Martin's Workbench - Buildings in 1/19 scale (16mm:1ft)

[Greengiant]

As a bit of light relief from the engine shed, I made a start on a signal box, this is a mash up of the two boxes on the Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway, both of which I have operated. I now regret this approach and wish I had modelled each box as its own entity, needing a number of signal boxes for the railway this would have been a better course of action. I have also found there is more enjoyment in the challenge of modelling an actual building, it also removes the need to design something.
On with the project, this is the box at Warren Wood...



The box at Stony Shaw, that is me in the doorway...




My drawings to work out all the sizes.






Some of the parts drawn and embossed.



The front wall cut out from 5mm PVC Foamex.



Some parts for the steps and verandah cut from 3mm PVC Foamex, which will later have 2mm laminated both sides in places to give a thicker timber look to the posts.



The chimney coming together, made from 5mm PVC Foamex.



Here can be seen some of the laminated stairs sides, the roof trusses, the rear of the chimney, the chimney top and the brick edged concrete base the stairs and veranda will sit on.



Martin

 

[Greengiant]

Starting to put things together in this picture. Inside can be seen the stove and the scribed and painted floor, along with the inner scribed walls, most of which is a waste of time because from the normal viewing angle you will not see it, but at last I know it is there!



A better view of the wood burner and warming plate for those cups of tea.



I made a mistake with the roofing trusses, so had to put a small packing piece in and file to shape so that they sit correctly on the wall tops. PVC Foamex is very forgiving, easy to superglue a piece in, then cut and sand to shape.



I have painted the walls, inside and outside with an initial coat, you can just see the roof trusses from this angle. The basic roof structure is now made and is a sliding fit into the walls. I cut the roofing slates from 30 thou styrene, then the roof with the upper chimney can be finally assembled.
Next I will make up the stairs and verandah and make a start cutting out the windows and door.



Martin

 

[Greengiant]

I have now painted the signal box steps.



Added some green paint to the woodwork.



Sited it on the railway to get a feel for how it will look outside.







Martin

 

[Greengiant]

The windows for the signal box have been cut from 2mm PVC Foamex.



Test fitted into the wall apertures.



The door from laminations of 3mm and 1mm. I have discovered PVC Foamex can also be glued with MEK, this made assembling the door a lot easier and not as time critical like super glue.



Also test fitted to the aperture.



I had a stack of empty CD cases, the recessed CD inlays were removed, then the clear cases were run through the band saw to remove all the return edges, this left me with a pile of flat polycarbonate clear sheets, nominally 1mm thick, from something that was destined for the bin.



The band saw does leave micro chipping to the edges, maybe a finer blade would have been better. However, it was easy to true up the edges with an OLFA laminate cutter.



I had kept the cut out pieces from the door to act as templates which was just a case of scribing with a scalpel blade to mark the sheet, then cut through using multiple passes with the laminate cutter. After the first couple of cuts with a ruler the Olfa can be used freehand because it follows the groove.



Just need to prime and paint the door, the windows will be fine in the raw white Foamex, so I can glaze and glue those in place.



Martin

 

[David Waite]

Hi Martin
Such beautiful work throughly enjoining your thread, regarding the extra piece you put on your roof truss in the real world the trusses often have to be packed as the walls can sometimes be too low or not level.
David.

 

[Greengiant]

Hi Martin
Such beautiful work throughly enjoining your thread, regarding the extra piece you put on your roof truss in the real world the trusses often have to be packed as the walls can sometimes be too low or not level.
David.

Hi David,
Thank you, glad they have been of interest. It is reassuring to know my roof truss error is actually prototypical.
I have a few more buildings to add to bring the thread up to date, I am hoping it will kick start my modelling mojo which has vanished of late.
Martin

 

[Greengiant]

I have gone about as far as I can at the moment with the signal box. I do need to sort out a series of guttering fittings which come in useful for this and some of the other buildings on the railway.
Probably do a bit of weathering as well before placing the signal box in position on the railway (weathering still to do).









Roll on a few years...

My buildings stay out 365 days per year and generally fair quite well.

Cobwebs have appeared on the signal box, occasionally clearing off required during the year.



Unfortunately the signal box steps did not fair so well this year, not helped by the antics of a certain fox!
They have since been repaired.



Who?
Me?



Martin

 

[Greengiant]

Next up, a start has been made on getting the parts cut for the station building.
Inspired by the GWR one at Brynamman, which my friend Geoff Taylor has modelled in 4mm for his new layout. He kindly gave me copies of his original drawings he made for his model, which I adapted slightly to give the look I wanted for my version of the building and to suit narrow gauge proportions with regard to the main canopy, not forgetting scaling up to 16mm.

Platform elevation with an indication of the full length canopy valance, with a lean-to entrance to the righthand end.



Righthand end shows the profile of the canopy, the lean-to that wraps around the rear corner and an indication of the main chimney stack, with a second stack in the roof.



The public main approach face. Lean-to wrapping around on the left, main chimney stack and a small canopy over the twin entrance doors.



The remaining end.



Micro chisel used for vertical mortar joints, thickened handle with Gaffa tape and an old door knob to make pushing comfortable. Not pretty, but it works.



Lining up chisel for embossing vertical brick joints.



For the vertical board joints I scribed twice with different sized tools in an attempt to simulate shiplap. Does not show up well in photographs! These tools are usually used in cake decorating. This is the fine ball in use.



This is the thicker ball, handle beefed up with tape to stop hand cramps.



Bricks and boards scribed, window and door apertures cut out. The framing pieces will be added as overlays of 1mm and 2mm PVC Foamex.



Both main side walls.



Lean-to drawn and scribed, ready now for cutting out.



For the main cutting I like these curved blades, for final corner cuts I use a scalpel.



The main chimney drawn and scribed.



Roof chimney drawn and scribed. The Pentel pencil I have had for about 35 years.



Chimney parts cut out.



Next on the drawing board are the inner bracing walls, then I wall have enough parts to glue up the basic structure.

Martin

 

[simond]

I have gone about as far as I can at the moment with the signal box. I do need to sort out a series of guttering fittings which come in useful for this and some of the other buildings on the railway.
Probably do a bit of weathering as well before placing the signal box in position on the railway (weathering still to do).

View attachment 205322

View attachment 205323

View attachment 205324

View attachment 205325

Roll on a few years...

My buildings stay out 365 days per year and generally fair quite well.

Cobwebs have appeared on the signal box, occasionally clearing off required during the year.

View attachment 205326

Unfortunately the signal box steps did not fair so well this year, not helped by the antics of a certain fox!
They have since been repaired.

View attachment 205327

Who?
Me?

View attachment 205328

Martin

the application of a few volts - sufficient to startle, but not enough to cause damage - might dissuade him in future?

 

[Greengiant]

Having cut out the main parts for the station building, some basic assembly has taken place.

A view from the approach side of the building from the lean to end.



From the opposite end.



Two views from the platform side, the main canopy is yet to be assembled.





And a shot with a snow covered railway in the background.



Martin

 

[Greengiant]

I had some white metal chimney pots in stock.



Cement bedding was sanded from some Foamex sheet scrap.



Now with some paint on them.



Martin

 

[Greengiant]

For the small and large canopies I laser cut the side boarding from Trolase ADA, then textured with various saws, brushes and knives.



I laser cut a basic structure for the small canopy from 2mm MDF, this was then clad with the Trolase side boarding and PVC Foamex frames.



The Trolase parts were glued inside the framework for the main canopy.



Small canopy fully assembled.



Part painted and with roofing slates.



The main canopy frame offered up to the building.



Martin

 

[JimG]

I like the prototypical edges to the slates - a reminder from my days of clambering up and down the roof of my house in Scotland replacing slates which had dropped due to nail rot.

Jim.

 

[Greengiant]

I like the prototypical edges to the slates - a reminder from my days of clambering up and down the roof of my house in Scotland replacing slates which had dropped due to nail rot.

Jim.

Thank you and surprisingly easy and quick to do.
Martin

 

[Greengiant]

Gluing the valence in place on the main canopy.



Now in position on the main building.



This meant a lot of slate strips needed to be cut from 30 thou black plasticard.



Each strip of slates was distressed with a wire brush and knife, then the lower edges were 'nicked' with the knife to represent the slate edge.



The base of the roof was made using black 3mm PVC Foamex. I use black because it is a lot more forgiving if you miss a bit while painting, white however is less forgiving and stands out like a sore thumb!



The base being black, pencil guide marks do not show up too well, I use a knife blade to lightly score guide lines.Two beads of CA are used to fix the slates, one on the Foamex and one on a slate strip. Just a simple matter of starting at the bottom and working your way up.



After a while you end up with a tiled roof. I cut some tiles out and let them slip to break up the uniformity a bit.



Martin

 

[Greengiant]

I made the door and window units as sub-assemblies to help with painting and to give some depth to the model.



Clamping them in position to check the fit.



Brass washers were soldered to brass tacks, assembled using a very simple jig to make door knobs.



All painted up and clamped in place while the glue sets.



Ridge tiles in place and all finally painted. It will need weathering and some signage, but that is all awaiting me to get around to batch making a load of guttering. I have the gutter half tube in stock, enough to make an actual 30 feet in length, expecting a delivery any day now of the down pipe tube. I have worked out how I can laser cut the fittings which will hopefully look ok, time will tell.





Martin

 

[David Waite]

Hi Martin
Beautiful work and the colours you have used look amazing together.
David.

 

[Greengiant]

Thank you, I do enjoy the painting, it brings all the bits and pieces to life.
Martin

 

[Greengiant]

I have always liked the idea of having a standard gauge feeder line on the narrow gauge railway. Could be an exchange siding with a lone wagon, or factory unloading point. Not entirely sure where it could fit in, but to scratch that itch and to find out the ‘bulk’ of standard gauge 16mm, I set about making a standard gauge wagon into a grounded box van type shed, then at least it will find a use somewhere.

I have a number of wagon reference books, so scaled up the drawings of a MR van, which I drew out first using Adobe Illustrator, once happy with concept I printed out working drawings and set to work.



Made almost entirely with PVC Foamex, apart from the wooden sleepers, although they could have been Foamex, but I had some sleeper strips leftover from the indoor line.





I have included a photo with a 7mm scale standard gauge wagon as a comparison.



Brick base and sleepers for the wagon to stand on.
I flipped the sleepers 90 degrees to the drawing, they did not look right on edge, especially as they are just holding the van off the base rather than taking the whole strain of supporting.



A close up view of the brickwork and the distressing on the sleeper.



I scribed the roof planking part way through, this enabled me to curve the roof as one piece. It will get covered in canvas (old bed sheet) eventually.



I split it into two halves, this made lining up for gluing a lot easier.



Roof complete.



This is how far I have got in a few days of spare moments. Lots of little details to add, should be a fun project.

Martin

 

[michael mott]

Hi Martin I really like your brick work, in an earlier post you showed the chisel you used for vertical lines, and that the horizontal lines were embossed with a ball ended tool. In the picture above the horizontal lines look a lot more like the chiselled vertical lines. How did you accomplish this?
Michael