Laser Cut vs. Plastic

I have only made plastic models, from about 1954 onward, with a 40 some odd year hiatus.

I purchased a Blair Line Laser Cut tool shed about 5 months ago during one of my binges.

I followed the instructions. It is a LOT more difficult to work with the wood than plastic, for me. Things break off rather easily and there is warping of the wood after spray primer was applied per suggestions. Does anyone else have the same experience? Is it worth getting more of these to perfect the techniques, or does it not compare with plastic? Does anyone have any close up shots of weathered/unweathered Laser Cut kits assembled?

 

I always work with styrene except for selective items where wood gives a better external texture. My use of styrene stems from a club requirement to use it because of large temperature/humidity extremes at that location. So, I am more experienced with styrene. Still, I don't think I have a preference of one over the other. Even though wood may be more difficult to work with, it certainly gives excellent results when a wood finish is called for. I don't have the environmental problems that my former club had. Also, the laser cut kits are a vast improvement for us novice wood workers. I have laser cut wood kits that I liked very much. Here are my examples:

Here is the interior of the tower in the background.

OTOH, here is a styrene non-wooden structure:

I would try to use any material that suits the situation and gives the best results.

BTW, I think Pete Nolan said to paint both sides of the wood to keep it from warping. Pray59 and others here are pretty much experts on wood and can help you avoid some of those problems.

 

This is my first laser cut wood kit. The parts were easily seperated. It went together fairly easy. There were a couple of tricky assemblies! I really liked it. I am impressed with this kit!

 

I've done a number of AMB laser cut kits. One of my tricks for painting is to use laquer and rub it on thinly. This method also tends to give them an uneven, weathered appearance. The real trick is to not get them too wet at any time.

I have these socks, I think they are nylon, from the tux I wore at my brothers wedding (the bum). I put my hand in the sock and then put a dab of paint on the end of my finger. I thn rub most of it off on a piece of cardboard (or other material) then rub it over the kit wall, moving in a "vertical" direction, until the paint is practically dry.

To make sure the wall sections do not warp, I place them between a couple of pains of glass for a couple of days. I also use a black magic marker on the inside of all the walls. Again placing them between the galss to "dry".

I have also rubbed on 'Weather It', to the bare walls, with some success. This grays the wood before painting. But again, I didn't get them overly wet and, of course, used the magic glass to dry them.

I tried the "Weather It' on a Blair Line kit, and while the glass kept it from warping, acouple wall sections swelled lengthwise. I had to trim the ends during assembly. Apparently Blair uses a wood that is more prone to soaking up the liguid.

Mike

 

I have only done a couple of wood structures - a North Eastern 25 ton coaling tower and a Blair Line loading platform. Both were laser cut and went together nicely. But I stained them instead of painting. When I stained them, I left them in the sprue and stained both sides. I them sandwiched the pieces between two floor tiles to prvent warping.

I am about to embark on a two stall engine house that wll be made out of wood as well. This is my first scratchbuild with wood. Wish me luck.

Eric

 

Mark:

I prefer lasercut building kits to plastic styrene kits...












Somerville Jct. by N Scale Architect on the far left:




Stay cool and run steam....

 

I just got my first laser-cut building for Christmas. In the past I've scratchbuilt a lot of buildings out of wood or matte board.

Concurrent with model railroading, I've had a hobby and once part-time business building and repairing furniture. In fact, I know a lot more about antiques than I do railroading. The best 3/4-inch plywood, and the most stable of solid woods, will warp if finished on only one side. Now, the out-of-sight finish needn't be as fancy.

To me, it's not surprising that the thin woods (usually 1/32" or thinner) used in kits will warp. When I scratchbuild, I just make it a point to paint everything. It's a real pain when the interior and exterior are different colors, but it has to be done to build even a semi-permanent structure.

I'm looking forward to building this kit, although it means I have to read and follow instructions--which is never my strong point.

I do use styrene a lot these days. I consider it quick and easy. Jeanne likes building and painting the kits; I'd rather scratchbuild. Styrene is easier to work with. But that's just our preference.

 

Pete:

What lasercut kit are you building?

Painting both sides of the thin wood used in lasercut kits is an absolute must.

I usually airbrush a light coat of undercoat light gray on the backside of all wood pieces.

You can also brace the wood pieces of reasonable size with scrap wood or small styrene pieces to minimize warping.

Airbrushing rather than handpainting the lasercut pieces also reduces warpage.

I thoroughly let the paint dry before I attempt to put together any lasercut kit.


Stay cool and run steam...

 

In response to post #6: Blair Line uses the same wood as AMB which is from Northeastern Scale Lumber. In fact AMB cut many of Blair Line's earlier kits until Blair Line started cutting their own kits.

 

I have built a laser kit before and did not find it any harder to work with than the plastic kits. I have 3 or 4 more to build and am planning on getting a few more to do as well.

 

I noticed that my original post was at the end of year 2004. Since then, my opinion of the ease of working with plastic over wood has not changed, but I will say that I prefer the look of the finished laser cut product much more than the plastic.

 

The main Problem people have with wood kits is using too much paint and getting warping. I paint mine with WATER based craft store acrylics and have nor problem. What you need to do is paint before cutting from the carrier sheet if you can. Then after you paint them while still damp, place them on some wax paper place another sheet on top and them add a heavy weight (BOOKS) on top and walk away till they are dry. Overnight works for me in most cases. When you remove the weights the parts should be nice and straight. I use light Ply wood on most of my kits so not as big a problem but on the basswood ones this is the best way to fix the warping.
rich
RSLaser Home Page

 

I've built 5 or 6 wooden kits for every resin or plastic kit I have on my layout.

Only once did I have a problem with warping. I believe that's due to using Floquil or other solvent based paints & stains. The warping problems arise when you use a water based or water soluble paint such as Polly Scale.

Painting both sides will help but the water just soaks into the wood resulting in deformed pieces that are now difficult to assemble the way they were intended to fit.

Use a solvent based paint and you'll eliminate 99% of the warping.

Jim

 

I’ve built a lot of structure kits both plastic and wood. Also resin, brass and cardstock. Here are a few of the wooden ones, some are laser-cut and some are craftsman style









This last one is special to me as it was the first N-Scale craftsman kit I had ever built. Now going on twenty years it has seen better days.

 

From what I've seen wood laser kits are way better. That is, more realistic. Building them takes a lot of patience and some good eye sight!

 

As I think I remember someone stating above, most wood will warp if finished on one side. These thin sheets of laser cut wood will most definitely warp.

If using a wet finish, I recommend using it on the inside (or backside) of each piece, too. You don't have to use the same color or grade, necessarily, but I would advise using the same "weight" (e.g., if the outside is a thin wash of something do a thin wash inside, don't combine thick and thin) finish.

Another way to go about this is to use weathering powders to finish your buildings. Dry applied powder shouldn't cause nearly as much warping.

 

I've also been advised to apply wet paint or stain to both sides to avoid warping. another tip was to paint and then put a piece of wax paper over the painted pieces and weight down with books while they dry. This is suppose to minimize or prevent warping.

 

wood kits

I avoid super glue most of the time. I use wood workers glue and I apply it with a tooth pick. In the case of the Showcase Miniatures barn (photo posted). It was stained with brown ink and weathered with colored chalk (gold and tan). Incase your interested I have attached a pdf.file with more basic information about building a Laser kit. I hope it helps.

JoeW