# First Scratch Build - Update and Request for Assistance



## fsts2k (Jan 13, 2009)

All, 

I took the plunge on a week of vacation, purchased a bunch of Styrene and began to scratch build my first train car using an LGB car as a template. The reason for this choice was I thought it would be easier than a passenger car which I ultimately want to create. It is not perfect nor did I expect it to be, in some instances it is a shame to show this when compared to the great work you all do. There are some cuts that are rough or uneven, some of the rivets are not lined up perfectly (or even close) and it is not painted but my thoughts are that once the mock-up is done I can take model filler to smooth some of gaps out and then hopefully the paint will lay down well. Anyway, below are pictures of both my progress as well as the complete car I am using as a template. 

My issue is around the curved roof. Any idea how best to recreate this? I tried using .030 thick Styrene and a heat cut to let if fall over the rafters but both times I got a little too much heat in and one side flipped up. I worry I will need to use a vacuum forming technique to do this. Thoughts? If I can get the roof on I think it will cover some of the "opps" as well as really complete the car. 

At this point I need to finish the other end of the car, mimic the truck springs, mount the trucks, add buffers, complete the roof, paint, and final assembly. 


Here are some pictures. Thank you in advance for your thoughts

*IMG_0863.jpg*

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Kevin


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Nice work Kevin, although the top of the side look very uneven. But filler will help indeed. 
I think you are not planning a removable roof and you are gonna glue the roof in place? I this is indeed the case my options would be: 

#1. 
Use several layers of thin styreen. First glue the first one in place. When dry, glue another sheet over the first. The sheets will strenghten eachother. 
A third sheet will be give even more strenght. The glue will keep the sheets in place and take away the tension on the sheets; they will stay in form. 

or 
#2: 
Use a thicker sheet of styreen (say 1 mm. thick). Carve lines in the lenght direction over the sheet. Try to carve the lines half thickness of the sheet. 
Carve the lines few mm. from eachother. You will notice the sheet is allready bending. You can now easely glue the roof in place. 
When dried, you can sand the sheet lightly and use filler to fill the carves and smoothen the surface. Or you can glue a thin sheet over it. 

Hope this was helpfull? 

Paul


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## altterrain (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By fsts2k on 31 Dec 2009 02:22 PM 



There are some cuts that are rough or uneven, some of the rivets are not lined up perfectly (or even close) 








Sounds like all of my models!









-Brian


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## fsts2k (Jan 13, 2009)

Posted By Paulus on 31 Dec 2009 02:56 PM 
Nice work Kevin, although the top of the side look very uneven. But filler will help indeed. 
I think you are not planning a removable roof and you are gonna glue the roof in place? I this is indeed the case my options would be: 

#1. 
Use several layers of thin styreen. First glue the first one in place. When dry, glue another sheet over the first. The sheets will strenghten eachother. 
A third sheet will be give even more strenght. The glue will keep the sheets in place and take away the tension on the sheets; they will stay in form. 

or 
#2: 
Use a thicker sheet of styreen (say 1 mm. thick). Carve lines in the lenght direction over the sheet. Try to carve the lines half thickness of the sheet. 
Carve the lines few mm. from eachother. You will notice the sheet is allready bending. You can now easely glue the roof in place. 
When dried, you can sand the sheet lightly and use filler to fill the carves and smoothen the surface. Or you can glue a thin sheet over it. 

Hope this was helpfull? 

Paul 




Thanks Paul, I like option 1. I will need to get sheets of thinner stock but I think that will work.You are correct, the roof is going to be glued in place. 


"although the top of the side look very uneven."

Ha! No kidding. They were so bad I had to start a different thread asking how to cut Styrene straight  At this point I have been making significant progress and one side looks much better than the other; I am not telling which side is in the picture though. My thoughts are that similar to some of my woodworking, I can tweak, fill, and sand prior to paint so it will not look so bad. With that said, my philosophy has always been that the more you do it the better you get, so even though my first effort is pretty ugly I hope that by try number 50 I will have something respectable. Lets hope at least, with that said I am not quitting my day job. 


I appreciate all the assistance.


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## R.W. Marty (Jan 2, 2008)

Kevin,
Another way to tackle that would be to add a couple more roof support ribs equally spaced between the end walls and the center rib that you have.
These should probably be put in no matter what roof sheet system you decide on.

Find a can, bottle, jar or something else (that doesn't taper) with a slightly tighter curve than your roof. Also 3-4 small wood pieces about 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch square
and just longer than your roof sheet, several strong rubber bands.

Cut your roof sheet to size .030 styrene should work fine. Bring a pan of water, large enough to emerse the roof sheet in, to a boil on the stove then back it off to just a simmer.

Dunk your sheet in the water and let it soak and soften for a few minutes. Fish it out, don't use your fingers, and quickly wrap it around the form apply the sticks and hold all in place with the rubber bands.
The sticks will keep the rubber bands from leaving ripples along the edge of the sheet. In other words the rubber bands don't touch the styrene anywhere.

After it has cooled, just a few minutes, take it off the form and check it to your roof braces, you should have to push it down to a form fit. If it checks out glue it in place and use the sticks and rubber bands again.
as clamps until dry. If it needs to be tighter, find a smaller form and do it again. 


Good luck with your project.
Rick Marty


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

straight lines on styrene? Have you tried using a steel rule and a sharp knife to score the plastic then snap it? (long snaps will sometimes require clamping the sheet between 2 pieces of wood right at the cut line to get it to snap straight)

Curved pieces? There's more than one way to skin that cat. Easiest is the laminate method already mentioned. Another option is figure out what diameter the chord you are using is, then get pvc or abs drain pipe that size - and use a section, or wrap and clamp then heat. 3rd option... aluminum flashing from the hardware store - it's cheap, it cuts and shapes rather easily, but also dents just as easy....


Goobers are a fact of life. I go through a LOT of Bondo brand automotive spot/glazing putty. It smells and works about the same as the Squadron green - for 1/3 the price.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

my philosophy has always been that the more you do it the better you get, so even though my first effort is pretty ugly I hope that by try number 50 I will have something respectable 

Roger that! Trail and error is my school also... And it's fun to see every next model turning out better! 
Always feel free to show your models. I think I'm right to say that here on MLS everybody who does some scratchbuilding knows how much effort it takes and will respect the work of other, beginner or pro. And not forget the most important part; it's FUN to scratchbuild! 

The methods mentioned by Rick and Mik are also very good options. Mik mentioned the aluminum flashing, but perhaps simply bending a somewhat thicker aluminum plate (say 0,5 to 1 mm thick) to fit for the roof would be an idea also. It will make a very strong roof I guess. Aluminum is rather easy to saw. 

About fillers: 
I always use Tamiya gray putty for filling smaller gaps. It comes in tubes (it's like toothpaste). Dries very fast but unfortunatly it has the habit of schrinking a bit. It's available in any modelstore that sells plastic kits. 
I use Milliput (the white 'superfine' one, two component gum like stuff. Very suitable for styreen) for bigger gaps. It can be softened with water if desired (when using/forming it) but dries very hard afterwards and without any schrinking. It's rather waterproof. It can even be used to sculp small parts if desired. Takes a bit of effort but worth the try. See: http://www.milliput.com/home.htm 

I'm looking forward to your progress with this car, so please keep the pictures comming! 

Paul


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## Mr Ron (Sep 23, 2009)

I think your first attempt is turning out great. My philosophy is nothing is perfect. A full size car, especially an older one, will have scratches, dents and other imperfections. Those imperfections give it character and "brand" it as your creation and no-one elses. Personally, I don't like to work with plastics. I build my models from wood and metals and very little plastic. I build to a much larger scale (1 1/2" to the foot) and I can utilize things like plastic flashlight parts for headlights, etc. I have built in 1:22.5 scale, but again, I use wood.


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## fsts2k (Jan 13, 2009)

Thanks for all the kind words, overall I think I am happy with it. I have now finished the roof as well as many other detail pieces including buffers. I used a combination of heating up the sheet in hot water and then layered another sheet on top of that. It seemed to work fine. Next time I am going to prepare myself with more clamps since that is were everything fell apart. In addition my sloppy cutting in the beginning resulted in the roof not having a flat surface to lay on, that caused some waves. From 3 feet back it looks fine so I am okay. 

The leaf springs were interesting, I used strip plastic and glued them together, seemed to work okay. Otherwise that is about it. I now have to fill and sand some areas to smooth it out, paint, and put on the lettering. I enjoyed this first scratch build and I am going to start up another one soon. 

Here are some updated pictures:


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Next time I am going to prepare myself with more clamps since that is were everything fell apart 
I didn't see anyone suggest using a 'former' - a curved article the (almost) exact shape to which the roof is intended to fit (i.e. 'formed'.) The idea is to support the entire roof as it is shaped or glued to keep it formed to the correct curve. 

If you can guestimate the radius of the curve, you can probably find an oil can, cake tin, flower pot or some other household curved item that is pretty close. You can then squash thr styrene onto the surface with a flexible sheet of cardboard, brass, or thin plywood. Elastic or clamps will hold it together. If they are cans, heat the styrene and then clamp it. 

This also works very well for thin ply. (Craft stores sell aircraft ply in very thin sheets.) Soak them and clamp them until they are dry.


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