Can someone point me to some moderately priced dio accessories? All the resin and plaster items are nice, but some can be pricey. Italeri makes a few in plastic, I was wondering if any other company out there does also. I'm looking for partly destroyed buildings.

Hi Bruce!

My tip to you is to be on the lookout for Miniart. It´s a Ukranian manufacturer and it´s very cheap compared to Verlinden, PlusModel and others. Miniart has a large range of destroyed buildings in plastic. Just have in mind that most of the parts needs a lot of work with putty and filler to get them right..

http://www.miniart-models.com/index.htm?/Catalogue.htm

best regards
Thomas

Hi Bruce.
The best value you´ll get as far as plastic dio accessories are concerned ..... is MiniArt. Availability in the States, should be quite good now! See their homepage for a closer look at their accessories. Click here. See under catalogue and then buildings and/or dioramas. They rate high as far as both quality and details are concerned.

Alternatively, you could cast your own items from spackel and scribe in the details. See this thread

Another very suitable method isusing cork. There are some good articles on Armorama, or check out the work of Carlos (Blockhaus) Elias.

Hey Bruce
An oft overlooked producer of plaster buildings is Firestorm here in Australia. I reckon they are reasonably priced too.
http://www.firestormmodels.com/store/cart.php?target=category&category_id=163
Cheers
Brad

If you are not afraid to order from overseas, TM diorama is extremly cheap. You can get a house ruin for less than $ 10.00. Unfortunally I do not know if they have any retailer in the US, but you can order it from Jadar Hobby in Poland

TM Diorama

Hi , I just found the answer this weekend myself , we are being ripped off over prices for accessories . I was taking part in a Model Railway show for two days . The prices of items was by far at least 1/3 lower than a comparable model show . So my advice is to try the railway web site or dealers , better still attend a model railway show in your area . To give an example I bougth sheets of plastic card at 1/2 the price I pay at a model show and etch brass handwheel set was only £ 1-00 compared to £6-50 at modelshow . hope it helps to look outside the box . cheers ian

I don't agree at all. The work that has to be put into researching, actually producing the masters and add-on costs like packaging and marketing makes them expensive. Nobody is getting particulatly rich on this at all. To use the term 'rip-off' is a gross generalization.

Sourcing from model railway suppliers isn't a bad idea though - there are a lot of items which can be used in dio work which ARE a lot cheaper if they're aimed for model railways.

As for plastic card (for building structures) I pay around $5 for (very) large sheets which are sold to architectural students - for the thinner material I still have to go to the usual suppliers..

I'd like to see some of the links for the model-railway suppliers though - they'd be VERY welcome..

hi jim go to www.Green-scene.co.uk , I am afriad it is still under construction , but it will give you an idea of how cheap the stuff is . I bought a new product at the show The Litte Leaf Company - Leaf litter at £4-95 a bag it is brilliant . I will as soon as I can post up a review when I have tried it out on IPMS UK main forum. . cheers ian

Here's a few I found using Google:

http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/model-railroading-layouts.html

http://www.scenicexpress.com/

http://www.cchobbies.com/scenery/scenery.htm

http://www.sweetwaterscenery.com/Home.htm

http://www.unrealdetails.com/

http://www.petitepinesnorthern.com/" TARGET="_blank"> http://www.petitepinesnorthern.com/

http://www.miniaturetree.com/viewcategory.asp?DirID=81

http://timberlinescenery.com/xcart/home.php

And of course:


http://www.woodlandscenics.com/

Hope this helps. It would nice to see this list expanded, maybe an article written also.

Bruce,

Ian has brought up a point that I myself brought up in another thread earlier to someone else looking for less expensive ways to go on stuff for dioramas and some other things. Most of us get stuck in a rut of only looking at what we are offered by AM makers that specialize in the particular field of interest.

I have found myself looking more and more to the other hobbyist and even arts and crafts people for less expensive ways of doing what I can to cut cost. I have even found that a trip to the local grocery can have benefits. Plus having a wife who actually contributes to my addiction is another plus. I am in no way saying to not use the AM stuff that these fine people spend so much on to make stuff for us, but I am saying that as hobbyist we can also support the other hobbyist AM suppliers as well.

Try it yourself and then see if it is worth the effort.

Hope this helps out some.

Another one for the list.

Should be of interest to UK based modellers. Posted it on MilMod some weeks ago and feedback from the modellers who purchased items was very good, well pleased.

War gaming is the targeted audience I would think but some items will work great for our needs.

http://www.barrule.com/Workshop/index.html

Alan

I came across barrule.com just the other day, since they are one of the (rare) stockists of Testors Dullcote in the UK. I actually emailed a query to them on Sunday night asking about the availability of Dullcote (apparently is it currently banned in the EU), and I got a response within minutes - very impressive for an out-of-hours weekend inquiry!

I know my route is more time consuming but I scratch build using drywall and, balsa/bass wood, epoxy, and styrene. I build my own furniture. My rubble is smashed up construction site rubble like bricks and motar. I use bits of wire, old wood bits etc.

But then again I used Woodland Sceneics natural hay to make a thatched roof and that was pretty expensive.

hi all , if you go to www.wizardmodels.co.uk , it is in beta form but is still very useful for UK modellers , I bought the following items , large hand wheels at £1-50 , Large Hand wheels at £1-75 Ferry cleats £1-00 and lastly Load chain detailing kit at £2-50 all at the model railway show . cheers ian

I am with you on using whatever I can find in every day life!
Check out my Treasuretrove-build here on Armorama and you'll see what I mean.
As for straw & hay, try sisalrope, unwind it and cut it up into small pieces. You'll have tons of hay for a dollar or 2.

Hi Bruce,
Best bet, make your own. Not only will it be different from the rest but you get what you want. Get an old cookie pan and pour a layer of plaster with white glue and dish soap.and water. That will make it stronger (white glue) and the soap helps it spread. Apropiate the thickness to your scale and smooth it across. When dry ,just pop it out and you have a uniform piece of plaster to work with. Mark and saw your walls, then scribe in your surface (wood/stone/brick). Cut out your doors/windows and glue together. Your building will be custom made for your dio. and one of a kind. Not only is it cheap but your building won't look like everyone else's.

Hi guys,

Glad to see that I'm not the only cheap, eh sorry "frugal" modeler on these forums. Luckily my wife contributes to my cause with lots of stuff found around the house. Doesn't take much imagination to find the stuff if we look hard enough.

After you broken a few pieces and its all fallen apart trying to cut doors and windows in the plaster you may want to make up a simple mould either out of plastic card or even using something like Lego to make up the wall edges, including blocks for any door and window openings.

If you make the sides of the mould the wall thickness you require you can pull a straight edge over the top to smooth it, give it some gentle tapping to remove air bubbles. Wait till its dry, pop it out and start scribing your detail such as brickwork etc.

Trying to cut rectangular windows or doors in plaster that thin is a recipe for disaster.

Alan

Hi Brucs,

Have a look at S.B. Scotia, there resin dio accessoriers are reasonably priced and very good.

Al

Recommended reading.

Roy Porter's Model Building Masterclass (sadly I think out of print) published by Windrow & Greene
You may find a review of it on the 'net somewhere. I've got mine in good condition second hand of ebay, but I won't be selling it.


Richard Windrows Terrain Modelling and his Advanced Terrain Modelling, both published by Osprey. These are available, again reviews on the 'net. I've got the Advanced copy and I believe it does cover some of what's in the first volume so it might pay just to get the second one "Advanced"

Alan

Thanks for all the info, I was leaning towards building items myself. And the references are just what I needed. There's nothing wrong with the items on the market, but it's also satisfying to build some thing from scratch and have people tell you how great it looks. Cheers!