Making Models From Scratch

[Reynard]

So as not to clog up the Mundane News thread with the minutiae of my 1:10 scale Higman Superstox project, thought I'd start a new thread on the ins and outs of scratch-built models.

I have to confess that I'm a modelling newbie - my only previous experience is with a few cheap plastic kits well over three decades ago. You know, the ones that never fit together right, where the glue doesn't set completely and the paint and decals refused to stay put... My background is in automotive engineering, so the design work itself isn't the issue. Where I could use advice is in making that leap from drawings on a page to actually making parts. So methods, materials, hints and tips, that sort of thing, from heads wiser than mine.

Was hoping to make the main part of the chassis (which includes the mount points for the side irons and front & rear bumpers) from fibreboard. Unfortunately the piece that I have is warped, which means it's no go. The alternative I have to hand is 5mm thick plywood, but am not sure if it is the right material for what is a pretty complicated shape.

This piece is the structural "backbone" of the whole model, so I have to get it right...

Oh, and this is what I'm trying to build... (#221)

 

[HMS_Dave]

I used to build Airfix models when i was younger. I was never good enough to go from scratch. I lost touch with it until this past Xmas when i brought my lad an RC Car. It's sort of caused an itch again if im honest that may need to be scratched.

I for one am looking forward to your progress.

 

[oldworld]

Looking forward to seeing how you get on.

I've always liked ships and had the idea of building a model. I looked at the price of wood kits and ruled that out as being far too expensive for something I wasn't sure I'd be able to do.

I came across an old plan of a Scottish steam drifter and decided to have a go.
Getting my head around the drawing was the first hurdle. Next came what to make it from.
Being a cheapskate and not wanting to spend lots on modelling wood I used what I had. This meant lot's of sawing thick sections to get the thin strips I needed.
I managed to make a reasonable model, not museum standard but not too off scale.
Off and on it took me 2 years but it got the itch to make a model boat scratched.
Somebody once told me the experts who make things for others get more enjoyment from the making than do the owners they are intended for. I think he's right.
It now sits in my daughters living room.

I marvel at the fantastic work some modellers produce but I spent almost zero and only had basic DIY tools and items I made myself.

I now have a doll's house furniture to make for my wife's hobby. This is much easier as furniture tend to have right angles!

 

[Illaveago]

You could get some strip wood the correct thickness of near enough to make the sticky out bits . For some reason Obeche wood springs to mind from modelling days. I think it was used on my model of a Fairly Huntsman speed boat .​

It would be best to cut notches into the main flat section so as to form a lap joint rather just gluing the pieces straight on to the edge .​

It will be nice to see how you progress .​

 

[Cycleops]

I’ve built my own RC planes from plans but in wood. Making a complex shape in ply I would use a coping saw with a fine blade, which would work for your chassis but what is the intended use? Is it a working electric model or just static display? Obviously ply wouldn’t be strong enough for the former.

@Andy in Germany is scratch builder of model railways and I’m sure he could add quite a few useful tips.

 

[Bazzer]

You might want to look at some of the RC modellers on YouTube. I suspect their work is way beyond what you are planning to do, at least at the present but you may find it useful to see the materials they work with, how they use them and (possibly) their sources.
There is one guy, Ramy RC, who does some amazing work. A few of his videos have appeared in my YouTube feed, although I don't do modelling other than a few years ago I made from scratch for a friend's retirement from work, a scale model of a his then Cessna. The fuselage was pine, wings balsa, propeller and nose cone carved from a single piece of wood, with aluminium wheel struts. The wheels and tyres came from a model car I had to source to get the correct looking wheels.

 

[MontyVeda]

I used to make scratch built models out of cardboard (cereal boxes, etc)... obvs for display purposes only. Making box sections of all the individual parts is straight forward enough, just need loads of pegs and paperclips to hold it together whilst the glue (PVA) sets. It can be very sturdy because it's all box sections.

No photos of any of my scratch built stuff because it was the 90s and i didn't have a camera, and most were given away as gifts... but this off-the-shelf model Enterprise shows just what curves can be created with card...

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I tend to model mostly in Fimo and Sculpey with wooden and metal wire armature/ frames but they're more sculpture (of a sort) rather than accurate scale models. This might help though, this one started out as a really basic 6 quid wooden plywood house / 3D jigsaw kit from Hobbycraft then it was built up with Fimo, and had figures modelled and added, snow, curtains, lighting etc.

It started out like this:

I'd maybe make the chassis out of that same thinnish plywood and cut out your template shape with a hacksaw, I believe Hobbycraft sell sheets of it but if not I'd buy that house kit pictured and just fill the holes in the base plate with wood filler. The rest of the panels might be useful for the bodywork.
Nice project idea by the way! *Follows thread*

 

[simongt]

I used to build Airfix models when i was younger.

So did I back in the '60s when they were virtually all that was about. Now, even with their current marketing, the standard of mould, fitting etc. is very poor in my recent experience. The competition from central European & far Eastern companies is now so fierce that there is a huge range of much better kits available across most subjects. Tamiya is still the 'go to' company for quality, but there's a lot of others snapping at their heels - !

 

[Reynard]

It's a static display model, so wood and card will be the mainstay of the structure. I saw some petrol-powered RC Superstox at a racing car show I went to last February, which is where I kind of got the idea of building one from in the first place. (I have two RC cars, but I'm useless with them LOL)

I was hoping to make the chassis platform in a single piece, but the more I think about it, the more problems I see. This is exactly *why* I need advice.

A jigsaw and assorted hacksaws I most definitely have, and, there's probably a coping saw lurking somewhere among my dad's old upholstery tools.

Am currently having fun (!) scaling some pretty ropey photos and turning them into a complete set of engineering drawings. I'm also really lucky that a friend's husband actually builds these types of race car, and spanners on them, so I can get the gaps filled in where the photos don't give me enough information.

No idea how long this is going to take - or even whether I can pull it off, but if I don't try, I'll never find out, will I?

 

[Andy in Germany]

So as not to clog up the Mundane News thread with the minutiae of my 1:10 scale Higman Superstox project, thought I'd start a new thread on the ins and outs of scratch-built models.

I have to confess that I'm a modelling newbie - my only previous experience is with a few cheap plastic kits well over three decades ago. You know, the ones that never fit together right, where the glue doesn't set completely and the paint and decals refused to stay put... My background is in automotive engineering, so the design work itself isn't the issue. Where I could use advice is in making that leap from drawings on a page to actually making parts. So methods, materials, hints and tips, that sort of thing, from heads wiser than mine.

Was hoping to make the main part of the chassis (which includes the mount points for the side irons and front & rear bumpers) from fibreboard. Unfortunately the piece that I have is warped, which means it's no go. The alternative I have to hand is 5mm thick plywood, but am not sure if it is the right material for what is a pretty complicated shape.

View attachment 571311

This piece is the structural "backbone" of the whole model, so I have to get it right...

Oh, and this is what I'm trying to build... (#221)

View attachment 571313

Hi @Reynard. Are those dimension on the sketch from the original of for the model?
Is there a reason it isn't symmetrical?

 

[Reynard]

Hi @Reynard. Are those dimension on the sketch from the original of for the model?
Is there a reason it isn't symmetrical?

The dimensions are in mm and are for the model. I've already scaled down to 1:10

And that piece should be symmetrical along the centerline - it looks wonky because I had to stitch the image together as my flatbed scanner only goes up to A4. And I didn't do a terribly good job of it. The front of the chassis structure is on the left as you look at it, and the rear is on the right.

 

[Andy in Germany]

The dimensions are in mm and are for the model. I've already scaled down to 1:10

And that piece should be symmetrical along the centerline - it looks wonky because I had to stitch the image together as my flatbed scanner only goes up to A4. And I didn't do a terribly good job of it. The front of the chassis structure is on the left as you look at it, and the rear is on the right.

Thanks @Reynard, but that wasn't what I meant. I'Ve taken your picture and circled two dimensions, which appear to be taken from the centre line to the end of what I'm guessing is a bumper. They appear to show a different length, is this the case?

Also, what is the length and width of that centre block for the chassis, shown by the green lines?

 

[Reynard]

Thanks @Reynard, but that wasn't what I meant. I'Ve taken your picture and circled two dimensions, which appear to be taken from the centre line to the end of what I'm guessing is a bumper. They appear to show a different length, is this the case?

Also, what is the length and width of that centre block for the chassis, shown by the green lines?

View attachment 571449

OK, my bad...

Yes, the bumpers are asymmetrical - front and rear. These cars run anticlockwise on short ovals, in a formula that allows contact. So the longer bumpers on the right hand side protect the wheels should you get stuffed into the concrete retaining wall on the outside by the opposition...

N.B. The bumpers and side irons (as drawn) sit perpendicular to the chassis platform - the thickness of those is 3 mm.

Length of chassis platform is 263 mm, the width is 60 mm. Chassis thickness (depth) is 5 mm - which corresponds to the 50 mm box section steel that it's made from in real life.

 

[Andy in Germany]

OK, my bad...

Yes, the bumpers are asymmetrical - front and rear. These cars run anticlockwise on short ovals, in a formula that allows contact. So the longer bumpers on the right hand side protect the wheels should you get stuffed into the concrete retaining wall on the outside by the opposition...

N.B. The bumpers and side irons (as drawn) sit perpendicular to the chassis platform - the thickness of those is 3 mm.

Length of chassis platform is 263 mm, the width is 60 mm. Chassis thickness (depth) is 5 mm - which corresponds to the 50 mm box section steel that it's made from in real life.

That makes a lot more sense now, thanks.

I've been thinking how I'd approach this. Bear in mind I prefer to use low tech methods with minimal tools, so take it for what it's worth...

I'd make the central rectangle as a rectangle and add the square section bits afterwards, simply because I'd find it simpler. I have a client who could probably cut that out of 6mm ply but I couldn't.

You could use ply for the central block, I'd probably use thick card like mounting board as I'm lazy. In that case, I'd laminate several bits with superglue: I'd cut the first one perhaps 1mm larger overall, then because I can't measure that accurately twice, I'd glue it onto another larger piece of card, and then cut around it, and repeat until I had a 5mm thick slab. Then I'd pour superglue all around the edges so the set like a rock, and file or sand half a millimetre off each edge so it is smooth and can take a drill bit. You will use a lot of superglue by the way, get a big pot and open the window.

I'd make the square section bits the same way, just long strips and then cut them to the length I wanted.

You may get away with gluing the square bits onto the chassis block, but it would be safer to use a metal rod to give a bit more solidity. I'd probably use a piece of Chinese takeaway handle, which has the added advantage you have a really good excuse to get two boxes so you have more materials. I'd drill a cm into the end of the square section so the takeaway handle fits snugly, and leave about a cm sticking out. Then drill a hole into the chassis at the right place and angle, about 0.5 mm bigger so you have a bit of wiggle room if it doesn't fit perfectly. the superglue will fill the hole and any gaps. I told you you'd need lots of superglue.

I'd make the bumpers about the same way, the side ones with two long sections and small spacers. If you make them a tiny bit over size, and soak the edges in superglue you can sand them so when painted they look smooth.

A slightly more expensive method is to use plastic card and liquid cement: I do this with railway models. This has the advantage that the plastic cement welds the plastic and the plastic itself has a smooth metallic appearance. You can also get square section rods from companies like Evergreen plastic rods which will cut and weld like metal, and they can be positioned a bit more slowly than with superglue which can be a bit too fast.

Hope that helps. I'm sure someone on here makes much finer models than I can can advise.