An example of a great build from Ben Streeter

Comments

[John T]

What are the chances Ben would provide a tutorial on how he achieves such an outstanding model ??

[Ben]

I would be happy to provide a tutorial, but I will have to build another model as I did not photograph my progress on this one. I can tell you about some of the build specifics:

- I am not a regular model builder, I just took my time and was real careful. Took about 5 hours to this point.
- 100% from the Clever models drawings
- I used 1 #11 x-acto blade for the entire build with a steel straight edge
- elmers glue applied (sparingly) with a tooth pic
- a push pin was used on inside corners to make cutting easier (see tips and tricks)
- a Bic 'cloud nine gray' Mark-it pen to color the edges (no other colors)
- drawings were printed with an HP color laserjet on Strathmore Bristol Vellum paper (100lb - 260g/m^2)
- I 'lifted' some of the roof shingles by scoring them and working the x-acto blade under and lifting up. I then colored the exposed paper with the gray pen.
- yes, the stairs and railings are all from Clever. No wod anywhere.
- window frame elements are all cut out and individually applied giving a real nice 3-d effect.
- The paper is stiff enough so as to need NO internal bracing. The model is quite rigid.

Things I may try:
- painting the windows with gloss medium. (after the model is clear coated with Krylon Matte finish for artists)
- cutting away some of the roof shingles to expose 'tar paper' beneath.
- add some floor joists under the deck
- I'd like to try building an interior....lighted
- the building needs a metal stove smokestack

Maybe what I will do is build the alternate version of the tower, and take pictures along the way. I will put it into a document and send it to Thom. Then it can be posted if they like. I have downloaded the flagstop and maybe I'll document it as well?

Thanks for posting the picture. I am flattered,

Best Regards,

Ben

[Thom M]

Ben, having built this model several times, I know how challenging it can be. Your stairs are perfect. For someone who says they don't build many models, you certainly couldn't tell from this work. i had a hard time deciding which picture to post. I appreciate the effort to respond to others. thank you.

Thom

[Steven]

I would be willing to buy ole Ben a Pepsi :) if he would put together a tutorial on either the Crossing Tower or the FlagStop building. Being new to model building I would love to have an "instructor" show me how to build. I realize that results like his don't come the first time but seeing what can be achieved an duplicating those steps can make learning so much more fun.

[Cory]

Really impressive. I'm not sure I could duplicate the stairs in "N" Scale. It might involve some curse words and potential blindness. It goes to show you that the key ingredient for card modelling is patience.

[John Fleming]

Yes indeed, Ben's model is really impressive. Cory, you are right, curse words but no blindness. As I was building the little structure in N scale, I was wondering how I was going to do the stairs. Asking for help on the CardModel site helped as a guy in Ontario partially gave me the answer. Then the stairs went together real easy. The railing was kinda touchy. John

[Cory]

John, I would be interested in the advice that you were given for building the stairs in N. I have all the components of this kit cut and ready to assemble but I'm at a loss as to how to do the stairs barring using plastic strip.

[John Fleming]

Cory, I don't know if I can post a picture on the Blog, but I will try. If I can't contact me via e-mail. ( johnflys2@aol.com ) Using Paint Shop Pro I made two extra stair stringers and marked them in red where the stair treads will be placed. The thickness of your thread will determine the width of the material removed indicated by the red line. After removing the red areas cut out part C and glue it directly over D being careful not apply too much glue or it will fill the slots that were cut in the stringers. I used a spare thread to clean any extra glue in the slot. When this dries trim D flush with C. Do the same for parts A and B. At this point you have left and right stair stringers with slots to accept the treads. When you cut the treads make sure they are the exact same length. Starting at one end, glue a tread to one of the stringers. Keep it square and let it dry completely. Then glue the other stringer to these two parts, again keeping things as square as possible. When it is dry you'll find you can now slide a tread into the next slots and glue in place from the bottom so the glue doesn't show. I did one step at a time and let it dry before going to the next one. You may want to build a jig the keep things square. I hope this is clear, if not ask questions. John

[Ben]

I have the board and batten version about half finished, and I took many pictures along the way. I have been writing up the steps that I took to build it in a MSWrod document, and I will add the photos to the document. I thought the tower was 'O' scale, but after measuring it, I think it is actually 'S' scale. The doorway is about 1.375" tall, which should about 7 feet in full scale. This would only be 5.5 feet if I multiply it out. The door should be closer to 1.75" tall in order to be the right size for 'O' scale. I am disappointed as I thought I could use these models on my yet to be started 'O' scale layout, but not now. Oh well....it gives me a reason to build more! Also, the 'O' scale version should be even easier to build. I hope to have the model finished up by the weekend, and then I will send the how-to document to Thom.

Thanks all for the nice comments,

Ben

[Dave]

Hi Ben This is Dave of Clever Models LLC. You are correct in your door measurements, but that is the intended door size. The prototype that this kit was based on had a rather short second story. Look at the door to the first story. It scales out to 6'-8, right where it should be. I admit that the second story is rather claustrophobic, but what you see, it what is intended.

[Ben]

Thanks for the info. I was thinking that the first floor door was a shed door and was probably larger than normal! What made me wonder initially was seing the tower next to the flagstop building. The flagstop is huge as compared to the tower.

On a separate note, I noticed that the models take impressions from a pounce wheel pretty well. I need to find a punce wheel now that makes impressions at the right spacing for O scale.

[Thom M]

My brother is correct. We have drawings for this building and the door is small. I've seen photos of three different locations for this tower and they are all rather eccentric.

[Ben]

I just sent Thom my 'How-to' for the board and batten version of this model. I think it turned out alright, and I hope you all like it and find it helpful. Hopefully Thom will figure out how to post it for you all to look at. Maybe it should be a PDF download?

Now.....what to build next. This is fun. I love not having to paint the models when they are finished, and you can get as detailed as you want with these things. I need a pounce wheel with the proper spacing for nails in 'O' scale. Anyone know where to find one?

[Steven]

One question that I have after looking at the crossing tower photo, during construction was the building sides folded as printed or did you cut out each side and glue them as separate pieces?

Yes I'm going back to the drawing board on this one, after looking at Ben's creation he makes mine look like the Section 8 H.U.D. version LOL !

[Ben]

I folded tham as printed, scored with an x-acto knife. I imagine you could cut them out individually and then re-assemble them, but I would guess that you would need to make some paper tabs to support the corners, or make a simple wood frame to glue them to. Good luck on your next attempt. Take your time and be patient. It will look great when you are done.

[Ben]

I have not seen the how-to posted anywhere on Clever's site, so if you would like a copy, I will be happy to send one to you direct, if you just post the email address where you would like it sent. It is obviously not the only way to build the tower, but it is how I achieved the results shown in the photo above.

[Dave]

Ben's first rate tutorial will be up soon. I wanted to make it downloadable but for some reason it would not work I'm working on it.
TM

[Jeremy]

I have been searching for the v scale flag stop that was available on here for some time, and haven't been able to find it. I had a computer crash a while back and lost my original scenery items for Train Simulator. Could anyone PLEASE help me out by pointing me to this download, or send me a copy of the original download? I would so appreciate it. Thanks,

[Dave]

Jeremy, i can't guarantee anything but I'll see if i can find the V scale models. they are not a real product so they seem to have been erased from the web page.