Structure Magic: Starting a Wood
Model Railroad Structure
Part I: The details
by Phil Sheahan
photos by Gary Hoover
The place for a highly detailed structure is the
foreground of your layout. There it can be best seen and
appreciated. Keeping this in mind, you want to keep thinking
"this is my masterpiece, the best I can do." A
highly detailed structure in the foreground will be where
visitor's eyes will focus.
 I
highly recommend that you start by obtaining a piece of wood
clapboard siding to practice the techniques and tips I'm
sharing with you. When you can obtain the results that you
want on the practice siding, that is the time to proceed
with building that craftsman structure.
Hint: When selecting your first structure, remember that
the more detail, the easier it is to hide minor flaws.
Collect the following tools and materials: Coffee can
with lid, extra plastic coffee can lid, india ink, quart
denatured alcohol, Elmers white or carpenters glue, paint
(your choice of color), driftwood stain, pin vise, straight
pin, paint brushes, two right angled blocks (angle plate and
combination square head or whatever works for you), clamps
(optional, plastic adjustable recommended), Xacto knife or
single edge razor blade (sharp ones, but don't slice your
fingers!)
1. Paint and detail the walls while they are still flat.
Brush paint all the walls, on both sides, with driftwood
stain. Let sit overnight before continuing with the next
step.
2. Stain, not paint, the outside of the walls the desired
color. You accomplish this by using new, thoroughly shaken
paint full strength for a wood building in good repair.
3. For an aged structure, you have two options. You may
stain or paint the walls with full strength paint followed
by a drybrushing with Floquil concrete. My drybrush
technique is to dip the brush in a small amount of paint,
and using a paper towel, take about 95% of the paint off the
brush.
You may also use rubber cement applied with a toothpick
to simulate peeling paint. The rubber cement is removed with
an ordinary pencil eraser after the walls are painted. I
apply the paint by dipping the brush into a jar of clean new
Dio-sol or lacquer thinner, and then dipping about one-third
of that brush in the paint. This procedure provides plenty
of color variation and also shows off the effect of the
driftwood stain.
Basically at this point you are going to scrub paint onto
the surface. This is very hard on brushes, so a recommend
using cheap brushes for this step. Acid brushes, although
cheap, are not small enough to use for this step.
4. Using a straight edge and the straight pin installed
in a pin vise, simulate nails. Start on each end and put in
two nail holes per board. After the ends are complete, I
usually run rows vertically off the window opening edges.
Finally, use your scale to divide the remaining spaces
equally and run more holes vertically. Periodically simulate
board ends with your knife. Add extra nail holes around the
board ends.
Gently, using your knife, score some of the vertical
board ends deep enough to slide the knife under the raised
clapboard edge to simulate a loose board. This is very easy
to overdo! I recommend no more than five or six loose boards
per wall. If you break a section off, glue it back on, but
as if it is hanging there by a single nail.
This whole process is somewhat tedious, but it adds a lot
to the final appearance of the model. I don't worry about
"scale width" between the nail rows, but you may
wish to consider and model that construction. Studs within
many structures are usually 18" or 24" apart. This
will usually require many more nail holes however.
 5.
Apply any "painted on" signs to the building. If
using a paper original, turn it over and gently sand (using
very fine sandpaper) the sign thinner, especially at all the
edges. Take care during this process, as you want an intact
sign! Sand until the sign is thin enough to easily and
neatly conform to the clapboard walls. Coat the back of the
sign with diluted Elmers glue (about 1 to 1 with water).
Position the top of the sign where you want it and, with
your fingernail, press down one row at a time until the
entire sign conforms to the texture of the clapboards. Go
back over the sign and simulate nail holes to complete the
effect.
6. Make an india ink weathering stain with one tablespoon
of india ink added to a quart of denatured alcohol. I keep
this mixture in a coffee can. Stain the walls to age and
weather them using a very cheap brush (like an acid brush).
Don't ruin a good brush applying this mixture. The stain
will accent the nail holes and board edges.
7. I use the straight pin installed in a pin vise for
most of my glue applications. It tends to stop you from
using too much glue and white glue cleans easily from the
metal pin. It also allows you to reach and glue places that
are tough to get at any other way.
Use a plastic coffee can lid as your glue palette. When
white glue dries (by the next day), you can flex the plastic
lid and the remaining glue will peel right out.
When you edge glue the walls, avoid getting glue on the
front surfaces. Paints and stains to not cover the same on
areas of wood which have been glued.
Part II: Window castings and structure bracing tips
by Phil Sheahan
photo by Gary Hoover
 If
the window castings are metal, prime them all at once using
either an airbrush or aerosol paint spray. Let the paint
cure about a week and then brush paint them the chosen
color. If they are plastic castings, just spray the chosen
color right on. You may wish to drybrush the castings to
simulate peeling paint. Let them sit a day and then go over
them with your India ink weathering mixture.
Glue window castings in place with white glue. Clear
styrene is used for the glazing. Cut it to fit the opening
in the wood, not the casting. Window shades may be added
using a sheet of typing paper painted both sides. Floquil
"mud" works well as a standard window shade color.
The styrene and shades are installed with Micro Kristal
Clear as it dries clear. The super-detailers may simulate
cracked or broken glass using the back of the point of an X-Acto
knife to scribe the cracks.
Interior bracing goes quickly, but a little extra time
here really pays dividends when you glue your walls
together. I usually use 1/8" square stripwood. I use an
angle plate to frame the four side walls flush with the
stripwood. Do the ends of the side walls first getting two
sides flush using an internal right angle. Trim the excess
with a razor blade. Then fit and cut to length the bracing
for the bottom and top and glue in place.
For the peaked ends, cut and glue 1/16" corner posts
first. Prepaint the corner posts. If your walls are
symmetrical, the cut on one piece will match the angle on
the other side, saving stripwood. To frame the ends, allow
for the 1/16" corner thickness of the clapboard and the
1/8" bracing on the mating part. This method provides
nice wide gluing surfaces and right angles, making a square
building easy.
Put a piece of 1/16" on top of the clapboard siding
next to a piece of 1/8", holding both against the
straight edge. Now glue on your 1/8" bracing with the
two other strips providing the exact spacing. Once both
sides of the end piece are done, cut and fit the top and
bottom bracing pieces, gluing them flush with no spaces
between them and the part edge.
If you are installing floors, now is the time to
determine the heights of these floors. Sand or cut a block
of wood to the desired height, taping a pencil to the top of
the block. Using this marking tool, draw a line on all four
inside walls, then cut, fit and glue 1/8" bracing on
the bottom of this line on all four walls to later support
the floor.
If you are lighting the structure and wish no light to show
from a window, draw lines for gluing a view block, but don't
install it yet.
Now add the rest of the interior bracing. These don't
have to be square or straight, as they don't show and don't
interfere with the fit of the walls. Just don't cover
windows and doors.
Using any right angle on your angle plate, glue a side wall
and end wall together. Then glue the other end and side
walls together resulting in two right angled structure
sections. If you are not lighting or adding an interior to
the structure, paint the interior black to eliminate warpage.
If installing an interior or floor, cut and fit the floor
using the 1/8" strip you previously installed, then
paint the floor the desired color. If installing light
blocks, cut and fit them now.
Glue the two right angled structure sections together.
This creates the basic structure and ensures square
assembly. The bracing provides nice wide gluing surfaces so
that no glue will appear on the outside. It also provides a
nice wide gluing surface for the roof.
I would like to hear of any tips or tricks you might
have. The more ideas a modeler discovers, the easier it is
to achieve what you want to accomplish. Happy modeling!
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