Talking T Gauge

trainspotter-usa · Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 315 Location: Minnesota

Once again its time to be amazed. A package of the building sets A, B and C arrived from Hobby Search this morning. I ordered them to get a gauge on the size and style of Japanese buildings in T so I could make my own. At every step these people at Eishindo never cease to amaze me.
Detailed interiors! Its like seeing the T gauge train for the first time. You know its small but you don't realise how small until you hold one in your hand.
They must just be trying to prove a point here because, excepting the larger windows, you can barely see inside them anyway(perhaps they could be illuminated with fibre optics?).
The size of the buildings seems quite manageable to me so it should be quite easy to produce more houses for the town on my layout.

Ian
_________________
I CAN see how cool this stuff is!!!
http://more-t-please.blogspot.com/

TBA · Joined: 08 Sep 2008 Posts: 120 Location: Massachusetts

...or you could try finding appropriate buildings on "paper modeling" websites, printing out at reduced size.

I was going to try something similar by scanning in photos of buildings in model RR magazine ads (some show just facades) and printing to scale.

David K Smith · Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:49 pm Post subject: Re: 1:450 scale buildings

trainspotter-usa · Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 315 Location: Minnesota

trainspotter-usa · Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 315 Location: Minnesota

I'm now begining work on my own structures.
I'm working on two simple construction methods.
First. Build the shells out of clear styrene and then paint the walls the desired house colour. Making sure to leave spaces for the windows. I'm currently using this method on my first scratchbuilt houses.
The other method which might be best suited for really small buildings like platform shelters is to make a small paper (or thin card) kit up on my computer, print it out, cut it up and assemble it. I'm going to try that method on the platfrom shelter for Hitsu.

Ian
_________________
I CAN see how cool this stuff is!!!
http://more-t-please.blogspot.com/

shashinka · Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 24 Location: Maryland

You got to admit the details in those building are beyond what I Can see looking at mine. Hell, I'm impressed that I ordered poles and they came with the bases! I think Tokyo-Murai can take a hint from these guys with the Z-scale stuff.
_________________
Do not feed the densha.

TBA · Joined: 08 Sep 2008 Posts: 120 Location: Massachusetts

Here are a couple of buildings I recently whipped up. I scanned a few pages from a book* of HO scale buildings to cut and assemble. I first had to reduce down to around Z scale, and then reduce a further 50%. A lot of the detail is still visible, though fine lines may disappear in the process. Look closely in the depot's bay window and you can see a station agent. I didn't bother attempting to fold up the chimneys. Those are best made from slivers of wood. I also left out the depot's eave brackets.

I ran into a few snags along the way. The copy paper I used was too thin and limp to hold up well in the fold and glue process. I wasn't expecting paper thickness to be an issue at this size. The Elmer's white glue I used was old and watery. I'll try a glue stick next time. Next one I do I'll cut the glue tabs larger (cutting out beyond the printed lines) to allow a larger glue area. Lastly I should color the glue tabs before assembly to help camouflage misaligned seams.

But not bad for a proof-of-concept model.
http://public.fotki.com/BrianAustin/models_miniatures/really-small-model-/img4359.html
http://public.fotki.com/BrianAustin/models_miniatures/really-small-model-/img4356.html

*Cut & Assemble Main Street by A.G. Smith, published by Dover Books (1983). Part of a series of HO scale card model books.

trainspotter-usa · Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 315 Location: Minnesota

Well done on assembling those Brian. I know what you must have been through to assemble those as I'm currently trying some myself
That small shop really is the bee's knees.

Ian
_________________
I CAN see how cool this stuff is!!!
http://more-t-please.blogspot.com/

TBA · Joined: 08 Sep 2008 Posts: 120 Location: Massachusetts

Thanks for your kind words, Ian. I may add that it had been a while since I attempted a card building so I'm a little out of practice. Very Happy

There's an even smaller shop in the book which should be even more fun to try.

http://public.fotki.com/BrianAustin/models_miniatures/really-small-model-/img4370.html

This little drug store has always been a favoritie of mine from this particular book. A while back I enlarged a few of these buidings to 1:48 for an 0-Gauge layout I had at the time.

michael · Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:31 pm Post subject: I like.

I think I'm becoming more and more convinced that printed building could be the easy/sensible approach for structures.

The key to that drugstore was the sign out front - helped to give it some visual texture.

Methinks that if one prints the basic structure and then helps flesh out details with vines, signs, junk etc. that it is quite reasonable to expect that printed building could achieve a very satisfactory detail standard.

Thanks for posting this.
_________________
Michael
www.tgauge.ca
www.modelrailroader.ca

trainspotter-usa · Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 315 Location: Minnesota

pray59 · Joined: 05 Sep 2008 Posts: 88 Location: Fremont, CA

I think that by layering you can build very convincing printed buildings. As an example, a structure can be printed out that looks like painted wood walls, then another layer is printed and cut out to represent a brick foundation. Maybe window frames for the outside, then clear acetate glued inside, and a window becomes 3D.

Trim pieces too, just cut from another color paper and glued over the first layer.

-Robert
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-Robert Ray

michael · Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 4:36 pm Post subject:

David K Smith · Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 6:46 pm Post subject:

Another option to think about... print several copies of the same building. Makes cutting out the add-on layers simpler. Then you can get down to things like the brickwork over doors, which is often raised. Laminate one or more of the prints onto another sheet of paper with spray mount to build up thickness of some parts as needed. Touch up the cut edges with colored markers.

Also... a quick and easy way to make buildings with lots of windows (easier than cutting out pieces of acetate and gluing them inside): make the whole structure out of clear stryene first (sort of the way Eishindo makes them), then cut out the siding and glue it onto the styrene after cutting out the window openings. The structure is then stronger and needs no bracing.
_________________
—David

http://www.t-gauge.net/
http://1-450.blogspot.com/

TBA · Joined: 08 Sep 2008 Posts: 120 Location: Massachusetts

I just found this site on another forum. It looks like a lot of fun.

You can download buildings to cut and assemble, and if you poke around the rest of the site (such as the Illinois Main Street Project Archive at the bottom of the page) you can also find nice elevation drawings and photos that could be useful as well.

What's good about this one is the styles are varied...not just "cute" victorian storefronts.

http://www.illinoishistory.gov/ps/construct_mainstreet.htm