A new magazine for me - Continental Modeller have published a write up of the Banta Models Crossing Shanty I built some time ago.
I'm in illustrious company as Gordon Gravett tells us how he scratch builds buildings in 1:50 scale, a rather more impressive feat than my sticking some bits of laser cut ply together !
Showing posts with label Crossing Shanty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crossing Shanty. Show all posts
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
Finished Shanty
After a week of postings, I suppose it’s time for me to shut up about the crossing shanty and show you the finished model.
Once the roof was tiles, I put on the self adhesive ridge tiles and flashing around the chimney. This is a reasonably clean whitemetal casting. It’s a bit wonky in the picture and I like it like this – gives the model character don’t you know…
The roof was painted with a nice terracotta colour with individual tiles picked out with thinned rust colour before the first coat had dried properly.
Glazing is supplied in the kit. It is laser cut although the process doesn’t work as well on thin plastic as it does on wood. The parts took a bit more separating from the sheet. Perhaps this is due the properties of the material, you don’t want the laser hanging around too long or the heat will re-seal the cut.
The brick base is in the kit – or at least the wood bits were, I used some Paper Creek brick paper for more solid looking foundations. I think Superquick weathered brick would look better but they don’t make it in 7mm scale.
The model still needs weathering and an interior. The former will wait until a suitable site is found on a model railway layout not yet built. If I dirty it up now I’ll find the colours I’ve used are wrong !
At the end of the day, this is a lovely kit for a very attractive building. It goes together well and is fun to make. Cost is just over £16 in the UK. I certainly plan to try other models from the range – in fact I’ve got a couple on order already.
Once the roof was tiles, I put on the self adhesive ridge tiles and flashing around the chimney. This is a reasonably clean whitemetal casting. It’s a bit wonky in the picture and I like it like this – gives the model character don’t you know…
The roof was painted with a nice terracotta colour with individual tiles picked out with thinned rust colour before the first coat had dried properly.
Glazing is supplied in the kit. It is laser cut although the process doesn’t work as well on thin plastic as it does on wood. The parts took a bit more separating from the sheet. Perhaps this is due the properties of the material, you don’t want the laser hanging around too long or the heat will re-seal the cut.
The brick base is in the kit – or at least the wood bits were, I used some Paper Creek brick paper for more solid looking foundations. I think Superquick weathered brick would look better but they don’t make it in 7mm scale.
The model still needs weathering and an interior. The former will wait until a suitable site is found on a model railway layout not yet built. If I dirty it up now I’ll find the colours I’ve used are wrong !
At the end of the day, this is a lovely kit for a very attractive building. It goes together well and is fun to make. Cost is just over £16 in the UK. I certainly plan to try other models from the range – in fact I’ve got a couple on order already.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tiling the easy way
Now this is clever. The roof tiles come as laser cut strips of thick paper. To finish the roof, all I had to do was release them and stick them in place. The strips had to be cut to length and you need to be careful to line things up properly but other than that it couldn’t be easier.
I’ve cut strips of tiles similar to this by hand. It’s a lot nice to have the hard work done for you. I wonder if there would be a market for laser cuts tiles in other scales. They might even be available already, just not in the UK.
I’ve cut strips of tiles similar to this by hand. It’s a lot nice to have the hard work done for you. I wonder if there would be a market for laser cuts tiles in other scales. They might even be available already, just not in the UK.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Roofing
This is a tough kit to describe. The problem is that all the bits fit. If they didn’t I could go on about all the fettling and fiddling required to assemble the building sounding like a real expert. I’m sure it would make a much more interesting read !
Anyway, the roof is two bits of ply. I ran a bead of PVA along the edge of one and then put them on the building so the angle was right. Once the glue had grabbed I split a matchstick in half and used this to brace the joint. I wanted a removable item to allow interior detail to be fitted in the future.
Bargeboards are attached to the wooden fret with the tinniest of tabs easily removed with a sharp knife. Once glued on the interesting inverted cross detail is affixed behind. This braces the roof further.
I did keep testing the assembly in place to make sure I hadn’t moved anything and wasn’t going to end up with a gap at the top of the walls. The bracing is more than decorating though, it really makes the structure strong enough to get away with it not being attached to the rest of the building.
The little bits of wood along the side represent the rafters. On many kits these would be knocked up out of scrap wood but here they are supplied ready to fix. I only used 3 per side, 4 are supplied but I felt that was excessive.
Next – tiling…
Anyway, the roof is two bits of ply. I ran a bead of PVA along the edge of one and then put them on the building so the angle was right. Once the glue had grabbed I split a matchstick in half and used this to brace the joint. I wanted a removable item to allow interior detail to be fitted in the future.
Bargeboards are attached to the wooden fret with the tinniest of tabs easily removed with a sharp knife. Once glued on the interesting inverted cross detail is affixed behind. This braces the roof further.
I did keep testing the assembly in place to make sure I hadn’t moved anything and wasn’t going to end up with a gap at the top of the walls. The bracing is more than decorating though, it really makes the structure strong enough to get away with it not being attached to the rest of the building.
The little bits of wood along the side represent the rafters. On many kits these would be knocked up out of scrap wood but here they are supplied ready to fix. I only used 3 per side, 4 are supplied but I felt that was excessive.
Next – tiling…
Monday, January 28, 2008
Framing and windows
Here’s a clever idea. The framing for the shanty is very thin plywood with a self adhesive backing.
First it has to be painted. This is a piece of cake as each side is a single part strong enough to handle. Once dry, just peel off the backing sheet and stick it to the carcass of the building. The glue grabs enough to hold the part but needs pushing firmly to get it stuck properly. This allows a little light re-positioning of the part. I’m not sure I’d fancy trying to remove it once stuck properly though, as the wood is incredibly thin.
The windows are another marvel of the laser cutters art. The frames are so thin – well under a millimetre across. They accept paint (Humbrol enamel) very well without a hint of the furriness that some woods exhibit.
The only difficult bit is making sure each window is the right way up. Get it wrong and it won’t line up with the hole in the frame. Guess how I know this…
First it has to be painted. This is a piece of cake as each side is a single part strong enough to handle. Once dry, just peel off the backing sheet and stick it to the carcass of the building. The glue grabs enough to hold the part but needs pushing firmly to get it stuck properly. This allows a little light re-positioning of the part. I’m not sure I’d fancy trying to remove it once stuck properly though, as the wood is incredibly thin.
The windows are another marvel of the laser cutters art. The frames are so thin – well under a millimetre across. They accept paint (Humbrol enamel) very well without a hint of the furriness that some woods exhibit.
The only difficult bit is making sure each window is the right way up. Get it wrong and it won’t line up with the hole in the frame. Guess how I know this…
Sunday, January 27, 2008
First attempts with plywood building parts
Building he basic shanty shell is nice and easy. Each part is removed from the wooden fret by cutting the minuscule tags that hold it in the sheet with a sharp scalpel. In this respect it’s like an etched brass kit although the material is thicker and softer.
The remains of the tabs were sanded away with the finest sandpaper I had to hand. Although all but one will be hidden there is a slight chance they could affect the fit of later parts.
One minor problem is that the wood is only planked on one side. This gives it the tendency to curl away from the planking. Some quick setting 5 Star adhesives PVA grabs quickly and once the parts are fixed to each other flatness is restored but it’s unnerving when you first release the bits.
The remains of the tabs were sanded away with the finest sandpaper I had to hand. Although all but one will be hidden there is a slight chance they could affect the fit of later parts.
One minor problem is that the wood is only planked on one side. This gives it the tendency to curl away from the planking. Some quick setting 5 Star adhesives PVA grabs quickly and once the parts are fixed to each other flatness is restored but it’s unnerving when you first release the bits.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Banta Modelworks Crossing Shanty Kit
Ever since I built the cardboard model boat, I’ve been fascinated by laser cut wood. That kit was fantastic – no effort was required to cut the parts out or scribe planks, yet you were still working with lovely material.
For a couple of years I’ve bought an American Model Railway magazine for finescale modeller. Some of the most interesting content is the advertising. Pages and pages of it, many ads referring to laser cut kits for buildings. When I found a UK supplier – NG Trains – I decided I had to have a go.
So here we are with the Banta Models C&NW Crossing Shanty. A model picked not for its suitability for a future model railway, but simply because I liked the look of the finished product. The 7mm scale version suits the growing collection of Bachmann On30 rolling stock.
Out of the bag the parts look promising. As well as plywood there is cardboard and clear plastic along with a whitemetal chimney. The cutting is excellent and I’m keen to get started.
Watch this space for updates on the building.
For a couple of years I’ve bought an American Model Railway magazine for finescale modeller. Some of the most interesting content is the advertising. Pages and pages of it, many ads referring to laser cut kits for buildings. When I found a UK supplier – NG Trains – I decided I had to have a go.
So here we are with the Banta Models C&NW Crossing Shanty. A model picked not for its suitability for a future model railway, but simply because I liked the look of the finished product. The 7mm scale version suits the growing collection of Bachmann On30 rolling stock.
Out of the bag the parts look promising. As well as plywood there is cardboard and clear plastic along with a whitemetal chimney. The cutting is excellent and I’m keen to get started.
Watch this space for updates on the building.
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