure.


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## MarkVIIIMarc (Oct 19, 2012)

Most impressive!

How did he make it? 3D printer?


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

I don't know. I am going to contact one of my group members to find out. I don't see them that often, unfortunately.


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

So I asked one of our group members about the tiny Tavern. It is not 3D printed, it is completely scratch built.


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

time warp said:


> Our group got together last spring for brunch and we were encouraged to bring something along to share. One of our members brought this along. A current scratch building project He'd been working on, complete with detailed interior. There are even mugs on the bar, and heads on the beer. Yes, that's a dime for scale!
> 
> View attachment 218458


Some people are just born with special skills. What is his day job? Jewelry Repair? Wiring cell phone electronics?


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

This guy is at least 10 years older than me and he doesn't wear glasses or contact lenses. I asked him when I saw this building if he used magnifiers or anything when he was working and he told me he did it all by naked eye!

Talent for sure!

My hat is off to all the Z scalers, what a challenge!


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## MarkVIIIMarc (Oct 19, 2012)

That is very impressive. I had a disaster changing couplers on a Z locomotive last night so building that seems doubly impressive for me!


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Great work*

Zifty and Markvmark

Those buildings look great! My compliments to the builders. I don't know about the special talent notion. I scratch-build a lot in N-scale. If you want to see photos of my scratch-builds, see my posts in the structures section and "How I scratch-build my turnouts", under General model train discussion. I don't think I have any special talent; just a willingness to try.
I do use an Optivisor magnifier as I am an old fart.

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*LEDs up, resistors down*



Zifty said:


> Thank you, Traction Fan,
> 
> The fire station and condos im using 0603 SMD LEDs. I actually never ended up using the fire station because, ironically, its a fire hazard lol. This was when I was just learning how to do the wiring and resistors and hadn't really grasped the whole series vs. parallel thing yet, so tucked up near the roof is a literal birds nest of wire and resistors generating some noticeable heat. And of course, the whole structure is basically kindling. One of these days I'll rewire it.
> 
> ...


Zifty;

Your firehouse looks great! I have a friend who is a retired firefighter and model railroader. I'll tell him about your firehouse fire hazard. I'm sure he will get a laugh out of it. LEDs in general, and, I would think, tiny LEDs in particular, produce very little heat. You mentioned a bunch of resistors getting hot. What voltage are you using? An LED will light fine on as little as three volts. If you're using twelve volts or more, you might want to get one of those little, black, "wall wart" transformers that plug into an AC outlet and charge cell phones. They come in many voltages; including three, and four and a half volts. That should be plenty to power several LEDs. If you prefer to use resistors to drop voltage, make sure their resistance is high enough to drop the voltage down to three or four volts. Resistors do produce heat, but they shouldn't produce enough to feel really hot, and certainly not enough to start a fire. You may want to use a higher wattage resistor, or a voltage regulator with a heat sink. All this can be mounted under the layout with air circulation. The only electronic parts that need to be in the structure are the LEDs themselves. Having typed that "brilliant" statement, the words "coffee-table layout", just came back to kick me in the butt! You don't have any "under the layout" space! Duh! 
Still if you're going to have 800+ LEDs inside a coffee table, you may want to get the voltage, and number of resistors down to the minimum. Where do you get your tiny LEDs? I ordered some online weeks ago, and have yet to see delivery. I'm looking for a reliable supplier. I use www.allelectronics.com (very reliable) for everything else; but they carry very few surface mount LEDs.

Good luck, and thanks for sharing your excellent model.

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

I like to see more pictures of anything in Z scale. Just doesn't seem to be a whole lot out there.


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## Overkast (Jan 16, 2015)

time warp said:


> My hat is off to all the Z scalers, what a challenge!


I came in this thread to post almost the same thing. I'm working in N Scale and it is ripe with challenge in of itself... I can't even fathom going to a scale any smaller!!! 

Z-Scalers are men of men (or women of women ). Kudos!!!


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## MarkVIIIMarc (Oct 19, 2012)

*Z sScale fits in tackle boxes!*

I have a good Rokuhan $100 track starter set, a few pieces of extra track a locomotive and three railcars. 

It ALL fits in two $4 Plano tackle boxes I grabbed from Wally world! The power pack would probably fit also if I cut a hole in the top of one of them lol.

In a half hour me and the 5 year old can put together a simple "X" or some kind of overgrown oval or double oval layout. Then we run an automatic uncoupling train. Then we put it away back in two tackle boxes.

Z scale equipment is small, is kinda difficult for me to modify which I do enjoy doing to my HO stuff. Z is also a bit more expensive but that is mostly in the power units. 

Man I love this stuff, the quality of the snap track and how tight of places it fits in.


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