Hi all,
Just finished some of the card kits have added photos for you all to look at.
link, www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/43154-o-gauge-locos-and-card-buildings/
hope the link works ok

Shane, the link worked fine for me. I makes me really proud when I see our kits done so well. You did a great job. Can I ask, how was your experience. I noticed that you didn't use the posts on the Roadside Stand & Critter Shed. It can be tough to get posts to come out right. I usually try to find something to wrap the texture around. Sometimes I make a piece out of laminated cardboard.

I will be putting together something on building posts, in the fairly near future as we are probably going to have a couple of new kits that will require a bunch of them. Even some timber support bents. I've fabbed up a couple of tests and the wood grain we get on cardstock, (IMHO) look tons better than the wood grain you get on wood. The wood grain on most types of wood, used in typical kits is just too coarse for my eye. We'll see soon enough.
Dave Miecznikowski

I agree with Dave. Most people who have viewed my builds think that the posts are, indeed, well executed weathering on real wood. I have also had trouble with getting posts to come our right and always keep a supply of various square cross-section pieces as formers to wrap the card around. It does, on occasion, require some careful glueing but the results are great.

Jim

Dave and Jim,

Perhaps I am a little off base on this reply but I think it kind of fits. I model in HO scale and on many of the Clever kits I really have a difficult time building the the kits. Mosly I run into trouble with post, roof suports and such.

I of course marvel at builds by Jim and others. And I wonder why I can not even come closee. So I experimented. I built 2 kits in 'O' scale. I choose the Tool Shed and Scale House. WOW, they came out great.

Soooo, what I have decided to do is use some scale lumber in the future.

By using scale lumber I have already found that my construction work in HO scale has made the same models as mentioned above a lot more attractive looking.

John

Shane,

Thank you for posting all the great photos Excellent work.

John

John,

Even in O scale, I often substitute weathered wood for some pieces that I find my "all-thumbs" hands are not capable of manipulating. Personally, I don't find anything illegal about that, at all. By golly, this is a hobby and the only persons that we ultimately have to satisfy is ourselves. I say do what you need to get the best look (and most enjoyable experience) for your needs!

Jim

Guys (and Ladies if you are lurking) Our position at Clever has ALWAYS been, DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. I will never criticize or down play any substitution of method or materials. They are YOUR models. YOU ARE ALWAYS RIGHT. As a manufacturer we TRY to make kits available that can be built as delivered. (Sometimes we fail miserably.) Just try building something like the Roadside Stand in N. I have done it in paper, but even I don't always do it the way the kit might suggest. Our kits will always be ENHANCED buy the way YOU FOLKS decide to build them. That's why this is such a GREAT building medium. How easy is it for someone to change how a resin or plastic kit goes together? We as Card Modelers, are WAY AHEAD of the curve when it comes to creativity. We share a fresh perspective on doing it OUR WAY. You are all MASTERS at what we are doing together. EVENTUALLY the rest of the world will catch on.

Hi all,
I was just trying different things out with the different types of card.
I like to use 1000g and 600g card clued to the back of the 260g matt photo paper.
The photo paper costs me $10 for 50 sheets from the cheap Asian computer shops and I pick up the rest of my card from art and craft shops. I do shop around as prices are all over the place, and I just use good old PVA clue to laminate the photo paper to the card.
The way I am going to try and do the posts will be to use timber as its core
and just wrap the texture around it. Just like you said Dave
should work al-right as long as I use a light paper stock to wrap with, maybe 80g paper
Will let you all see the results soon.
Regards
Shane

Ya know Shane, and everyone else, the longer I do this the more I find myself settling on techniques that save me time, while still providing great results. Using thinner card is definitely one of them. Making posts is a great example. I can (I didn't say I liked it or that it is easy) make posts by just folding the kit pieces. And they come out straight and with nice sharp corners. But lately I find myself using a 32# card as a wrapper on a cardboard form. You can't tell the difference visually, BUT, I can do three by wrapping to one with only folding. Usually when I just fold, my biggest headache is that the posts tend to twist. It's not hard to overcome. It is just a matter of being really careful with the alignment, when gluing. The longer the post the tougher it gets. On long posts I start gluing in the middle and work to the ends. With the wrapping technique, the issue disappears. So keep on doing what you are doing. The results speak for themselves.
P.S. I do have to get a handle on my metric to US conversions, so I can communicate effectively to those of you who don't live in my little corner of the planet.

Hi All!
Just a comment on posts, etc. I'm currently working on the O scale 2-stall engine house and use a 1/4"x1/4"x12" wood stock as a beam wrap-around. I sanded the wood and applied three coats of bowling alley wax, as glue does not stick to the wax. Things are moving along well on the kit but I'm not looking forward to cutting out nearly 1000 "panes" for the windows and six sheets of paper shingles. Just slow and steady, and a lot of #11 blades!
-Mase Maronn

Mase,

Off and on I have been doing the HO scale version of the engine house. Like you, all of those window panes just really put me off. Then the light bulb came on. TRANPARENCIES!! The idea really works well. I am using Tranparencie sheets from HammerMill. Stock # 10815-0

Their web site is www.hammermill.com

Give it a try.

John

John, I've always thought that would be a good idea. I had a paper roundhouse when I was a kid and it had printed clear plastic windows. Send pix when you can. I'm sure everyone would like to see it.

Mase,

I did the test-build of the engine house for Thom. I am gratified that you came upon the same techniques I did for all of the supporting beams. Nope ... the windows are not fun, but very satisfying once finished. There was an article in OScale Trains about a year or so ago about my version. There might be some pointers in there, as well.

Jim