Model buildings in Irish Outline

[DiveController]

The only buildings that I know of that are "suitable" for Irish outline are about three from Bachmann's Scenecraft range. Since I'm starting a layout soon it make sense for me to try to acquire some buildings to incorporate into the layout as the opportunity arises. The problem is that I do not know what is out there that might be very similar to a station building or signal box in some part of the Irish system. If you have recommendations I could potentially browse sales in model shops or on eBay and acquire some.

I do not want to scratch build anything yet, and would prefer a ready made snap together to a kit, unless it is so tacky that it would never look remotely realistic in the layout eventually. I'm looking at Irish CIE later steam and early/mid diesel era but most of the infrastructure probably dates well back into steam.

Any advice is welcome and thanks for your opinions and time.

[BosKonay]

You'll find some details in teh resources section

 

http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/content.php/354-buildings

 

Admittedly I've not had time recently to finish off this section!

[Broithe]

Judge for yourself..

 

 

 

 

[Broithe]

No experience of card kits. Are they reasonably durable over time?

 

Some of them fade a little in direct sunlight, but that's often not a bad thing. Otherwise, barring accidents, they seem to last for ever.

[Galteemore]

Thanks Colin - do let us see how they turn out! 

[Broithe]

Bachmann have produced five buildings, I think.

 

Station.

Engine shed.

Signal cabin.

 

and two 'specials'..

 

Carlow Station.

The Auld House pub.

[DiveController]

OK, thanks folks! I did't know there were five buildings. I can only see a couple that seem to be still available online, Carlow Station.

The Auld House pub. Are they somewhat realistic 'in the flesh'? nay idea if any of the others are available anywhere??

Thanks, Boskonay for the link.

[DiveController]

Point taken. Thanks for the photos, I know it takes time to upload this these. I se these two are available online Any ideas on where I can get the others?

[73.River.Roe.]

Very nice buildings.... like them myself...

[Broithe]

Point taken. Thanks for the photos, I know it takes time to upload this these. I se these two are available online Any ideas on where I can get the others?

 

The first three do turn up here and there (and eBay, etc) now and then. The last two should still be in stock in the Irish dealers, at least.

 

Search for Scenecraft Irish and stuff might appear.

[burnthebox]

Hi DiveController & welcome, for what it's worth, have a look at this,

 

http://www.themodelshop.ie/model-railways/irish-railways/bachmann-scenecraft-irish-buildings-carlow-station.html

[DiveController]

Got it and see where you guys found the pictures too! Tried the others on eBay worldwide. I'm OK with getting them wherever I can find them...

[Mayner]

Alphagrafix no web site but advertises in the railway magazine (23 Darris Road, Selly Park, Birmingham, B29 7QY, England) produces card kits of Irish buildings and steam era rolling stock.

 

Several articles on assembling the kits in New Irish Lines http://newirishlines.org/tag/alphagraphix/

[Weshty]

Contact mick Morris at clamm05@eircom.net. I list his main irish stuff at http://www.studio-scale-models.com/Alpha.html

[Irishrailwayman]

I used Alphagraphix card kits of Irish railway buildings extensively on my layout Ballybeg (see under Layouts section of forum for photos and videos).Michael Morris visits most of the MR exhibitions in Ireland during the year. Probably will be at the Wexford MR exhibition at end-October next.

 

Alphagrafix no web site but advertises in the railway magazine (23 Darris Road, Selly Park, Birmingham, B29 7QY, England) produces card kits of Irish buildings and steam era rolling stock.

 

Several articles on assembling the kits in New Irish Lines http://newirishlines.org/tag/alphagraphix/

[DiveController]

Good stuff! Will do my homework now based on recommendations. No experience of card kits. Are they reasonably durable over time? Hopefully greater variety. Realistic?

[Colin R]

Hi Guys I am in the same boat as you, still trying to find a source of decent Irish looking buildings, my search has come across this lady, I am not sure how this will work but I have just ordered some from her

https://tinyireland.ie/

[Georgeconna]

They say 1/76 but from memory they looked way to small but I may of been a slight smaller Varient she gave me as a tester.

 why dont you take a few snaps and print out the building fronts in scale and mount them on card?

[Galteemore]

The pics on the website suggest that they would look better as backscene ‘flats’ for a street scene than 3D structures 

Edited January 1, 2020 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

Have used Alphagraphix kits many times as a basis for buildings. Rarely make them up as intended - the card is fairly thin - but all the printed details are great time savers.

 Personally not sure about ready to plant buildings. Firstly they are expensive, especially when home made card buildings effectively cost pennies. Second, while clearly very attractive, they do not give your layout any originality. Third and the key one for me, is that making your own buildings is the easiest way into scratch building.

 Tools needed are minimal - steel rule, pencil and craft knife. Assemble with PVA or uhu. Cereal packets are a free source of card, but an A1 sheet of mounting board is not expensive either.

 Start with something simple, that just has four sides and a roof. Nothing wrong with downloading brick paper, slate roof sheets etc to get something completed quickly, plus there are plenty of good books out there to get you started.

 Most of all you end up with a model that is uniquely yours and unlike locos and rolling stock, only has to sit there and look pretty. A few hours work is all that is needed for a simple building and you can spend what you've saved on something more difficult to make.

 Have fun.

[Colin R]

I agree with David Card modelling is very quick and cheap, I must take some photos of a couple of Isle of Man buildings I did so i can get some idea of the size of the layout, these are only basic shells to give me an outline, they do not have any detail on them.

I have also given them a basic coat of paint to get some Idea of the overal colour as well.

11 hours ago, Georgeconna said:

They say 1/76 but from memory they looked way to small but I may of been a slight smaller Varient she gave me as a tester.

 why dont you take a few snaps and print out the building fronts in scale and mount them on card?

That is the plan George, just as soon as they turn up.

Colin

[Dave Dawes]

I am using the metcalfe card kits for my low relief buildings with different shop names and down pipes and window sills added, also roofs are changed to a textured card. My station building is a Bachmann Irish one

[jhb171achill]

"The Farranfore to Valentia Harbour Railway" by Patrick O'Sullivan, volumes 1 and 2, were excellent publications by Oakwood Press about ten years ago. Within are several drawings of the corrugated iron sheeted station buildings along that line. Given the branch line nature of these buildings, they are a good size for any layout and could easily be scratch-built to have cement-rendered walls.

[Georgeconna]

On the Alphagraphics stuff you can use the building outlines as a template and build your model from plasticard or such. I did that for a signal box and it worked well.

 

[Mayner]

I usually scratchbuild buildings from photos or drawings using plasticard or the Will's Scenic Material's packs. The low-relief buildings on Keadue were scratchbuilt in .040" plasticard with Wills windpows and doors, and are based on photos of buildings in towns and villages in County Roscommon.

 

Stone buildings are mainly Wills Coursed stone with details like quoins, lintols and door jambs recessed into the stonework, corrugated iron Wills corrugated iron or asbestos, with Wills translucent roof sheets or Ambis corrugated iron where a thin edge is needed like roofing iron.

 

 

[minister_for_hardship]

On 12/31/2019 at 10:38 AM, Colin R said:

Hi Guys I am in the same boat as you, still trying to find a source of decent Irish looking buildings, my search has come across this lady, I am not sure how this will work but I have just ordered some from her

https://tinyireland.ie/

Might have potential as templates for building in another material or customisation. I dislike the blotchy watercolour appearance and painted-on street lighting.

[Mayner]

On 12/31/2019 at 11:38 PM, Colin R said:

Hi Guys I am in the same boat as you, still trying to find a source of decent Irish looking buildings, my search has come across this lady, I am not sure how this will work but I have just ordered some from her

https://tinyireland.ie/

Funny how some things never change! 

They look similar in general in general concept to the Hamblings Bilteezi card building of the 60s http://www.freestonemodel.co.uk/page15.htm which were more attractive to a teenager with limited pocket money with a wider range of regional building & architectural styles than the more expensive and rather staid Superquick card building kits.

I agree with the Minister I am not gone on the painted on streetlights and mural effects on some of the buildings, but would be a quick way of populating a  layout with background buildings/temporary mock ups or use as templates for more detailed foreground buildings in a similar manner to the Alphagraphix kits.

The Tiny Ireland buildings may not be to a recognised model railway scale, but the artist may be able to produce buildings to a specific scale as a special order.

 

[Colin R]

13 hours ago, minister_for_hardship said:

Might have potential as templates for building in another material or customisation. I dislike the blotchy watercolour appearance and painted-on street lighting.

That being the case, they won't last long, as I will soon cut them up for template modelling, I have been experimenting with  some old Builtiteeze prints I am trying to build a station that will give the effect of Burcrana on the Swilly Railway from the Hotel print (now out of stock so I am told).

What I do is to take a number of photocopies of the card print and play around with them untill I am happy, then I wll transfer my mock up over to wills stone or some other effect to get the type of finish I am looking for.

Might sound like a lot more work but I think it is worth it.

 

Colin R

 

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by Colin R

[Colin R]

Another source of Irish shop fronts is the old book by Patrick O'Donovan called Irish Shopfronts by Appletree Press a great source if one was needed  can be picked up second hand  on Amazon or Ebay for about a £5.00, so not expensive (now I have said that, you watch the price will go through the roof).

Colin R

[Buz]

On 8/24/2014 at 3:19 AM, Broithe said:

Judge for yourself..

 

 

 

 

Nice looking buildings shame about the missing bits given they are real buildings are missing bits like the Guinness sign and wall advert available as separate detail parts from some where.

I have the Auld House it turned up unexpectedly at a local  Australian hobby shop, I liked it so bought it not knowing later I might end up building an Irish layout.

regards John

Edited August 28, 2020 by Buz

[Broithe]

34 minutes ago, Buz said:

Nice looking buildings shame about the missing bits given they are real buildings are missing bits like the Guinness sign and wall advert available as separate detail parts from some where.

I have the Auld House it turned up unexpectedly at a local In an Australian hobby shop, I liked it so bought it not knowing later I might end up building an Irish layout.

regards John

It may not always be the case, but there can be copyright issues over such details as posters with trademarks on, etc., and it may just be easier to leave them off.

However, the internet will often give you the means to replicate them yourself, almost exactly.

 

You can then hone the adverts closer to your intended time period, too, than they might be, if provided by the building manufacturer.

[Georgeconna]

2 hours ago, Buz said:

Nice looking buildings shame about the missing bits given they are real buildings are missing bits like the Guinness sign and wall advert available as separate detail parts from some where.

I have the Auld House it turned up unexpectedly at a local In an Australian hobby shop, I liked it so bought it not knowing later I might end up building an Irish layout.

regards John

Yes Pity they did not do the Water Tank and the side dates ala Sheffield Park and have a complete station for chaps.

I actually Drove past the Auld house about 2 years back and was surprised it was actually a real gaf.

Like many other rural Pubs it is now history. Bit dearer than the model though if you want it

https://www.myhome.ie/commercial/brochure/the-auld-house-killamery-callan-kilkenny/4207812

 

[Buz]

20 minutes ago, Georgeconna said:

Yes Pity they did not do the Water Tank and the side dates ala Sheffield Park and have a complete station for chaps.

I actually Drove past the Auld house about 2 years back and was surprised it was actually a real gaf.

Like many other rural Pubs it is now history. Bit dearer than the model though if you want it

https://www.myhome.ie/commercial/brochure/the-auld-house-killamery-callan-kilkenny/4207812

 

No good to me I would turn it into a house and the function room would become a train room could have one hell of a party in the bar or BBQ in the garden.

Needs some one with a head for business and that sadly is not me.

I choose not to drink which Is why I have such a big train set not a good quality in a the land lord of a pub me thinks.

Due to the model I think people will end up confused as to where it is it's going to end up in a lot of wrong locations

regards John

[Rob]

....

Edited January 10 by Rob