Base for buildings?

berraf

Member
How do you make your foundations for buildings on modules that you visit meetings with?
Any tip of the day would be highly appreciated :)
 
I don't know exactly what you mean but you have the choice of either gluing them to the module, or leaving them loose and lifting them off the module every time you take your modules down.

For gluing them on the module, you can use, white glue, carpenter's glue, polyurethane glue, no-more-nails, etc. I think it all depends on what you're gluing down and which glues you're more comfortable with.

Bob M.
 

berraf

Member
Sorry, I need to be more precise :)
Since the buildings need to be transported separately when going to an exhibition I need a good way to mount them back on the modules.
I believe that I need some kind of base to mount them on and I wonder how you do it?
I don't know if anyone could understand what I mean cause my english is bad and I don't have enough words to explain myself :cry:
 

Gary S.

Senior Member
Here is something that may or may not be of use to you. For my larger structures, I have been using plexiglass. It just so happens that I am starting a new structure today. Here are 2 photos, plus 2 more photos of another building I started a few weeks ago.
 

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Nomad

Active Member
I think what Berraf is trying to get at is a foundation to reattach the buildings to when he gets to an exhibit and sets up. Is that correct, Berraf? Off hand I have no idea what to do.

Loren
 

Gary S.

Senior Member
What is wrong with gravity? When you set up the module, you set the building on the module, and gravity holds it down.

My buildings are not going to be attached to my shelf layout. Now, the concern is, how do I make the buildings look like they are "not just set there"? I am thinking maybe I will put Seran plastic wrap tightly around the bottom of the buildings when I do the scenery right up against the buildings. I let it dry, then I take up the building, remove the Seran wrap, and then there is a "socket" that the building will fit right in to.

Anyone see problems with this idea?
 

ddavidv

Member
This is a mobile module we're talking about. I have two; one built each way. The one with the 'loose' buildings is a PITA. I have to carry extra boxes with the structures in it and handle the structures a whole lot more, which tends to lead to damage. The one with attached buildings I just set up and run trains in minutes, and it only requires one trip to the truck. :)

So, how to attach? The attached module uses plastic kits that came with bases. I just cut them down as much as possible and then hid them under the scenery after gluing, then glued the structures to their bases. You can't even tell they have a plastic, kit base if done with any care.

The ones that don't come with bases, what I would do is add some strips of some material across the 'floor' of the building attached to the walls. The more 'grid' you have the more firmly you can attach the structure to the module. Then glue, or if you want them removable for repairs, screw up from the underside into the grid (this could be tricky unless you leave the roof off until this point).

For transport you may find it a good idea to cover the more delicate buildings with a simple cardboard box that just sits over them. It will help protect bumping fragile details like antennas, rain gutters, etc.
 

60103

Pooh Bah
I use foamcore board (about 1/4" foam with paper on each side) as a base and have the building fixed to that. usually there is a bit of extra base and I put a little scenery on that to hide the joint or even to stick the building down. Then a bit more scenery on the layout to outline where it goes.
Since I use cardboard buildings they stick to the foamcore easily; in fact, I started it when I used some as a construction base and the structure wouldn't come off.
If the building doesn't have a floor, I use a bit of extra foamcore as a floor to keep it square.
 

DavidB-AU

New Member
The modules owned by our club were left with a vacant "footprint" of essentially flat roadway where buildings are intended to go. If absolutely necessary they can be exhibited without buildings. But the idea was so members could build whatever they want to sit on that space. In many cases home layouts have since been built with identical footprints so what sits on the home layout for 361 days of the year can appear in public twice a year. Buildings can be swapped around between exhibitions or even on different days of the same exhibition.

Here's some examples of one recent module.

Dscf5142.sized.jpg

The basic module with only one building (built by me) in place for a test fit.

DSCF3395.sized.jpg

2006 exhibition

DSCF5414.sized.jpg

2007 exhibition, different shed

Cheers
David
 

berraf

Member
DavidB-AU, thanks for your pictures and tip!
60103, thanks for your tip about foamcore!
ddavidv, great tip about the cardboard box!
Gary S, gravity is good :)

Now I have some good tip to work with
 
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