Stripwood?

Vic

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Hey Micheal, Stripwood as we define it in model railroading is better called scale lumber. Most any good trainshop will have it.
Comes in sizes from 1x2 on up.

Stripwood in general hobby parlance is simply that....blasa,bass or spruce wood in strips 1/8x1/8, 1/4x1/2, 1/8X5/16 etc and so on.....

You can also get scale lumber in styrene.....Made by Evergreen...Lots of hobby shops stock it.

HO or N scale lumber is rather hard to cut unless you have a special saw with an Accurizer fence and special blades and plates for the saw. I have one of the @@#$% things but all actuality I haven't cut any lumber in years as I prefer to work with styrene.
 

shamus

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Hi Michael,
My stripwood is made by "Billings Boats" and is 1/8" wide by 1/64" thick. I make all my scratchbuilt structures with this wood and a tube of "Evo Stick glue" (Contact)
Here a photo of one using this wood, even the roof shingles were made out of the stripwood cutting them into 1/8" squares.
sbuilding1.jpg

Shamus
 
Michael,

If you don't have a hobby/train shop nearby, you can order stripwood from the Walther's Catalog and Walther's Terminal Hobby Shop.

Three of the better known suppliers of wood stripwood on this side of the Atlantic are Kappler, Northeastern, and Mt. Albert. As Vic indicated, Evergreen is one of the better known suppliers of styrene stripwood.

Shamus, that's a great looking structure.

I've not heard of Billings Boats before. Are they located in the U.K.?
 

jon-monon

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Some of the artsy-craftsy hobby jobby places have it in real dimmensions (not scale lumber) which is fine for most things. I like basswood because it's strong and it's fine grade looks good. Balsa is soft and easy to work with but the grain is huge and it looks funny. I bought a bunch of it at hobby lobby, similar to what Shamus described. I used it to construct my version of The Box and the tank car I recently posted under scratching and bashing.
 

Vic

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Shamus....Obviously The Master has struck again:D Beautiful Model:) :)

I'm familar with Billings Boats....Extremley high quality materials and ship kits. Coludn't keep them in stock when I had the hobby shop.
 

tomfassett

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Another source of "old wood" for those of us too cheap to buy it "ready made...";)
When I started modeling, my weekly budget was extremely limited so I always looked for ways to do things "on the cheap." I would see a lot of old furniture thrown away while I was out wandering around in the desert. I began to notice (as I'm sure many others have) that weathered and peeling wood veneer looks a lot like miniature weathered wood when cut up. As there was a surplus of tossed furniture around I began to collect pieces. These pieces range anywhere from paper thin (the cheap furniture) to 1/16" thick (the good stuff). The thin stuff makes a great way to detail an existing structure that does not need support. It can also be cut with a pair of scissors. The thick stuff can be used for making buildings, just like the stuff you buy. Now, I admit, there is more work involved in "reclaiming" veneer, but for those of us on a limited budget, it is an alternative.
Here is a pic of a MOW flat I am working on showing a layer of thin veneer applied to the top. Although it doesn't look as good in the low detailed picture, it is quite good looking in reality.

Tom F
 

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shamus

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Originally posted by NYCentral
Very Nice Shamus!! New model?

Hi Phil,
No, that was made around 5 years ago, don't have it anymore, broke it up for parts for a new project.
Shamus
 

tomfassett

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Hey Shamus... As most of the stripwood comes bright and shiny clean, how about some pointers on how to weather it like you do?

Also, next time you need parts, send me the built structure and I'll send you an equivalent pile of parts (you tore it up?!? Lord have mercy...):eek: :rolleyes:

Tom F
 

shamus

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Originally posted by tomfassett
Hey Shamus... As most of the stripwood comes bright and shiny clean, how about some pointers on how to weather it like you do?

To weather my stripwood, I either do one of two things depending on what colours I need the structure.
1- If it is just a plain wood looking structure (Old ) I use water/indian ink mixed in a spray bottle and spray the completed structure before windows/doors are added, cleaning any surplus droplets with a cloth.
2 - For a coloured structure, I first spray the completed building without windows/doors etc with a matte colour of my choice. then when it is dried I go over it with chaulks (Scrape a little onto a piece of card - Grey/brown/red/black) then with a dry brush I just go at it until it looks right.
There is an article here in the Academy on scratchbuilding using stripwood I wrote some time ago, here's the link.

http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=890

Shamus


Also, next time you need parts, send me the built structure and I'll send you an equivalent pile of parts (you tore it up?!? Lord have mercy...):eek: :rolleyes:

Tom F
 

jon-monon

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And shamus has even more on his site, once you read through the academy :D :D :D What a resource this is. When I did a layout in the 70's I had virtually no contact with any other modelers. No LHS and no magazines. Now I can ask real experts if I don't see it already written up. The Gauge rocks!!!