I have worked through a number of scratchbuilding projects as part of my modeling hobby. I am not terribly good at it yet, but improve a little bit each time, and I'm now to the point where I am willing to show others my work.
I have from time to time tried my hand at scratchbuilding some railcars, mostly because I had plans from an article or book, and it seemed like a fun challenge. Examples include:
CB&Q gondola, based on plans in an anthology from Mainline Modeler, which is no longer published
WP 60' Greenbrier hi-cube boxcar (before the Exactrail version, which is much better)
from a cut-down Athearn 86' boxcar
Magor covered hopper based on Bob Rivard's article in Model Railroader, which modified an Athearn 4740 PS 54' covered hopper (again, before
Exactrail's model)
MP 1.5 door Exterior post 60' boxcar- details here
I have a separate page on structures here. I have developed an interest in building my own structures, combining some kitbashing and scratchbuilding techniques
to come up with unique industries for my layout. Two buildings so far are:
Lehigh Cement, a scratchbuilt cement distributor based on a prototype in Hayward, CA. Techniques came from reading an article in Model Railroader
about modifying a grain elevator from a Walthers ADM kit.
An abandoned warehouse in Oakland, CA, which gave me a chance to try my hand at Lance Mindheim's photo wallpaper technique.
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