Cheap 1/35 scale buildings

Have you tried MiniArt?

http://miniart-models.com/

They have some nice model with a good price/quality ratio.

Barruel wrote:

Have you tried MiniArt? http://miniart-models.com/ They have some nice model with a good price/quality ratio.

I saw those none of them were intact which kinda bothers me, and are they good quality?

Fairly good quality for the price. They need some "cutting and sanding", though.

This is the only one I built so far:

Their good in detail but do require some work, You have to cut out alot ofthe parts,
here's one i did.

Before

After

falschimjager wrote:

I'm looking for some Cheap 1/35 scale buildings for a ww2 diorama does anybody know any that are? I'd make my own but they wouldn't look good (i've tried). Thanks in advance.

The best way to get better is to keep on trying. You have to fail to succeed, that's what learning is all about. Get some good references together, make some drawings and try making the building again. There is nothing like the feeling of making your own model...no one will have one like it anywhere.

I'd go with the mini art buildings, you can get them with street bases or stand alone so you can have pre made dios or use them in your own custom ones.

The problem is there vacuform, so you have to cut EVERYTHING out with an exacto, takes time and patience.  It also takes alot of sanding, filing, and puttying.  I find it good to reinforce the backs of all of the pieces im trying to connect to give a base to put putty on, like where two sides of a building meet.

All of the work, though, is definatly worth it, the details are stupendous and the majority of the kits come with a free set of dragon figures.

vespa boy wrote:

falschimjager wrote: I'm looking for some Cheap 1/35 scale buildings for a ww2 diorama does anybody know any that are? I'd make my own but they wouldn't look good (i've tried). Thanks in advance. The best way to get better is to keep on trying. You have to fail to succeed, that's what learning is all about. Get some good references together, make some drawings and try making the building again. There is nothing like the feeling of making your own model...no one will have one like it anywhere.

Cheap 1/35th scale buildings will look like cheap buildings unless you do a lot of work on them after you get them.. So why bother with buying them in the first place?  Build 'em up from the ground yerself... Buildings are just as much part of the story as the main object in the diorama is.. You can build the greatest kits, so well done that they should fire up and drive off, paint figures that you'd think would talk, and do foliage that you'd swear was really growing there, but then slap a cheap-azz barn on it from an "Old MacDonald's Playset" and ruin the whole thing that quick... 

Ditto what VB says... Building structures is the same as building plastic kits... Structure kits are nice, and really look good, but then again, you spend an awful lot of money on something that actually quite easy to build, if you actually take the time and look at how they're put together... It's best to build some molds for plaster walls and rock walls, grab some basswood strips and planks for roof beams and decking, some balsa for floor joists and roof gables, all kinds of materials are there for the taking.. Look into some Model Railroading structures.  Those guys have been using the tried & true techniques for about 80 years and have done all the hard work for you already, as to what'll work and what won't... All you have to do is scale them up...

Like I said, it's not hard.. It's slower for sure, but not hard.. If instant gratification is your bag, then it's probably not for you... But when you finally nail that last shingle in place, the glue's set up on that pile of rubble, the busted windows looing like glass... Man, it's all yours and no one else has that building on THEIR diorama...

VB is one helluva structure scratch-builder, as well as guys like Bodge, Senojrn, Nick Nasta, CJ, many others as well, and oh, what the hell... ME!  Anyway, all you gotta do is ask any of us for help and ideas and we'll do whatever we can to help ya through it...  Right guys?  Uh, Right guys? Guys?

The problem is there vacuform, so you have to cut EVERYTHING out with an exacto, takes time and patience.  It also takes alot of sanding, filing, and puttying.

One word...

And if you make most of your own stuff, you'll have enough money saved to buy one...They're not THAT expensive and once you get one, you'll wonder how you lived without it for so long..

Thanks for the vote of confidence HVH. I am happy to try and help out with advice. For the record, I don't have a dremel tool (I do have access to a very nice mini-mill at work though!). I do all my filing, sawing and drilling by hand...sometimes a little boring (no pun intended) but you can do it on the extreme cheap, if you have the patience.

 Check out some of the preshaped basswood from places like Mid-west. It will make things a lot easier for building structures.

http://www.midwestproducts.com/

Hans, thanks for the compliment!  I really appreciate it!

Falschimjager, Hans is right...constructing a 1/35 scale building is cheap and not hard at all.  With a few dollars worth of basswood or balsa, drywall (plaster) compound, a few tid-bits from your spares box and a little research from the comfort of your computer chair, you can build whatever building you want! 

I recommend Shepherd Paine's book "How to Build Dioramas" 1st or 2nd edition--there is a chapter in that book dedicated to how-to build buildings.   Or you can ask around or search the FSM forum for other members' techniques.  I'll tell you how I do it, if you want...otherwise I won't bore you. 

smeagol the vile wrote:

the problem with the vacuform buildings, if you havent done any yet hans, the ones by mini art, is alot of them are 'ruined' buildings, with shattered bare brick and such, things that you cant just use a dremel to smooth out, beleive me I had my dremel when I did my first one, it ddnt help as much as you would think

Haven't done any vac-formed buildings, just aircraft..

Meant what I said, Gents.. Y'all are fine "homebuilders" and "homewreckers"...

I guess it just depends on what you want to spend your time on. Some who will spend three weeks detailing a Panzer wouldn't want to spend three hours making a structure. Our kits offer very simple construction (usually just 3 or 4 main pieces you have to glue together), laser cut wood windows, doors & shattered glass, and full color, easy to understand painting and aging instructions. You can have them basically glued together & ready to paint in about 15 minutes.  They range from $15 to $45.

It took me about a week to do the master patterns for this kit. The kit costs about $40.00. Look at it this way.  You're getting my labor for about a dollar an hour. Like I said, it just depends what you like to spend your time on. Cheers!

Randy Pepprock

www.dioramasplus.com

downtowndeco wrote:

I guess it just depends on what you want to spend your time on. Some who will spend three weeks detailing a Panzer wouldn't want to spend three hours making a structure. Our kits offer very simple construction (usually just 3 or 4 main pieces you have to glue together), laser cut wood windows, doors & shattered glass, and full color, easy to understand painting and aging instructions. You can have them basically glued together & ready to paint in about 15 minutes.  They range from $15 to $45.     It took me about a week to do the master patterns for this kit. The kit costs about $40.00. Look at it this way.  You're getting my labor for about a dollar an hour. Like I said, it just depends what you like to spend your time on. Cheers!   Randy Pepprock www.dioramasplus.com

I didn't think that we were supposed to use this site to "sell" stuff ... But then again I could be wrong. Me personally, and no offense, but I come here to find out information on modeling. Not to find out who can do what for me at what price.

With that said ... I'm working on a cheap building for my Mog dio, and have just mocked everything up. I paid $2.50 for a sheet of styrofoam at HL .... more than enough for this dio plus another one ... or two. I used Elmer's white glue from my kit. I'll be plastering it was wall spackle, from the garage, and finishing it with paints, etc I already have. I figure I'm getting away with building the whole thing from top to bottom for about $10 bucks. No bad! Ehhh...

But, the more suprising thing is this ... b/c I'm scratching my own building, I'm having to do more research to find out answers to accuracy questions, etc. I'm learning more about the culture in which the building is set, more about the people, etc. Thus far, this has been a nice experience and a nice personal addition to the modeling process.

Sorry if it was inappropriate. The mods can delete it if it was out of line. Just trying to share a little information about the manufacturing process. I probably won't bother next time if it is a problem. Cheers.

Randy Pepprock

www.dioramasplus.com

modelchasm wrote:

downtowndeco wrote: I guess it just depends on what you want to spend your time on. Some who will spend three weeks detailing a Panzer wouldn't want to spend three hours making a structure. Our kits offer very simple construction (usually just 3 or 4 main pieces you have to glue together), laser cut wood windows, doors & shattered glass, and full color, easy to understand painting and aging instructions. You can have them basically glued together & ready to paint in about 15 minutes.  They range from $15 to $45.     It took me about a week to do the master patterns for this kit. The kit costs about $40.00. Look at it this way.  You're getting my labor for about a dollar an hour. Like I said, it just depends what you like to spend your time on. Cheers!   Randy Pepprock www.dioramasplus.com I didn't think that we were supposed to use this site to "sell" stuff ... But then again I could be wrong. Me personally, and no offense, but I come here to find out information on modeling. Not to find out who can do what for me at what price. With that said ... I'm working on a cheap building for my Mog dio, and have just mocked everything up. I paid $2.50 for a sheet of styrofoam at HL .... more than enough for this dio plus another one ... or two. I used Elmer's white glue from my kit. I'll be plastering it was wall spackle, from the garage, and finishing it with paints, etc I already have. I figure I'm getting away with building the whole thing from top to bottom for about $10 bucks. No bad! Ehhh... But, the more suprising thing is this ... b/c I'm scratching my own building, I'm having to do more research to find out answers to accuracy questions, etc. I'm learning more about the culture in which the building is set, more about the people, etc. Thus far, this has been a nice experience and a nice personal addition to the modeling process.

What can I say? When you're right, you're right. :  ) But I make no appologize.

Some of you (I'm not talking about you Hammer) act like the small suppliers that bring you all of the little goodies that make the hobby as rich as in choices as it is today are not any different than door to door vacuum cleaner salesmen. Any annoyance to be tolerated. Salesmen that are bothering you by trying to sell you something you don't want or need.

Please understand that nobody (as far as I know) is getting rich selling photo etched upgrade parts for some obscure Russian tank from WWII. Or Decals for a long forgotten division. Or even battle damaged plaster buildings that have to be hand mastered, cast and then packaged.

We do what we do because we like doing it. Because we love military modeling and we want to share what we have with others. Do we want to make a couple dollars at it? Of course. If we didn't we couldn't share what we have to offer with others. It's no different than a film maker wanting to have a successful film. They want a hit so they can make another movie. Another chance to share what they have to offer with the world.

BTW. This wasn't directed at any one person. I just wanted to put it out there for you guys to think about. In the end the market will decide what they want to support and what they don't. But I'm just saying try not to be too hard on the little guys who are trying to make a go of it. In the end they might end up deciding to put their efforts into something else.

Cheers!

Randy Pepprock

Dioramas Plus

Hans von Hammer wrote:

Randy, just about every post you write in here is an ad for your stuff, lol..

downtowndeco wrote:

What can I say? When you're right, you're right. :  ) But I make no appologize. Some of you (I'm not talking about you Hammer) act like the small suppliers that bring you all of the little goodies that make the hobby as rich as in choices as it is today are not any different than door to door vacuum cleaner salesmen. Any annoyance to be tolerated. Salesmen that are bothering you by trying to sell you something you don't want or need. Please understand that nobody (as far as I know) is getting rich selling photo etched upgrade parts for some obscure Russian tank from WWII. Or Decals for a long forgotten division. Or even battle damaged plaster buildings that have to be hand mastered, cast and then packaged. We do what we do because we like doing it. Because we love military modeling and we want to share what we have with others. Do we want to make a couple dollars at it? Of course. If we didn't we couldn't share what we have to offer with others. It's no different than a film maker wanting to have a successful film. They want a hit so they can make another movie. Another chance to share what they have to offer with the world. BTW. This wasn't directed at any one person. I just wanted to put it out there for you guys to think about. In the end the market will decide what they want to support and what they don't. But I'm just saying try not to be too hard on the little guys who are trying to make a go of it. In the end they might end up deciding to put their efforts into something else. Cheers!   Randy Pepprock Dioramas Plus      Hans von Hammer wrote: Randy, just about every post you write in here is an ad for your stuff, lol..

I wasn't sitting here thinking of how fun it would be to toss lit matches into the hay barn ... I was actually asking a serious question about whether or not we are allowed to "advertise" in the forums. A while back I had a HMMWV resin conversion kit that I wasn't going to use. I posted something about it to see if anyone might be interested in it and I got hammered.

I'm not going to lie and say I haven't, but oter dealings that I've had the oppurtunity to take part in, I did so through the PMs and emails. I wasn't trying to offend "anyone" or even "some of you". There were just "some people" whos posting always resembled an ad campaign. If you've that some people might like to take advantage of, that's great. I've been known to use an after market kit or two.

It simply boils down to this. I like scratching b/c it makes me learn more about the subject. Plus I find that I can get things done cheaper while coming up with ideas that are unique and one of a kind ... not to mention that I'm not constrained by another artists ideas and concepts 

If selling on the forum is allowed, then more power to you! I guess I was mistaken due to my previous experience.

... my bad ... I guess.

This is one of the latest offers from Mini Art - Village Diorama with Fountain (base included), priced at $20.80. Is that cheap?:

I'll post more and better pictures later today in a new topic. Films are being developed now.

Actually MC, it IS against the forum rules to advertise in here...

/forums/1163944/ShowPost.aspx

5. Advertisements. If you would like to advertise a product that your commercial company manufactures, or if you are an individual private seller, you can buy a classified ad in the magazine or an ad on the Web site. This includes all buying, selling, and trading. Any posts that appear to be an advertisement or transaction will be deleted.