eBay

jamajack · ‎08-12-2005

I picked up on this site from another board. It looks interesting for the stuctures that they now have with the ability to add or delete different features. I ran the station through the procedure and it came out 35.85 plus 8.75 for N scale. A little bit pricey I think. It would be a great program if they were to offer a reasonable set of different construcion materials and allow you to design a building that would be unique to you and your layout. Follow the instruction on the site below to redesign some of the four items they now have--Have fun-- http://makemymodel.com/catalog/ Jack

crazyd37 · ‎08-12-2005

You are right Jack, Cute site for those that don't want to build themselves, but a bit pricey! It would also be better if they had more to choose from but it looks as though they are new so time will tell. I also ran the station and it came out the same money wise as yours did. Too much for me as I would rather make my own but good for some I am sure. Individual sizes and shapes for distinct areas of your own layout would be a better option but my guess is they would need a different type program (ie.CAD) that may be difficult to offer online. Still a good option for those that want a bit of say as to how the structure looks without the trouble of building it themselves. Thanks for sharing! Dot

g-pa1 · ‎08-12-2005

Jack, I contacted the site with a query as to whether they could design and build a copy of my house in N Scale for my layout. It probably will be prohibitive as far as price but at least they seem open to suggestions. We will see. Gene

ginzokid · ‎08-12-2005

Looks like you are stuck with the models they offer. I see nothing about custom homes or buildings of any kind. They will grow, but if you need plans in your scale for your own house, contact Dot or me and we will be happy to provide you with scale drawings so you can build your own house in your scale out of styrene or wood. Right Dot? There will be a fee of course.....we will provide the scale plans only. You have to get your own building supplies. It seems we are going backwards here folks and that worries me. It is all about "instant gratification" now- a-days. There are very few "craftsman" left. I think I am one. I would never think of buying a pre-built structure. I'm not in a hurry to "finish" the railroad. It is not a race. It is a "hobby" and supposed to be a leisure activity that you enjoy to relax. This tendency to go for ready made stuff, this site being discussed included, just sickens me. We are heading back to "toy" trains when everything was ready made and not very realistic at all. But in today's society of "I want it and need it NOW" the ready made stuff is king. Too bad. Cae in point; Cornerstone (Walthers) and Bachmann are increasing their line of pre-biult models. Some day there will be a question by a ready to run model railroader and there will be no one to answer it. Think about it. B-)

g-pa1 · ‎08-12-2005

Well some people are talented in building things and some are not. Isn't that what makes us great. I live in a no clone zone so while I may not have expertise in one area I respect others like my son who has a talent for art and painting and Pete for scratch building his art work.I may have some of this need to build as I have begun to assemble my flatiron building and have previously scratch built my ranger tower that sit in my photo album on the some of the Wonderfalls pics. I do defer to the talented people however. Pete what do you need to come up with the scale drawings of my house. Would I just need the drawings, trace them 1:1 on wood cut out the tracings and then assemble the pieces? Is that how it works? Gene Gene

ginzokid · ‎08-12-2005

Gene, It all depends on what you want. If you only want the exterior walls, easy. If you want the interior too, that is more work on your part. You basically have to send me a hand drawing of your house with certain dimensions on it. If you have a set of plans from the builder, just send me those. Otherwise, you need to measure the outside dimensions of your house; width, length, offsets; all window and door sizes and locations; pitch of the roof and pictures of all four sides. From this I can hopefully draw an N scale set of plans actual size that you can use as templates for building your own house out of styrene or wood. I would send you several sets to verify measurements before the final building plans were provided. If you want the full interior too, I would need all the room dimensions for each floor and location of plumbing fixtures etc. I assume if you are going to do the interiors, you would want to do the stove, refg., tubs, etc. in their proper locations. It sounds complicated, but I have been doing this for a long time. I'll hold your hand throughout the process and get you a set of full size plans you can build from. What's more is that I can also build it for you if you like. That's extra of course. Discount is provided for OG members. ;) B-)

ginzokid · ‎08-12-2005

Sorry Gene, I didn't answer part of your question. Yes you would use the plans I gave you as a template to trace the walls from. You would have to cut out the windows and doors from a solid sheet of material and get castings to represent your windows and doors to put in the space created. You would have to buy card stock for the roof and apply shingles to it. All the walls will have to be cut per the patterns and fit together. The roof is the trickiest part to get the pitch right and have the valleys meet properly. The eaves are not so hard. This is why I suggest wood for this type of custom construction. It is much more forgiving than styrene if you goof on a corner or measurement. It's not a laser kit that fits together. You will have to do some cutting and fitting. In other words, become a craftsman. Build one Gene, and you'll never go back. The satisfaction of building a structure is what got me into architecture in the first place. I'm sure I have told you all this before, but my model building as a child is what led me to a career in architecture eventually. I loved to build models, still do, and actually made a living out of designing and building "real" 1:1 buildings. What a kick to actually enjoy your JOB. How many of you can actually say that deep down in your heart. Does your JOB give you the same or as much satisfaction as your hobby? Are they related? Can you smile and be happy with the results at both? I'm blessed. I have always had a sense of pride whether building a 1940 kit of a coaling tower in O scale or a custom home in Phoenix or a casino in Las Vegas. They are all the same to me. Just different scales. Sorry for the usual short post, but I must take the Wonder Dog for the evening constitutional. Me too. B-)

flaretired · ‎08-12-2005

Pete you have a great ability to be able to make a lot of your own stuff for you RR. Some of us do not have that ability and have to buy either kits or pre-built. Me for one. My layout may not be perfect but as long as I am satisfied with it that's all that counts. I whish I had your talent to do things you do. I can't even nail track down without bending the nail. Takes me at least three nails to get one in straight. Even building kits is hard for me. I even have to get a friend to finish the kit with all the very tiny things you have to put on. IE: down spouts, lights ETC. I would prefer to scratch build also but I can't. So I am glad there are resources out there for people like me. Chuck 🙂

ginzokid · ‎08-13-2005

Chuck and anyone else, I would be more than happy to build any of the kits available for you. That is my real joy as you know. You just buy the kit or send me the money to buy it and I'll ship it off to you when done. If you pay for all the supplies and shipping, I would be satisfied. How's that for a deal. B-)

70novahound · ‎08-13-2005

Dad has already done some structures for me, and I can tell you this, he is a true artist. He has Salena's Tavern in his posession now, can't wait to get a cold one there! CJB-)

flaretired · ‎08-13-2005

Pete thanks for the offer. So far the only kit I bought was the round house which went together pretty easy for me except for the real small detail parts. Once I get to the building phase I will take you up on your offer. Chuck. :) PS: What do you charge for landscaping?

untabubba · ‎08-13-2005

All, It's kind of like design your own, and I know it hsa been tossed back and forth and I tried a search, but I'm just too lazy....... Can anyone suggest a good source for materials to make homemade decal? Marc

montanabud0 · ‎08-13-2005

Hi Marc: I bought some Decal material from Micro-Mark and tried it. I wasn't all that satisfied. I did put on a Sealer coat of a canned Spray (I used 2 types). I found a couple of problems: 1 - My printer doesn't seem to produce small enough letters for some of the items I wanted, even with the smallest setting. 2. When I tried to apply the Decals, I found that unless I masked off the area and painted it Yellow, let that dry (sometimes 2 coats) the Yellow or Gold (no difference) disappeared. I contacted Canon about the possibility of increasing the density of the color on the decal and was advised that I couldn't. The underpainting does work but it is fiddley and would be somewhat difficult to do in some cases. Anyway, I did have fun (the basic idea behind Model Railroading I believe). I have seen other sites on Ebay that sell Decal Sheets, but I haven't looked lately. Hope this helps. Bud.

ginzokid · ‎08-14-2005

Chuck, I can't do landscaping for you from afar. Marc, Just searching by the word "decals" brought up 123 poatings. A lot of it was in the thread "N scale decals" and "Group Project". Basically, unless you have an Alps printer it seems the decals are "iffy". If you are just lettering, try individual letters that you can get from Walthers. If you are designing a logo for your home road, my best suggestion it to hire a professional. They advertise in MR and other mags. Clover House comes to mind. Bud, Your experience with the Micro-Mark paper is about what I expected. I tried it another way once with their paper. I printed out the lettering I wanted on the Cannon printer, then took the decal paper and my printed sheet to Staples to have it copied. They had a flat bed copier so the decal paper was not bent at all. The results were OK but I had to seal the printing to the decal paper or it flaked off if rubbed or bent. When I used it, I found the decal itself was a bit thick and even liberal coats of Solvaset did not make it disappear. My conclusion is to leave it for the experts. I don't mean to be discouraging Marc, but that's my experience with this one type of paper. B-)

untabubba · ‎08-14-2005

Actually Pete I was asking for a "Doggie Friend" of ours. She is an amateur "graphic artist"....with a capital AMATEUR! ;) She is in charge of making trophies for an upcoming show. She got the bright idea that it might be "easier" for her to make decals, than to laboriously hand paint each piece. She makes mugs, plates, wooden plaques, crap like that. Marc