How to scratch build a scale model house - Part 1

In this series I will show you step by step how I scratch build a 1:24 scale modern house model. The materials I use are mostly plastic card (styrene sheet) and cardboard. As you'll see, there are no secret techniques, it all comes down to careful measurement and patience!
****** CONNECT WITH ME ******
My blog: www.davesmodelworkshop.com/
Patreon: / davesmodelworkshop
Facebook: / davesmodelworkshop
Pinterest: / davesmodelworks
Music by www.bensound.com

[@ChrisSmith-nm8gb]

But, but, it’s not run down or decrepit. Also how long before the Melbourne PD puts out an alert for the strange guy who measures houses and buildings.👮🏻‍♂️😆 All kidding aside, once again great results.

[@soupfork2105]

Hi Dave, regarding the chandeliery thingy, the solution might be in desserts. The structure reminded me of a dessert I once had at a fancy 3 Michelin Star restaurant. It was only a half dome but the principle of the lattice work was the same. The chef was kind enough to explain the method. The “secret” was to drape the strings over a shape and then make the shape disappear while retaining the lattice work. In his case, the lattice was molten dark chocolate, the shape was a spherical ice ball. The warm molten chocolate is drizzled over the ice ball and sets very quickly, the overlapping gives it structural strength. The ice melts and the he lattice remains. So for your chandelier, what you could do (I’m assuming you’re not putting an actual light in it): Find a small hard plastic ball the size of the inner chandelier ball. Insert a thin metal rod, which will be the wire. Drill a hole, insert rod, make sure it is glued in properly. Paint as needed and thoroughly cover in several coats of (matte?) varnish. Now find a styrofoam ball in the closest size to your chandelier outer, many craft stores stock them in a wide range of sizes. Cut in half and hollow out both halves so it holds the inner ball perfectly in the center. Glue the halves with PVA glue. Now take some black thread, organic, not nylon. Soak it thoroughly in resin (nylon thread doesn’t soak up the resin), squeeze out the excess and wrap around the styrene ball to get the desired lattice work. Allow to dry thoroughly. To remove the styrene ball, simply dunk the thing in acetone and it will dissolve into nothing very quickly. Rinse off the chandelier carefully but thoroughly with water. The varnish on the inner ball and rod should protect them from the acetone long enough, it won’t take long to dissolve a small styrofoam ball. And do that outdoors because it is fairly unhealthy.

[@robbo1068]

Incredible results, Dave. Scratch building is such a simple process but the results can be spectacular. A really nice job using bits of plastic and styrene.....great visuals and commentary. Will look forward to seeing Part 2.....thanks 👏

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Thanks Robert! Pt 2 is definitely on its way.

[@kerryadams8922]

Great video update Dave looking forward to your next update and as always will be following along THANKS Kerry

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Thanks Kerry - just uploaded the next part earlier today.

[@bilgerat7694]

Bloody Beautiful work mate looks bloody awesome till next time have a good one

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Cheers Bilge Rat :) You too.

[@cygnusx10]

Nice build so far - looking forward to what comes next; and yes, paint does make such a difference to acres of plain white styrene. I think it gives you a sense of progression and that the project is moving forwards rather than just having a collection of white styrene pieces on your bench.

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

So true! Until the paint it looks like a toy - paint adds so much character.

[@emkay1769]

For the chandelier I would use the "trick " that happened to your styrene. Make a ball from styrene then use some kind of wire, thread to wrap ball and create structure. Then use superglue or PVA glue to give a thread the strength . As final step melt down the styrene ball with enamel thinner till all is left is the thread.

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Em, that is brilliant. I LOVE it. Perfect, this is exactly what I'm going to do - thank you!

[@emkay1769]

@@DavesModelWorkshop I am happy to help, let me know if it worked out well in the end :)

[@silenttraveler2710]

Total Awesomeness

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Thanks! :)

[@andrewnixon8918]

Really cool to see the process for creating you amazing buildings. Look forward to future parts. As for the chandelier i would suggest CA glue and thread as has been suggested by other commenters. I cant think of anything else off the top of my head.

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Thanks Andrew - and yes, I think that's how I'm going to do it :) Cheers, Dave

[@JosKelly]

Still loving your buildings series, Dave! You might look into a clamp set I found at MicroMark called Right Clamps that make joining styrene at 90 degrees super easy.

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Ahhh, I've just checked it out. Extremely clever. Although the small version costs over AU$50! But I can see the value.

[@2H80vids]

Looking good so far Dave. I'm guessing that the homeowner knows all about this build, hence the detailed photos. That must make a huge difference. Thinking about that lamp-shade, could you do something with a scaled-down photograph? Maybe take some shots from the outside, looking straight towards the window, then mount it behind the glass. I'm thinking about the oddly-angled shop doorway you did, something like that. My only other idea would be something like a table tennis ball, only smaller, and draw the design with a Sharpie. Good Luck with that.☺ One other possibility, with your newly-found electronics skills ☺, would be to add LEDs to the roof lights. Should be fairly straightforward and it could look pretty impressive. I'm guessing you will light the interior, so your power source will be there anyway, and the balcony lights might make a more dramatic impact than a glow from the interior. Just my tuppence-worth, looking forward to the finished model. Are you planning a "street scene" with these buildings, or are they all "stand-alone" models? All the Best from sunny Scotland, Dougie.

[@martinsparks7860]

Maybe you could find a glass marble with a dark center and paint the "metal work" over it . That would look good for the chandelier .

[@jeffgoldenberg9579]

How about some string or thread dipped in a 50/50 mix of PVA/water and then draped over half a ping pong ball or something similar that's close to size. Do one half at a time, glue them together, paint and voila. Forgot to mention, drape the string in a random pattern to mimic the pattern of the lamp.

[@michaelc9310]

Winter in July... hemispheres are weird.

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

The world is a perverse place! ;)

[@paulcharters5933]

Hey Dave. You should go on Ali Express for the styrene rods. You can get about 100 for $15.

[@M-WC]

Always watch your channel. Great stuff and awesome builds. As for the chandelier. Maybe you could check out a dollhouse supply page and see what they have. Or if you just have to build it and if it’s available to you, maybe a 3d pen over a marble or something similar as a mould. Just a thought. “J”🇨🇦

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Thank you, both for the suggestion and for watching my channel :) Hmmm, 3d pen could work but I've always found them a bit "gluggy" and "clumpy"?

[@M-WC]

@@DavesModelWorkshop For the 3D pen being a little "rough" looking, I agree ,Im just starting to learn how to use one. But, I thought last night of something similar i did once for a "prop" sphere Simply enough its just stretched sprue to the diameter you want. after it cools warm it again slightly and wrap it around a really cool looking marbel or LED ligh. Like I said Ive only used it for Theatre usable props and never on something the size sphere you would need. worth mentioning.

[@ryut]

Another great creation Dave! About the chandelier, I would put lacy material on a glass sphere (a big marble or something) with PVA glue so that I would be remove it from the sphere after drying.What do you reckon?

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Not a bad idea, thanks ryut. I'm going to experiment and see what I can come up with.

[@tgfcujhb7583]

Wax a marble, lay sewing thread on it, use CA to turn it stiff, make 2 halves.👌💡💡💡

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

I think that's a solid suggestion - thank you :) I'm going to experiment with that and see what I can come up with. Cheers!

[@margaretgraham3812]

A balloon and string would make the chandelier just pop the ballin when it's dry

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Not a bad idea, a small water balloon would have been good.

[@dadofamadhouse4194]

Do you have or do you know of a good tutorial video on how to calculate scale for scratch building houses or other structures?

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

It’s a complicated process Brian. I measure the original, then use an online scale calculator website to calculate the smaller, scale dimensions.

[@ozisnice]

That light fixture could be made using jewelry making crochet of wire

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

That's a good idea, wire would work. Originally I thought I could use a balloon for the shape and pop it, but it's too small. But wire would hold the shape... Thanks loveminis.

[@usssaratogacv3lefevre978]

Nice touch with the salt on the roof. Are you just doing individual buildings or are they for a diorama?

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

At this stage just individual buildings - this one is a commission, purchased by the people who live there.

[@usssaratogacv3lefevre978]

@@DavesModelWorkshop Oh, that's cool.

[@bttfspencer]

Perhaps find a suitable clear orb for the chandelier. By melting and stretching black sprue over, you may be able to achieve that "webbing" effect that the real one has.

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

That's not a bad idea, but I'm struggling to find a clear orb that would be the right size. It's about the size of a marble.

[@Davidsmodelshop8021]

Hey Dave,I got question, what you use for the windows??

[@GinMiko]

@05:49

[@garrett0509]

I think you could save allot of time and money 3d printing some of that stuff

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Agreed, details like security cameras, lights, etc.

[@garrett0509]

@@DavesModelWorkshop I was thinking that fence as well

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

@@garrett0509 Yes, true. Very repetitive.

[@garrett0509]

@@DavesModelWorkshop well anyways thanks for the reply, love the videos cheers from the US

[@berkc06]

Which material is this? 2:53

[@DavesModelWorkshop]

Evergreen strip styrene.

[@berkc06]

@@DavesModelWorkshop thanks

[@gerryvandyk5551]

Hi Dave. That chandelier looks a lot like those "yarn orbs" have a look at these: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4HXlamYfaioa9U kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4qsoq2ae8hrqtE kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3TFl4yoqrBne9E Getting the solid ball inside is a bit of a conundrum though. I wonder if you could stretch a foam ball inside a balloon before inflating it, then do the yarn thing, and extract the balloon at the end and suspend the ball in the center afterward. Cheers Gerry.

[@gerryvandyk5551]

Just had another thought. If you started with a styrofoam ball, you could do the string trick with epoxy soaked string. After letting it cure for a few days you could then dissolve the foam out with acetone. Probably a better idea for the small version you'd be doing. Gerry