How to model a Metcalfe Small Signal Box card kit

[@adrianrosenlund-hudson8789]

Metcalfe kits are excellent. A real godsend for those of us not up to decent scratch building.

[@rogersea6529]

excellent video - close ups to see whats going on brilliantly done

[@SimonsShed]

I used felt tips on the last Metcalfe kit I build as I didn't have any watercolour paint. Good to know its a technique approved by the pros 😀 I do like their kits, easy to build and as you say the instructions are very easy to follow.

[@PaulSmith-pl7fo]

Hi Phil. I really love the look of Metcalfe kits. No matter how good the instructions are, it's still great to see them being followed. It was good to see/hear some tips as well. Have a great Xmas and all the best for the New Year.

[@peterkazmierczak7273]

I would echo Phil's comments about scribing the roof tiles. It really does make a big difference. Don't use a sharp scriber though, as it'll go through the card and spoil the effect. A blunt cocktail stick is ideal as it's hard enough to score, but not too hard to rip through the card.

[@ericsainte290]

Instead of pens, I use watercolor pencils (crayons d'aquarelle, in French) and a damp towel. I moisten the tip on the towel then color the paper edges. It also allow me easily to mix colors on the card if I need a specific one, and also is more subtle than the pens.

[@peterdavey8348]

Excellent tutorial

[@raymondo162]

0:17:" get the best from cardboard kits......" i reckon Metcalfe is an excellent start..........

[@johncourtneidge]

Very nice! Thank-you!

[@pim1234]

What is the differece between the three glues ? I know what they are but why choose for the one in a certain situation ?

[@railway187]

Very good tutorial 👍👌

[@leeedsonetwo]

Nice video, would have liked to know about the other glues you used as I am a newbie to this hobby.

[@flybobbie1449]

Make sure to black out roof if interior lighting. My main station interior light shines through roof. Card a bit thin. Only problem is kits in N scale cost nearly as much as OO scale.

[@flybobbie1449]

I use Pritstick.

[@davidparker2724]

Could you direct or suggest the exact uhu glue you used or is it all the same stuff? I dont want to buy the wrong product

[@world-of-railways]

Phil uses UHU Power, but all the yellow tube UHU glue seems to be pretty much the same. The Power version was just available cheaply in his local pound shop. As with all UHU, it's quite stringy, but does the job.

[@davidparker2724]

@@world-of-railways great Thankyou. I will try to find the same bottle he used but if not just any generic uhu yellow tube!!!

[@Oorail]

Great video, its a nice kit unfortunately like every Metcalfe kit the printing of the textures looks really fake. Scalescenes do some pretty good roof textures so not sure how Metcalfe can get it so badly wrong. I really like their brewery building end up throwing it out in favor of 3D printing something that looked more realistic because of their fake looking brickwork and roofs!

[@philipsparker]

In the past, I've written up customising kits by wrapping the walls with Plastikard and other materials. The great thing about these kits is you can modify them to your heart's content!

[@explorer806]

I really like how Scalescenes kits look (phototextures, wrapped corners etc) but I don't have the patience to download, print, glue the sheets to card, cut out all the components, especially the larger kits. On the other hand I enjoy building the pre-scored Metcalfe card kits - there's enough to do to feel like you're doing some model making (otherwise may as well just buy a resin building and plonk it down) but no so much as to feel you're never going to finish. But the Metcalfe brick and slate textures and signs etc. are disappointing. I'd love a kit with Scalescenes phototextures but printed on card and pre-scored... depends what you like doing I suppose.

[@Oorail]

@@explorer806 3D printing is the way to go. For brick texture, I have been 3D printing the structure in filament, takes a few hours, but you basically can go asleep and wake up to a new building. You take clay like Das, brush some PVA onto the 3D printed building, and attach the clay. Once you've got it all smoothed out with a roller and the excess removed, while its still soft, you use a 3D printed texture roller on it. You let it dry, then paint and dry brush. While its drying you 3D print all the extras - doors, windows, chimneys etc. The end result is on par with the high quality scratch builds, but with the same level of effort as a metcalf kit. The clay approach is definitely an upgrade on even the scalescenes textures, as its actually 3D vs the appearance of 3D.

[@philipsparker]

I'm working on the latest Metcalfe kit and the textures have had a significant upgrade.

[@Oorail]

@@philipsparker Cool that would be a very welcome improvement. Can you tell us which kit? :)

[@lesfewtrell2507]

its just a glue advert