scratchbuilding for a dummie

*grins* I could say it's a God-given talent that few are entrusted to possess ... but that'd be fibbing. It's mainly just wanting to and then keeping at it until it looks "right," to you at least.

In the scales I usually deal in, 1/700 for ships and 1/72 for aircraft, it's usually just a matter of collecting enough good references, grabbing some hunks and bits of styrene and having at it until the object of the exercise "looks right."  Take this Japanese diahatsu landing barge. I couldn't find any plans on the web, but I did have some aerial photos of these same barges next to Japanese float planes, which gave me the rough dimensions, and other photos to give me the general shape:

 

A little trial and error with some paper templates nailed down the shape, glue it all together and then a PE ship's wheel and Skywave 25-mm antiaircraft cannon to finish things off. 

 

 

Remember in the movie "Apollo 13" when a guy dumped a bunch of miscellaneous stuff on a table in a room, held up two incompatible filters, and said, "We have to make this attach to this other thing. This is what we have to work with. Figure it out."

That's all there is to scratchbuilding: You know what you want (references). You know what you have (scraps, bits, pieces of miscellaneous STUFF you have been saving for (sometimes decades). And tools.

I never throw anything away without taking it apart and scavenging interesting looking bits. And you love small diameter wire, with or without insulation.

The burner can for a recent project was a brass casing from a .45 cartridge. The intake trunk was a flared case from a .22 magnum. The scratchbuilt cockpit of my 1/72 Mosquito is all bits of plastic sheet of various thickness and tiny bits of wire.

We humans have been doing this since we were prehuman: Oggh looks at a rock and a stick, and sees a really effective club/ax/mashee-niblick.

Like a really good stew, it's made from what you can scratch up…

thanks guys im gonna give it a try( not that i'll be any good ) but were do you get styrene?

david wrote:

thanks guys im gonna give it a try( not that i'll be any good ) but were do you get styrene?

Styrene plastic is available in many LHS and/or through some online shops.   Check too the local model railroad shops.

Major brands to look for are Evergreen

http://www.evergreenscalemodels.com/

or Plastruct

http://www.plastruct.com/

Check yardsale signs in the local hardware store.   Check too the pre-approved credit cards sent in the mail.  Many of them are styrene or a similar plastic.  Remember also the advice to not throw anything away which might be useable. 

Go dumpster diving behind the local plastic supplier's warehouse for plexiglas scraps.

 

thanks!

 

I like to use magic dust when I scratch build. Toss it around the base of the diorama and tell it what to make. It works good in a fantasy but you have to study and research what you want to build and then do it. Practice, practice and practice. Make sure you have the proper equipment also. That helps relieve some of the frustration which accompanies scratch building. I enjoy it very much and I try to work on something everyday. When I don't know what to make, I'll then create barbed wire or something else which I will use in a diorama so I don't have to make it when I'm building. It saves time. Good luck and post what you make. Use your imagination also. It makes the dioramas much more interesting. Ciao.
Nick

wow! your good

 

Always be on the lookout for stuff that "looks miniature"... Broken toys, styrofoam pads from electronics boxes, clear acetate from blister packages, bottle caps, tube caps with interesting textures, drinking straws of various sizes, cassette cases, CD cases, various foils from wine bottles and such, man, the list is limited only by imagination. 

Garbage dumpsters can be excellent places to forage for scratchbuilding materials ... and don't ask me how I know that.

What everyone else said, plus:  Try, try, try.  Like anything else, really.  There are going to be some who have a talent for it, and maybe don't have to work at it as much as the rest of us, but a lot of practice can make up for that.

Regards,

Brad

My vocation at least at first was special make up effects artist, (I've wound up getting a couple gigs as a modelmaker.) so I was lucky I can't help but be exposed to lots of material and techniques benificial to my habit..er I mean hobby.  Look there is no shortage of referance, usualy repleat with diagrams drawings etc, and all things have a shape some simple, the wheel of a WW1 biplane, some not the turret of a French Somua tank.  The trick is finding the right material for the task. This is my ta 152 project, conversion of the Airfix 24th FW190. The spinner is machined "Delrin" the engine cowl is carved urethane foam, hard coated with resin, the big prop paddle blade is the kit part with a sheet of .020" styrene glued to the back blended with CA & putty.  Okay the spinner's turned on a lathe but the restis old fashioned dead reconing whitlin, guided by as much visual material as possible, so I won't convert the Focke Wulf into a 58 pontiac safari wagon by mistake lol. Brass tubing, Evergreen & Plastruct shapes, balsa or basswood should be fine substitutes for the more exotic materials I'm useing, plenty of glue & putty and you to can become a scratch building maniac.

Hans von Hammer wrote:

Always be on the lookout for stuff that "looks miniature"... Broken toys, styrofoam pads from electronics boxes, clear acetate from blister packages, bottle caps, tube caps with interesting textures, drinking straws of various sizes, cassette cases, CD cases, various foils from wine bottles and such, man, the list is limited only by imagination.

I am a HUGE pack-rat so this is easy for me...

HI !  There are no such things as scratchbuilding dummies . Like a train you just need to go down the right track. I carve wood as well as build models and I constantly find myself crossing over on the projects I do . I would recommend this . find something you really want to do , make sure there,s NO KIT of it . Look around and find anything that looks right for all the parts needed . then do your magic . DON,T throw anything away that you think might work If you don,t use it ,oh well , maybe next time . If you need a source for parts ,think outside the box . I use a lot of LEGO parts that look right in scale and it saves time . the toys and electronics will surprise you with what they can contribute.     tankerbuilder

I think I'm closer to being a "scratchbuilding dummy" than one of the "incredible people" you referred to, but I began dabbling in scratchbuilding some pieces recently.  I managed a pretty decent bench seat for a Chevelle from styrene sheet and putty.  Took alot of time and fair amount of head-scratching at times ("how can I do this??") but in the end I got some satisfaction out of the experience.

What I find frustrating sometimes is spending uncounted hours on something, only to find out that it's not going to work like you thought and have to scrap it and start over.  All part of the process, though.

Now, does anyone have any hints on scratchbuilding the grille, tail light panel, and huge chromium plated railroad ties they used for bumpers on a '74 Nova??  LOL  (I'm trying to convert a '69 to look something like the '74 I used to have)

 Hey ED :  The idea of dumpster diving behind a framing or plastics retailer for the usable bits and pieces is an excellent one ,BUT ,make sure you get permission from the store owner /manager first . According to a law I unknowingly ran afoul of , the stuff , once in the dumpster is the property of the waste company ! UNLESS , the store management or owner has given that essential permission . I know it,s a stupid law ,but it exists in 99% of the cities and towns in the nation !!!Once you do however ,oh boy what a lot of good stuff you can find ! The R.C. ships I started with were ALL built of scraps from the free store ( dumpster )   .Good luck on your projects .    tankerbuilder