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Dereliction


goggsy

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I'm in a bit of a rut at the moment and am thinking of trying something a bit different. I like a bit of dereliction and I'm thinking of maybe scratching an abandoned building of some kind, maybe a control tower or similar. It seems to me that it would be a blank canvas for lots of different weathering techniques, plus I'd like to try some ideas around recreating broken glass. I was wondering if anyone else has any experience of doing something like this or could suggest any online resources to look at?

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On this derelict railway station I did for someone I cut clear plastic packaging.

I cut a straight edge, then a narrow-ish strip, which was cut to the length or width of each window frame. Angled notches were cut in one side and the result glued into the window frame.

For reference I took photos of some vandalised buildings in a few towns

Station%20number%201%2002s_zpseooayuoo.j

 

Station%20number%201%2004s_zpsig3ucsx7.j

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I scratch-build all of my buildings. It's huge fun designing and building them. Kit buildings are okay, but sometimes the 'damage' is not realistic, or the architecture is suspect in scale and design. They also restrict your options, forcing you to make a base of a certain size.

 

Here's a link to my 'Villers Bocage' dio, in which I scratchbuilt two 3 storey buildings..

 

I plan my buildings out on paper, using a drawing board to get all the dimensions and angles right; the positions and sizes of doorways, windows, floor heights, etc, then use the drawings as templates.  For construction I use plasticard sheets of various thicknesses, sometimes gluing two sheets back to back to increase thickness, while thinner sheets are used for 'surface' details such as lintels, window surrounds, eaves, signage etc . By using plasticard, I can easily glue the parts together and by using a scalpel carve details such as exposed brickwork.

I will use matchsticks, coffee stirring sticks, cocktail sticks, etc for rafters, floor boards, window frames etc.

As for glass, I use clear plastics of the kind used for packaging, vacuum packed products, but most especially the lids of margarine tubs.

 

I have seen members using plaster of paris  and homemade latex moulds to create buildings and I am going to give this a go myself.

 

Hope this helps,

Badder

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The above building was built using Linka.

Its photographed part way through the building; it got weed grass along the bottom and ivy creepers over parts and a bit more dirty.

Loosely based on one near where the person who asked for it lived.

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5 hours ago, Badder said:

I scratch-build all of my buildings. It's huge fun designing and building them. Kit buildings are okay, but sometimes the 'damage' is not realistic, or the architecture is suspect in scale and design. They also restrict your options, forcing you to make a base of a certain size.

 

Here's a link to my 'Villers Bocage' dio, in which I scratchbuilt two 3 storey buildings..

 

I plan my buildings out on paper, using a drawing board to get all the dimensions and angles right; the positions and sizes of doorways, windows, floor heights, etc, then use the drawings as templates.  For construction I use plasticard sheets of various thicknesses, sometimes gluing two sheets back to back to increase thickness, while thinner sheets are used for 'surface' details such as lintels, window surrounds, eaves, signage etc . By using plasticard, I can easily glue the parts together and by using a scalpel carve details such as exposed brickwork.

I will use matchsticks, coffee stirring sticks, cocktail sticks, etc for rafters, floor boards, window frames etc.

As for glass, I use clear plastics of the kind used for packaging, vacuum packed products, but most especially the lids of margarine tubs.

 

I have seen members using plaster of paris  and homemade latex moulds to create buildings and I am going to give this a go myself.

 

Hope this helps,

Badder

 

Thanks Badder, that's very useful. I like what you've done there, very impressive. Thanks also to Black Knight, got to like railway stuff.

 

I'm leaning towards a few different projects, on of which is more involved that the others. I may never get off the ground with this but as an intellectual exercise it's quite stimulating. The candidates so far are;

 

1. The old Glasgow Airport terminal at Renfrew, sadly pulled down in the 70s and replaced by a Tesco.

 

IMG_0558_zpswxg5uskb.jpg

 

2. The tower at former RAF Strubby, now sympathetically restored.

 

IMG_0560_zpszkiiww4y.jpg

 

3. The tower at ex RAF Rufforth, still in use by a civil engineering company but in a right mess.

 

IMG_0562_zpsolcmchze.jpg

 

4. And finally the old Handley Page tower at Radlett, long gone.

 

IMG_0561_zpsrdlyytfr.jpg

 

Clearly Radlett would be the easiest and Renfrew the most complex, maybe I should start small and build up.

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A good 'transversal' source of reference is the blogs of so-called 'urban explorers' who visit, among others, abandoned airports. Will edit this post if I find suotable links.

Edit: Google Athens airport for plenty of pictures. It's the one with the Olympic Boeings sitting forlorn on the tarmac.

Cyprus Nicosia also, less pictures, but abandoned since longer and now looking post-atomic and downright scary.

Also for tips & techniques: Marcel Ackle and Emmanuel Nouaillier.

Edited by Bonehammer
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I agree, looking at some blogs, photos or videos from people with an interest in old buildings or the likes of "urban explorers" might give you a bit of inspiration or some more ideas. There also may be some build threads on here to do with old buildings or dioramas with some good techniques to try out and practice.

Edited by TheRedBaron
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Thanks, yes Urbex forums are a good source. I used to do it as a hobby for a while, exploring old buildings and taking photos. I gave it up for safety reasons mostly, asbestos and rotting floors are a bad combination at the best of times. I've also had a lifelong interest in old airfields, prompted in no small part by the old Jack Currie documentary "The Watch Tower" I spent literally years looking for this on the internet before finally finding it on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/lancasterlegend/

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On 07/11/2016 at 9:42 AM, Bonehammer said:

A good 'transversal' source of reference is the blogs of so-called 'urban explorers' who visit, among others, abandoned airports. Will edit this post if I find suotable links.

Edit: Google Athens airport for plenty of pictures. It's the one with the Olympic Boeings sitting forlorn on the tarmac.

Cyprus Nicosia also, less pictures, but abandoned since longer and now looking post-atomic and downright scary.

Also for tips & techniques: Marcel Ackle and Emmanuel Nouaillier.

 

If there's one place in the world I'd love to see its Famagusta on Cyprus: a 1970s era modern city completely abandoned for more than 40 years. A bit like Pripyat in Ukraine but sunnier and less radioactive.

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