Cool!
Dang, that looks nice, Bob… 
Bob,
The building is great. I still have a question. Is this Sintra stuff a foam board or a plastic board? I understand its PVC based but can’t figure out if its like Evergreen sheets or like foam insulation sheets.
Thanks, again great build.
Dave
Sintra is “extruded PVC”, I’d describe it as “foamy styrene” more than “foam insulation”. Its smoothish on both sides, with a lightly foamy center. Its also flexible, unlike foam insulation which will break when bent. Its lighter than you’d think for a given sheet size. Very neat stuff, one of my core building materials now.
Bob,
That’s the second building you’ve built that was too large for the benchwork 
The outdoor photo really gives a sense of how large a structure it is.
Looks fantastic.
Ralph
I think the problem is I build the benchwork and track, operate for a bit, and say “I need a building there!” then find one I like…
Where would I find a crimper.sounds like fun!
Bob, that is really looking good. Things are coming together, nicely.
John: Michael’s crafts has em. About $20 last time I looked.
Ric: Thanks. It seemed to survive the summer heat just fine. Want to reinforce the roof, since its only 1/8", and a good downpour cant drain fast enough and warps the roof a bit. And need to add better drainage panels. But all in all it was good.
Bob McCown said:
Yea, Sintra is a brand name. There’s also “Komatex”, and a couple others, but its all the same stuff. Some of the neat properties is that you can bend it with a heat gun, or immersion in hot water for about 15 seconds. It glues up with normal, cheap, plumbing PVC cement, no fancy glues or anything. Cuts easily with a utility knife, sands easily.
This is a great thread. Lots of good info here and very motivating!! Thank you for sharing.
Got my hands on some to try out. The girl at the plastics store said it may not be the best for outside use as it is a foam based product. Bought the first batch on the bay and didn’t pay attention to the thickness. It seems way to thin at 1mm. Maybe I could laminate it on top of something? or I’ll just use it for details. Maybe a car’s round roof or something.
Even the thicker sheet seems pretty flexible. I got a few scraps of really thick stuff and that seems tough. Now if I could just make something useful out of it. I buy supplies and they sit here for ever. I may try and copy your building design as I like it’s look for the RR. I bet it’s cool if it’s lit up at night trackside. Love to have buildings like this to make the RR look realistic.
Bob McCown said:
I’d heard of Sintra for a few years, but never got ahold of any until Jon Radder dropped off some small bits of it in the fall. Its very easy to work with, cuts easily, and glues up using any solvent adhesive. I’m using Weld-on #16. I doubt its UV protected, but a decent coat of paint will take care of that. Should hold up outside, its PVC. Edit: A bit of googling shows that Sintra is ‘UV resistant’. Its used for outdoor signs, so that’s an indication.
The guy at the plastic store in Buffalo, NY, said that it’s not his first choice for making a building that will sit outside. He also stated that it’s the paint used, that will make it UV resistant so it will hold up better outside. Those guys didn’t think it was UV resistant itself, on it’s own. They build signs for customers here in Western NY. I trust their help. I’ve seen other buildings with plexi-glass base material that gets covered anyways. I’m going to use this Sintra and maybe caulk the joints inside for better strength?
I’ve now got a pile of this stuff growing to try an attempt at a building like this. It’s usually the windows or the window openings that scare me off from making one. After seeing the prices of garden RR buildings at the stores, I’m going to have to make my own. I’d like a diesel house and some other large buildings that would cost me thousands of dollars from custom builders. I hope to find more threads like this for motivation. Sorry I keep bringing this thread to the top. I feel it’s very relevant to help get the RR looking better at a reasonable cost. I hope newbies (like me!) see it. Any other links to RR buildings like these should be available to newer guys here for inspiration. Maybe separate sticky threads for buildings, engines, cars, etc.??
I don’t think sticky threads are a good idea for this, as there have been a LOT of threads over the years…we’d probably have 3 pages worth.
But, I can give you some links to some I have done.
A Bank in 2008 - using foamed PVC: http://largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/8620/search/view/page/1
A Mikado in 2009 (rather long) http://largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/11198/search/view/page/1
A Fuel Dealer - using PVC, brass and styrene, built in 2009: http://largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/13469/search/view/page/1
A corner office from 2012 http://largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/16364/search/view/post_id/171928
Salmons Produce - built from corrugated plastic: http://largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/9719/search/view/post_id/76495
Radder 5 and 10 cent store: http://largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/15974/search/view/page/1
There is a LOT available on this site; just not sure if there is a good way to reference them all…
How about a sticky with thread titles?
Bob
It’s been a while since you built this beauty!, 3 +/- yrs
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/bob_mccown/_forumfiles/IMG00383-20110503-1807.jpg)
How has it held up?
How does it look now?
Have you gotten to spruce up that section, yet this spring?
Still looks good. Ill be bringing the buildings out this weekend probably and will take a picture. The benchwork here was rebuilt last summer
Finally got around to printing, painting and installing better windows in the Harlem Transfer building.
1 Like
That came out great!
Needs a handful of other repairs, but not bad for 10+ years old.
I was going to comment that it has held up amazingly well. Good choice of materials.