Laser cut buildings - pros and cons

[ModelRailwayQuest]

What's your go-to kit for buildings on your model railway layouts? I've used cardboard and plastic in the past - but for the Brief Encounter monochrome model railway I had to do something different and use laser cut 3mm plywood - the first time I've ever worked with it.
I definitely found lots of pros - and just a few minor cons - with laser cut. Here's a review.

https://youtu.be/bTKR4-5JzDA?si=YcBfMExkXZcU5_9A

[End2end]

There are no coincidences.
I've bought their HL001 Small School. It should be with me tomorrow.

You skimmed over the paint pens you use in the video. They sound interesting for doing thin lines. Can you elaborate on what they are please?
Thanks
End2end

[TimberSurf]

There is a very limited selection of laser cut items, compared to plastic kits, but the vast range of good plastic kits are HO!
Laser cut can be extremely good, L-Cut being one of them. A great supplier is Petite Properties, but they tend to be plain faced, so need further work to make brick or stone, by adding plasti-card or printed paper sheets, so are in essence a skeleton base. One advantage, is large buildings like old ware houses and modern portal factories, can be big! I personally don't like the 'Fingers' that are used on the corners and have had bad experience with the tiny fingers on brickwork, not fitting each other.

[End2end]

https://youtu.be/bTKR4-5JzDA?si=YcBfMExkXZcU5_9A

Dawn, I cannot seem to find your video you mention at the end of this one about painting the laser cut kits.
Do you have a link please?
Thanks
End2end

[aleopardstail]

have used them for table top gaming for a while

they started out very crude, very flat but have developed considerably in terms of layered details

while they were still in business "4Ground" made excellent kits

and now its taken a further jump with full colour pre-printed buildings from the likes of Sarrisa

they will never beat full 3d print or plastic injection for textures, however I think the pre-printed ones could see Metcalfe etc having to up their game a bit

they are not perfect, the exposed edges need painting, and some of the kits are not well designed, some are excellent

the real game changer is the cost of the actual hardware dropping which will likely see more smaller producers, indeed if you need say three dozen terraced houses for a layout it may well be cheaper to get a laser cutter and make your own

[aleopardstail]

What's your go-to kit for buildings on your model railway layouts? I've used cardboard and plastic in the past - but for the Brief Encounter monochrome model railway I had to do something different and use laser cut 3mm plywood - the first time I've ever worked with it.
I definitely found lots of pros - and just a few minor cons - with laser cut. Here's a review.

https://youtu.be/bTKR4-5JzDA?si=YcBfMExkXZcU5_9A

oh yes.. subbed..

[Jim S-W]

What's your go-to kit for buildings on your model railway layouts?

I don't have a go to kit for buildings as I scratch build them but my method my be of interest as it does incorporate lazer cutting in a slightly different way. Below is copied from my layout thread

Construction has started on the latest building for Brettell Road. I've tried to incorporate some lessons learned from the previous efforts.


The main lesson being to do something more robust with the corners as these have been slightly problematic in the past. I decided to laser cut the main carcass and overlay it with plasticard. It may have been easier in the long run to laser cut everything but I like working with plasticard and scalpels and i didn't fancy a huge session on my computer drawing bricks.  As usual Tim kindly did the cutting for me. As you can see from the picture I've cut recesses in the corners and mounted some evergreen strip to give something solid for the overlays to stick too. It's early days but it seems very solid so far.


Turning the part around and moving on a bit, this is the front.  Ive built this in a kind of modular way.  I drew up the windows and arches and had them etched. There are 3 of these sections required for the building.

This is another section.  Ive used the admin building from Round Oak as my inspiration but moved things around and adjusted them to suit.  It's an 'inspired by' model rather than an exact replica. This section was on a different face to the one I am modelling as it overlooked Dudley Road.


To join these bits together are some flat wall sections.  These are the smaller ones. Ive missed some bits off at this stage as I figured it would be easier to add them once its all together.


And the larger one.


I didn't manage to find a huge number of images of the real building.  Theres one in Ned Williams book on Brierley hill and this one that my friend Frank collins sent me.  Sadly Frank passed away very recently and I missed showing him how I was getting on by only a month or so.  I sincerely hope he would approve of my efforts.  The model will be dedicated to him.


Progress so far roughly plonked in position.


And from the other end. 

[End2end]

Does anyone seal laser cut kits before painting?
I ask because I managed to totally warp parts of a kit not knowing what I was doing.
Thanks
End2end

[AJFE 2488]

I've yet to use any laser cut kits on my layout with my current buildings being a mix of kits and scratch built from cardboard and styrene sheets. Normally its Metcalfe and Ratio kits that I've been using.

That being said, I have used laser cut mdf buildings for my tabletop miniature wargaming and have gone with Sarissa kits before. They are durable, fairly easy to assemble and they do the job. Only issue is the overall look as they are designed so that they can be built quickly without spending so much time on the modelling side.

You are limited texture wise as all you'll get is flat mdf parts that have engravings for woodwork, brickwork and tiles. You'll have to get creative with your modelling if you want these kits to have some texture to them so you could stick some textured styrene sheets to them or mix up some gritty paste and apply that to the exterior depending on what you want to do.

The slots that connect the exterior walls together are exposed once built so those will want hiding unless you want the seams to be on show. Would recommend sealing them as these kits come as full sheets with the parts ready to pop out. Be careful with the cardboard overlays as they have a tendency to rip if you're not careful.

[TimberSurf]

Does anyone seal laser cut kits before painting?
I ask because I managed to totally warp parts of a kit not knowing what I was doing.
Thanks
End2end

Paint with proprietary MDF sealer, before attempting painting, as the water in ordinary paint will warp it, the sealers are either oil based or have special properties.

[End2end]

Paint with proprietary MDF sealer, before attempting painting, as the water in ordinary paint will warp it, the sealers are either oil based or have special properties.

Thanks Timbersurf. Do you have a personal choice of which product you use?
Thanks
End2end

[TimberSurf]

Paint with proprietary MDF sealer, before attempting painting, as the water in ordinary paint will warp it, the sealers are either oil based or have special properties.

Thanks Timbersurf. Do you have a personal choice of which product you use?
Thanks
End2end

Any brand should do

[End2end]

Thanks once again Timbersurf.
I've added it to the shopping list.
Thanks
End2end

[aleopardstail]

for what its worth with the table top gaming stuff I tend to prime using a rattle can spray paint. seems to work