Folks,

For my contest-dio I need some roof-tiles to put on my shed (see post in dio section under the name of "It will be lonely this Christmas").

I want to make the roof-tiles from real clay, the terra cotta type.

Has anybody got a clue how to do this ?

I read the article in Roadkill's Plaza where they made roof-tiles with lead-foil. I want to try it in a similar way with terra-cotta clay, but since this has to be very thin, I don't know how this will work out.

All ideas are welcome !!

In Shepard Paine's How to Build Dioramas book, he says to use sheet styrene. Simply scribe and snap the tiles from the sheet, then bevel the edges with a dremel tool.. I am going to try this method for the roof on my diorama.

Patrick

You could try using terracota Milliput. It can be rolled pretty thin.

Nic

Is it worthy to make roof tiles for a shed ? From what i've seen, sheds are more often covered with wooden planks or corrugated iron !

were is Roadkills link on how to make roof tiles? Ive seen it but cant find it anymore.

I made the roof tiles for my contest dio out of grocery bag paper. It is heavy enough to look realistic and its free. I have a good digital picture of the roof but I don't know how to post it. If anyone wants to let me know how to send along a pic I would be more than happy to do so.

I share PenPen's opinion. I haven't seen too many cottages in the ardennes that have the luxury of a terracotta roof. I'd go for wooden shingles. They are a lot easier to make and can look stunning in a diorama. Paint them very dark brown - almost black; give them a greyish drybrush and don't forget some green traces of moss. I'd make them in thin balsa, or in styrene sheet. To make the wood grain, brush the styrene sheet with a metal brush first. I'll put a wooden shingles roof on my tree-hut. Maybe I can post a picture by next weekend and show a step-by-step walkthrough pictorial.

Hey Matrix

Here is the link to my page:

http://users.pandora.be/ronny.noben/website/intro.htm

Just go to the tips section and then to the "diorama Building Tips"

Hope this can help a bit.

#:-) #:-)

I have used card stock (thick paper) for roof tiles.
I made strips as wide as the roof and about 1/16 of an inch taller (higher). I then individually cut each tile leaving the each conneted at one end to the 1/16th extra strip. I then layed them down in strips starting at the lower end of the roof and working toward the peak. I overlap each a bit more than 1/16 covering up the 'holder strip' and making a natural overlap. At the top I had to remove the strip and lay them down individually.

I made a jig out of balsa wood to make cutting the strips easy and consistant.

This is an inexpensive alternative to hand making wood or clay versions.

Plastruct also make a really nice scale sheet of roof tiles.... you can cut and use them right from the pack, OR... use them to make a mold with latex rubber... then pour your own plaster, which will give you a great similar surface to terra cotta clay. I have done this many times to get a more natural finish. Works great and is re-usable whenever you need more tiles!~

Guys,

thx for your replies. I got some good ideas from them. I think you convinced me in saying goodbye to terracotta for now.

Jan,

it was supposed to be a unheated shed, not a cottage like you mentioned. So the chimney was a bit out of order (although I love the idea). But after thinking over your ideas....I might just have a go at this. I could add just that extra.

Thx again guys. This is most helpful.

Danny,
many small cottages are all wood, except for a chimney in natural stone. This chimney is normally built against one of the outer walls, so you see the stone chimney from top to bottom as part of one of the outer walls, and a small part protruding from the roof that you see from four angles. The chimney often is getting a little wider towards the bottom Make sure the inside of the chimney (if visible) is all black.

Friends,

Here's the picture Keenan was talking about. It's a darn good looking roof !


Keenan's Roof, made from a grocery paper bag !!


Keenan : thanks for sending it so fast !!

Jan,

I'd love to build that scene with the chminey. Can't fix it in this dio though. The wall construction is completed and I can't fit the chimney in anymore. Besides that, the idea was to build a shed for storing equipment and the shed wasn't planned to be heated.

The viewer must be able to feel the draught and cold inside that shed. He must feel really sorry for the guy inside....Cold, Wet and far away from home..... Hey that guy doesn't deserve to be heated #:-)

Hi. I just finished making terra roof tiles with corrogated card board and spakfilla, Im using it on a church ruin as rubble so the scale doesnt matter to much. Its just been firework night over here and this morning i found six rocket sticks made from balsa wood and all different sizes they make exellent roof beams.

Spending the night in the cold and wet Belgian winter nights outdoors is no picnic in winter ! I spent some of my army time in the Ardennes sleeping outside (in Elsenborn ! ). No place to be at war, specially not for chrismas. (:-)


PS : Hey Keenan ! Great roof job !


You're a hard man, Danny !

Thanx all, for the feedback on the roof. The contest rules said I had to spent less than 30 bucks. The grocery sacks were free. I think I almost have the picture posting thing figured out. Thanks again for the feedback...

Hey, I'm an Infantry officer....... "feeling cold and tired" are my middle names .... (:-)

These boots are made for walking and this sleepingbag is just something to put on the floor to prevent your weapons from getting diry again after cleaning.

NB : Elsenborn, German Eifel, La Courtine, Norsk Mauken...... Seen it, Been there, got T-shirts and.....can still feel the intense cold.......

Ha! Nice to meet someone who's been there too ! I was stationed in Germany (Lüdensheid), but my name seemed to come up each time our battallion had to send a platoon for guard duty, fire range training, field exercises, etc...#:-)
I was sent to Elsenborn to be officer on guard duty during exercise. I can't remember ever feeling so cold and miserable (not even in Northern Canada in winter). A little cottage with fireplace and chimney in natural stone would have been heaven !

Danny ,

I went to my local train shop and talked about your rooftile question .
The Shop owner advised me to get your hands on the rooftiles that are used in the larger scale model train world .
When you purchase one section of these rooftiles you can make a mold with latex and use that over and over again ...
In that latex mold you just simply can pour plaster and there you are nice shaped rooftiles.
And when the rubber mold is worn you just simply make a new mold with the latex . So you have never ever have to use the " master " section .

Good luck

Eric

Eric,

thanks for showing interest in this !! It's highly appreciated !! Do you, by any chance, know a manufacturer who produces these tiles an that can be bought in our small country?

Wether or not this shed get it's tiles, such a mold always comes in handy !!

Eagle,

Pics of the almost finished dio are up on the armourama pic gallery. I don't know how to link to them from here but they are in "keenan's album." Thought you guys might be interested in how it is coming along...

http://groups.msn.com/armorama/keenansalbum.msnw

If anyone can tell me how to hyperlink the URL text in the body of the forum message I would sure be thankful... I tried about everything... I've only been working with computers since 1982...

Thanks in advance.

First, navigate to the site (or image) you want to reference... copy this URL to the clipboard. Now go create your response. Where you want the URL content to appear (or hyperlink) simply use the buttons you see below the POST TEXT editing box... it is located below the mutlple choices for all the smiley faces. When you click a button, it will past a [bracketed] phrase... you simply paste your URL over the sample text already there.

Then complete your message and SUBMIT REPLY....

It's that simple! you should then be able to see your finished post, with the hyperlink or embedded photo.

Thanks!!!


Keenan's Album