Scratch Building with Styrene - Tools & Techniques

​Building models from scratch can be difficult… but with a bit of practice and some patience you’ll be surprised how easy it is to build something that you’ll be proud of!
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​Styrene is usually the material of choice for a lot of modelers who scratch build models however you can use all sorts of materials like balsa wood, bass wood, different types of plastic, paper and even recycled material from around the house.

⇩    LIST OF STYRENE USED AND TUTORIAL VIDEO AT BOTTOM OF PAGE    ⇩

​The good thing about scratch building is you have complete control, for example if you’re limited on space you can make you building as large or as small as you need, you can make the model as simple or as complex as you want! It’s all in your hands and your only limitation is you creativity!

​Even for very creative people it can prove difficult to come up with a building right of the top of your head and that’s why I always do a little research before I start. It might be as simple as looking at a picture online or it might involve going on a road trip with my camera in hand to get the images I want that will ultimately inspire me when I start scratch building.

​Prototype building is a totally different ball game… you’re essentially finishing with a similar result (a model building) however when a prototype modeler goes on a field trip with their camera they also bring along a measuring tape, protractor, notepads and sometimes a balaclava (depending on where the building is located!).

​Having a wide variety of tools certainly makes scratch building much easier but it’s by no means entirely necessary, you can build a fantastic building simply using a sharp hobby knife, a pencil and a metal ruler. However I like to do as much as I can to make my life easier and in the video I demonstrate the use of many different tools that are specifically designed for scratch building in mind.

​Many of the tools I use like the 'Chop-It', ‘Duplicate-It’, Corner Punch, Adjustable Magnetic Clamps, Airbrush Moisture Trap were all purchased from Micro-Mark.
For those interested, you can get 10% of you shopping cart at the checkout by using the promo code ‘boulder’ exclusive to viewers and fans of boulder creek railroad.

​Stay tuned in the future as I’m working on an e-book about building with styrene and I’ll also be posting more specific plans on how I built this building on my website with measurements and a parts list.